Providence - Part 4 (and final)

I want to write about one more aspect of God's sovereignty (which is really part of His immutable nature), that being that God does not change His mind in His plans for His creation. Because He is all-knowing, there is never a need for Him to change His mind, and it's preposterous to think He might need any additional information or instruction from us. Some might be quick to cite passages of Scripture when Moses or Abraham interceded on behalf of the Israelites, including a statement that the Lord relented. But other portions of scripture say that God is not a man that He should relent (Numbers 23:19-20; 1Samuel 15:29). Does this indicate a contradiction in God's character? R. C. Sproul explains in Discovering the God Who Is:

"Scripture frequently describes events in terms of how they appear to the observer. The Bible does not 'teach' that the sun revolves around the Earth, but it does speak about sunrises and sunsets...The most obvious use of phenomenological language in the Bible is its use of human terms to describe God. The Bible speaks of His coming and of His going, of His becoming angry, of His turning form wrath. He is described as having arms, hands, a face, and feet. Yet this multitude of references to God via human imagery is qualified by sober biblical warnings and reminders that God is not a man. It is noteworthy that in these 'troubling' passages the qualifier is spelled out precisely in these terms: God 'is not a man that He should relent [change His mind]' (1Samuel 15:29)." (p. 115)

Sproul further explains that the narrative passages of the Bible must be interpreted by the teaching portions of Scripture. "If we try to find too much theology in narrative passages, we can easily go beyond the point of the narrative into serious errors...The point of these narratives is to encourage us to pray. We are to make intercession. The promised threats of divine punishment are given with the condition attached that if we repent, we will escape those punishments...When we repent, then God removes the threat of punishment. The question is, Who is ultimately repenting here? God never repents in the sense that He turns away from sin or from error. God is not a man. He does not ultimately or literally have arms or legs. He does not repent as men repent. He listens to our prayers but is never corrected by them. He changes not - neither in the perfection of His being nor in the perfection His thoughts." (pp. 116-117)