The Bible asserting God's existence from everlasting to everlasting, or from age to age, in no way equates to the Bible presenting God as existing in every time simultaneously and therefore knowing all details of the past, present and future simultaneously. That text simply doesn't support that time-independent concept of God.
Who is “He”, Who is “Us”, and Who is “Him”, in Ephesians 1:4?
- Thread starter MerSee
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Ephesians does not suggest that God's sovereign will and knowledge extend directively over every detail of all creation. It suggest that when God has some particular end that He is determined to achieve He co-ordinates relevant things in the relevant circumstances to accomplish His determined purpose. In this context, it is to produce from those who trust in Christ people who live for the praise of God's glory Eph 1:12. Eph. 1:11 does not indicate that everything occurs in accordance with God's will and purpose, suggesting a comprehensive scope of God's counsel. A shepherd directing sheep from A towards a destination B does not control everything that is happening in the universe to get the sheep to B. He calls the sheep and mostly allows the sheep to do whatever they want, but steps in when they are wandering too far out of the way, blocking off their escape routes with his rod and staff. This is how a shepherd works all things according to the counsel of his will. He is not controlling the entire universe to achieve the counsel of his will. God is our Shepherd.
It may miss what you think is the essence of divine foreknowledge ,which you are inheriting from Greek philosophers. But it is not out of sync with the way the Bible describes God. There is no indication in the Bible that when God declares what will certainly happen it is because He knows all things absolutely. The Bible indicates that he predicts it because He has the power to think up an outcome and omnipotently force that outcome into reality if He wills.
God's foreknowledge in 1 Samuel 23:11-12 includes understanding current intentions and potential outcomes, it also aligns with the broader biblical portrayal of God as omniscient, including knowledge of all possible futures. This passage, when viewed in the context of the entire biblical narrative, supports the understanding of God's foreknowledge as encompassing and extending beyond merely predicting future events based on present observations. It showcases God's intimate involvement with His creation and His sovereign guidance of human history according to His will and knowledge.
It was never my intention to use one Scripture to bring this truth is Scripture to light. If we take all Scriptures that talk about God and His attribute of Omniscience and compare and really study them all. This then should become the outcome of Truth.
It was never my intention to use one Scripture to bring this truth is Scripture to light. If we take all Scriptures that talk about God and His attribute of Omniscience and compare and really study them all. This then should become the outcome of Truth.
In the context of Scriptures, the distinction between head knowledge and heart knowledge is highlighted in various passages. Head knowledge refers to understanding facts intellectually, while heart knowledge involves a deeper, experiential understanding and belief in those truths. The Bible emphasizes the importance of moving from head knowledge to heart knowledge, where beliefs are not just known but truly experienced and lived out.
The transition from head to heart knowledge is crucial in the Christian faith. It involves not only knowing God's Word intellectually but also internalizing it, believing it in one's heart, and applying it to everyday life. This transformation is seen as essential for a genuine relationship with God and a life of faith and obedience.
Key Bible verses that touch on this concept include Proverbs 15:14, which highlights the importance of seeking knowledge with understanding rather than feeding on folly
Additionally, Romans 8:1 reassures believers that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, emphasizing the personal and transformative nature of faith
Ultimately, the journey from head to heart knowledge involves prayer, self-reflection, repentance, seeking wisdom from God, and allowing His truth to deeply impact one's thoughts and actions. It is about moving beyond mere intellectual assent to a heartfelt belief that shapes one's entire being and relationship with God.
Have a good day.
J.
The transition from head to heart knowledge is crucial in the Christian faith. It involves not only knowing God's Word intellectually but also internalizing it, believing it in one's heart, and applying it to everyday life. This transformation is seen as essential for a genuine relationship with God and a life of faith and obedience.
Key Bible verses that touch on this concept include Proverbs 15:14, which highlights the importance of seeking knowledge with understanding rather than feeding on folly
Additionally, Romans 8:1 reassures believers that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, emphasizing the personal and transformative nature of faith
Ultimately, the journey from head to heart knowledge involves prayer, self-reflection, repentance, seeking wisdom from God, and allowing His truth to deeply impact one's thoughts and actions. It is about moving beyond mere intellectual assent to a heartfelt belief that shapes one's entire being and relationship with God.
Have a good day.
J.
Wrong-
Immutability is an attribute which God claims, and challenges as peculiar
to himself; "I am the Lord, I change not" (Malachi 3:6).
Mutability
belongs to creatures, immutability to God only; creatures change, but he
does not: the heavens and the earth, which he has made, are not always
the same; but "he is the same forever": the visible heavens are often
changing; they are sometimes serene and clear, at other times covered
with clouds and darkness, and filled with meteors, snow, rain, hail, etc.
the face of the earth appears different at the various seasons of the year,
and is particularly renewed every spring: it has undergone one great
change by a flood, and will undergo another by fire; when that, and "the
works that are therein, shall be burnt up; and the heavens, being on fire,
shall be dissolved; and the elements shall melt with fervent heat"; and
"new heavens", and "a new earth", shall succeed (2 Peter 3:10,12,13),
to
which changeableness in them, the unchangeableness of God is opposed:
"All of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture shall you change
them, and they shall be changed: but you are the same, and your years
shall have no end" (Psalm 102:25-27).
The sun in the firmament, that
great luminary, and fountain of light and heat, in allusion to which, God
is called "the Father of lights", has its parallaxes, or various appearances,
at morning, noon, and evening; it has its risings and settings; and never
rises and sets at the same point in the heavens one day in the year, but
always varies a little; it is sometimes under clouds, and in an eclipse; but
"with" God "is no variableness", parallagh, or a parallax; the sun, at
certain seasons of the year, passes from one tropic, and enters into
another, as well as casts shades on the earth; but with God there is "no
shadow of turning", trophv, of a trope, or tropic; there is no mutation nor
turning in him, nor shadow of any (James 1:17; Job 23:13),
the
inhabitants of Heaven and earth are changeable, even the most excellent
of them, angels and men: angels in their original nature and state, were
subject to change, as the apostasy of many of them have shown; who have
changed both state and place; they "kept not their first estate, but left
their own habitation", being obliged to the latter, because of the former;
for sinning against God, they were hurled out of Heaven, and "cast down
to Hell, and delivered into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment" (Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4), the angels which stood when the rest
fell, are now indeed become impeccable, and are firmly settled in their
state of integrity; but then this is owing not to their own nature, but to the
electing grace of God, in Christ, and to the confirming grace of Christ,
their head, who is the "head of all principality and power" (1 Timothy
5:21; Col 2:10).
Man, at his best estate, his estate of innocence, and integrity, was
"altogether vanity": for though not sinful, yet being mutable, and left to
the mutability of his will, which was his vanity, when tempted fell into
sin; and though made upright, lost the rectitude of his nature; though
made after the image of God, soon came short of that glory; and though
he had dominion over the creatures, being in honor, he abode not long,
but became like those he had the power over; and though placed in the
most delightful and fruitful spot in all the globe, yet, rebelling against his
Maker and Benefactor, was driven out from thence by him; and is now a
creature subject to innumerable changes in life; diseases of various sorts
seize his body, and change his beauty and his strength, and death at last
turns him to corruption and dust; he is like the changeable grass of the
field; flourishes a while, is then cut down, and withers away; but God and
his "word endure forever" the same (1 Peter 1:24, 25), good men are very
mutable, both in their inward and outward estate: in spiritual affairs; in
the frames of their minds, in the affections of their souls, in the exercise
of grace, in their devotion and obedience to God, and worship of him: in
temporal affairs; what an instance of mutability was Job, in his estate, in
his family, and in his health and friends? well might he say, "changes and
war are against me" (Job 10:17)
You ask the wrong questions-from a open theism's worldview.
Immutability is an attribute which God claims, and challenges as peculiar
to himself; "I am the Lord, I change not" (Malachi 3:6).
Mutability
belongs to creatures, immutability to God only; creatures change, but he
does not: the heavens and the earth, which he has made, are not always
the same; but "he is the same forever": the visible heavens are often
changing; they are sometimes serene and clear, at other times covered
with clouds and darkness, and filled with meteors, snow, rain, hail, etc.
the face of the earth appears different at the various seasons of the year,
and is particularly renewed every spring: it has undergone one great
change by a flood, and will undergo another by fire; when that, and "the
works that are therein, shall be burnt up; and the heavens, being on fire,
shall be dissolved; and the elements shall melt with fervent heat"; and
"new heavens", and "a new earth", shall succeed (2 Peter 3:10,12,13),
to
which changeableness in them, the unchangeableness of God is opposed:
"All of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture shall you change
them, and they shall be changed: but you are the same, and your years
shall have no end" (Psalm 102:25-27).
The sun in the firmament, that
great luminary, and fountain of light and heat, in allusion to which, God
is called "the Father of lights", has its parallaxes, or various appearances,
at morning, noon, and evening; it has its risings and settings; and never
rises and sets at the same point in the heavens one day in the year, but
always varies a little; it is sometimes under clouds, and in an eclipse; but
"with" God "is no variableness", parallagh, or a parallax; the sun, at
certain seasons of the year, passes from one tropic, and enters into
another, as well as casts shades on the earth; but with God there is "no
shadow of turning", trophv, of a trope, or tropic; there is no mutation nor
turning in him, nor shadow of any (James 1:17; Job 23:13),
the
inhabitants of Heaven and earth are changeable, even the most excellent
of them, angels and men: angels in their original nature and state, were
subject to change, as the apostasy of many of them have shown; who have
changed both state and place; they "kept not their first estate, but left
their own habitation", being obliged to the latter, because of the former;
for sinning against God, they were hurled out of Heaven, and "cast down
to Hell, and delivered into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment" (Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4), the angels which stood when the rest
fell, are now indeed become impeccable, and are firmly settled in their
state of integrity; but then this is owing not to their own nature, but to the
electing grace of God, in Christ, and to the confirming grace of Christ,
their head, who is the "head of all principality and power" (1 Timothy
5:21; Col 2:10).
Man, at his best estate, his estate of innocence, and integrity, was
"altogether vanity": for though not sinful, yet being mutable, and left to
the mutability of his will, which was his vanity, when tempted fell into
sin; and though made upright, lost the rectitude of his nature; though
made after the image of God, soon came short of that glory; and though
he had dominion over the creatures, being in honor, he abode not long,
but became like those he had the power over; and though placed in the
most delightful and fruitful spot in all the globe, yet, rebelling against his
Maker and Benefactor, was driven out from thence by him; and is now a
creature subject to innumerable changes in life; diseases of various sorts
seize his body, and change his beauty and his strength, and death at last
turns him to corruption and dust; he is like the changeable grass of the
field; flourishes a while, is then cut down, and withers away; but God and
his "word endure forever" the same (1 Peter 1:24, 25), good men are very
mutable, both in their inward and outward estate: in spiritual affairs; in
the frames of their minds, in the affections of their souls, in the exercise
of grace, in their devotion and obedience to God, and worship of him: in
temporal affairs; what an instance of mutability was Job, in his estate, in
his family, and in his health and friends? well might he say, "changes and
war are against me" (Job 10:17)
You ask the wrong questions-from a open theism's worldview.
A text without context is a pretext.
Mal. 1:10 I have no pleasure in you, says Yahweh of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says Yahweh of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that Yahweh's table is polluted and its fruit, that is its food, may be despised. 13 But you say, "What a weariness this is," and you snort at it, says Yahweh of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or such, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says Yahweh. Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to Yahweh what is blemished. For I am a great King, says Yahweh pf Hosts , and My name will be feared among the nations.
2:3 Behold, I will rebuke your offspring , and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. 4 So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that My covenant with Levi may stand, says Yahweh of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him, It was a covenant of fear, and he feared Me. He stood in awe of My name. ...
8. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says Jahweh of hosts....
10 Have we not all one Father? Has not the one God created us? Why then are we unfaithful to one another, profaning the covenant of out fathers? 11 Judah has been unfaithful, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of Yahweh, which He loves, and has married the daughters of a foreign god. 12 May Yahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to Yahweh of hosts! ...
13 ...He no longer regards the offering or accepts it from your hand. 14 But you say, "Why does He not?" Because Yahweh was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant...
15 So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be unfaithful to the wife of his youth. 16 For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says Yahweh, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says Yahweh of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and be not unfaithful.
3:1 Behold I will send my messenger and he will prepare the way before Me. And Yahweh whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says Yahweh of hosts.
3 He will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to Yahweh.
5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear Me says Yahweh.
6 For I Yahweh change not, therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me and I will return to you, says Yahweh of hosts.
The context plays repeatedly on the theme of the covenant faithfulness of God vs. the covenant unfaithfulness of Jacob. Jacob has been unilaterally changing the terms of their covenants made with God, wives, courts, workers, widows, orphans and sojourners. But God is faithful to His covenants and does not unilaterally change the terms.Because God does not unilterally change his covenants, Jacob still exists as a nation. But Esau's heritage has been left to jackals of the desert. and will not be rebuilt Mal. 1:3-4
Contextually, Mal. 3:6 is not some metaphysical revelation concerning God's Platonist immutability. Contextually, it is a statement focusing on God's faithfulness to His covenants in contradistinction to Jacob's unfaithfulness to his covenants.
You are imposing the attributes of the foreign god of platonism onto the God of the Bible.
Mal. 1:10 I have no pleasure in you, says Yahweh of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says Yahweh of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that Yahweh's table is polluted and its fruit, that is its food, may be despised. 13 But you say, "What a weariness this is," and you snort at it, says Yahweh of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or such, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says Yahweh. Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to Yahweh what is blemished. For I am a great King, says Yahweh pf Hosts , and My name will be feared among the nations.
2:3 Behold, I will rebuke your offspring , and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. 4 So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that My covenant with Levi may stand, says Yahweh of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him, It was a covenant of fear, and he feared Me. He stood in awe of My name. ...
8. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says Jahweh of hosts....
10 Have we not all one Father? Has not the one God created us? Why then are we unfaithful to one another, profaning the covenant of out fathers? 11 Judah has been unfaithful, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of Yahweh, which He loves, and has married the daughters of a foreign god. 12 May Yahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to Yahweh of hosts! ...
13 ...He no longer regards the offering or accepts it from your hand. 14 But you say, "Why does He not?" Because Yahweh was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant...
15 So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be unfaithful to the wife of his youth. 16 For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says Yahweh, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says Yahweh of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and be not unfaithful.
3:1 Behold I will send my messenger and he will prepare the way before Me. And Yahweh whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says Yahweh of hosts.
3 He will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to Yahweh.
5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear Me says Yahweh.
6 For I Yahweh change not, therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me and I will return to you, says Yahweh of hosts.
The context plays repeatedly on the theme of the covenant faithfulness of God vs. the covenant unfaithfulness of Jacob. Jacob has been unilaterally changing the terms of their covenants made with God, wives, courts, workers, widows, orphans and sojourners. But God is faithful to His covenants and does not unilaterally change the terms.Because God does not unilterally change his covenants, Jacob still exists as a nation. But Esau's heritage has been left to jackals of the desert. and will not be rebuilt Mal. 1:3-4
Contextually, Mal. 3:6 is not some metaphysical revelation concerning God's Platonist immutability. Contextually, it is a statement focusing on God's faithfulness to His covenants in contradistinction to Jacob's unfaithfulness to his covenants.
You are imposing the attributes of the foreign god of platonism onto the God of the Bible.
Out of your depth-no offense.
Malachi 3:6: "I the Lord do not change"
1 Samuel 15:29: "And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind"
James 1:17: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change"
Hebrews 6:17,18: "Of the unchangeableness of the Divine counsel"
Psalm 136:26: "His steadfast love endures forever"
Other scriptures that mention the immutability of God include:
Numbers 23:19
Psalm 33:11
Isaiah 46:10
Isaiah 43:10
Psalm 138:8
Philippians 1:6
Exodus 3:14
https://bible.org/seriespage/12-immutability-god#:~:text=12-,. The Immutability of God,-Introduction
Maybe this ought to steer you in the right direction as we need to rightly cutting straight the D'varim of God.
J.
Malachi 3:6: "I the Lord do not change"
1 Samuel 15:29: "And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind"
James 1:17: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change"
Hebrews 6:17,18: "Of the unchangeableness of the Divine counsel"
Psalm 136:26: "His steadfast love endures forever"
Other scriptures that mention the immutability of God include:
Numbers 23:19
Psalm 33:11
Isaiah 46:10
Isaiah 43:10
Psalm 138:8
Philippians 1:6
Exodus 3:14
https://bible.org/seriespage/12-immutability-god#:~:text=12-,. The Immutability of God,-Introduction
Maybe this ought to steer you in the right direction as we need to rightly cutting straight the D'varim of God.
J.
You are a man with a platonist list of divine attributes in search of Bible texts that, excised from their context, sound like they are stating your platonist propositions. I have shown how Malachi taken in context is not referring to platonist immutability but Yahweh's unchanging commitment to His covenantal promised vs. Jacob's fickle changeable unfaithfulness to their covenants. But you have simply ignored the evidence.
Now let's look at your abuse of 1 Sam 15:29. What is the context you have ignored there?
1 Samuel 15:29: "And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind."
1 Sam. 15:10 The word of Yahweh came to Samuel: 11 I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not fulfilled my commandments.
So the context tells us that God has changed His mind about appointing Saul king.
And Samuel was angry and cried to Yahweh all night.
12. And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told samuel, "Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal. "
13. And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed be you to Yahweh. I have performed the commandment of Yahweh."....
16 Then Samuel said, "Stop! I will tell you what Yahweh said to me this night." And he said to him, "Speak."
17. And Samuel said, "Though you were little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over all Israel.
18. And Yahweh sent you on a mission...
19. Why then did you not obey the voice of Yahweh?...
20. And Saul said to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of Yahweh....
22. And Samuel said, "Has yahweh as great delight in burnt offering and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? ...
23. ... Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has also rejected you from being king.
Again. it says God changed his mind about making Saul king.
24. Saul said, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh and your words, because I feared the peopke and obeyed their voice.
25. Now then therefore please pardon my sin and return with me that I may worship Yahweh.
26 And Samuel said to Saul, " I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel."
27. As Samuel turned to to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and tore it.
28. And Samuel said to him, "Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbour of yours, who is better than you.
29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man that he should regret.
Clearly, the context has already stated that God had regret about choosing Saul to be king (vv. 10 and 23.) So God can and does have regrets. So, what does Samuel mean in v. 29? Saul had asked God to change His mind and leave Saul as king. Saul's earnestness is evident from his confession of repentance and by his grabbing hold of Samuel's robe so tightly that it tore as Samuel pulled away from him. But God is not a man that he should be swayed by Saul's status and emotional acting out of distress and pretense of repentance, so as to change his mind about Saul's unsuitabilty to remain king.
V. 29 is referring to one particular decision of God, while vv. 10 and 23 are referring to a different particular decision of God. None of the statements should be inductively generalised as a universal rule declaring God's universal Modus operandi. The context simply does not support reading platonist immutabiliy into 1 Sam. 15:29 as you have done.
We could apply the same contextual test to all your proof texts and they would all come up short of supporting platonist immutabilty.
Now let's look at your abuse of 1 Sam 15:29. What is the context you have ignored there?
1 Samuel 15:29: "And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind."
1 Sam. 15:10 The word of Yahweh came to Samuel: 11 I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not fulfilled my commandments.
So the context tells us that God has changed His mind about appointing Saul king.
And Samuel was angry and cried to Yahweh all night.
12. And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told samuel, "Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal. "
13. And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed be you to Yahweh. I have performed the commandment of Yahweh."....
16 Then Samuel said, "Stop! I will tell you what Yahweh said to me this night." And he said to him, "Speak."
17. And Samuel said, "Though you were little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over all Israel.
18. And Yahweh sent you on a mission...
19. Why then did you not obey the voice of Yahweh?...
20. And Saul said to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of Yahweh....
22. And Samuel said, "Has yahweh as great delight in burnt offering and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? ...
23. ... Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has also rejected you from being king.
Again. it says God changed his mind about making Saul king.
24. Saul said, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh and your words, because I feared the peopke and obeyed their voice.
25. Now then therefore please pardon my sin and return with me that I may worship Yahweh.
26 And Samuel said to Saul, " I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel."
27. As Samuel turned to to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and tore it.
28. And Samuel said to him, "Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbour of yours, who is better than you.
29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man that he should regret.
Clearly, the context has already stated that God had regret about choosing Saul to be king (vv. 10 and 23.) So God can and does have regrets. So, what does Samuel mean in v. 29? Saul had asked God to change His mind and leave Saul as king. Saul's earnestness is evident from his confession of repentance and by his grabbing hold of Samuel's robe so tightly that it tore as Samuel pulled away from him. But God is not a man that he should be swayed by Saul's status and emotional acting out of distress and pretense of repentance, so as to change his mind about Saul's unsuitabilty to remain king.
V. 29 is referring to one particular decision of God, while vv. 10 and 23 are referring to a different particular decision of God. None of the statements should be inductively generalised as a universal rule declaring God's universal Modus operandi. The context simply does not support reading platonist immutabiliy into 1 Sam. 15:29 as you have done.
We could apply the same contextual test to all your proof texts and they would all come up short of supporting platonist immutabilty.
Not so fast-diverting-
Open theism, also known as openness theology, is a theological position within Christianity that emphasizes human free will and its relationship to God and the nature of the future. It posits that God has granted humanity free will, and for this free will to be genuine, the future choices of individuals cannot be known ahead of time by God. Open theists believe that if God knows what individuals will choose, true freedom is compromised since alternative choices cannot be made. Some open theists argue that God voluntarily limits His knowledge of free will choices to preserve human freedom, while others maintain that the future is not knowable even by God
https://www.gotquestions.org/open-theism.html#:~:text=QUESTION-,What is open theism?,-ANSWER
Critics of open theism argue that it fails to explain how God could predict detailed events in the Old Testament or guarantee eternal salvation if He does not know the future
They contend that open theism attempts to reconcile the relationship between God's foreknowledge and human free will in a way that compromises God's omniscience and sovereignty
Ultimately, open theism is seen as an attempt by finite beings to understand an infinite God and is not considered scriptural by those who reject it
https://carm.org/open-theism/what-is-open-theism/#:~:text=What is Open Theism?
This is YOUR worldview-correct?
Open theism, also known as openness theology, is a theological position within Christianity that emphasizes human free will and its relationship to God and the nature of the future. It posits that God has granted humanity free will, and for this free will to be genuine, the future choices of individuals cannot be known ahead of time by God. Open theists believe that if God knows what individuals will choose, true freedom is compromised since alternative choices cannot be made. Some open theists argue that God voluntarily limits His knowledge of free will choices to preserve human freedom, while others maintain that the future is not knowable even by God
https://www.gotquestions.org/open-theism.html#:~:text=QUESTION-,What is open theism?,-ANSWER
Critics of open theism argue that it fails to explain how God could predict detailed events in the Old Testament or guarantee eternal salvation if He does not know the future
They contend that open theism attempts to reconcile the relationship between God's foreknowledge and human free will in a way that compromises God's omniscience and sovereignty
Ultimately, open theism is seen as an attempt by finite beings to understand an infinite God and is not considered scriptural by those who reject it
https://carm.org/open-theism/what-is-open-theism/#:~:text=What is Open Theism?
This is YOUR worldview-correct?
You are the one diverting from discussing your proof texts in context, to the rhetorical fallacy of poisoning the well: a typical exhaustive divine determinist diversion. Open theism like all theological "camps" contains a wide range of nuances. I believe that the Bible speaks about history as largely unsettled, but with some specific events planned and predicted by God to happen, and certain events and persons shepherded by God's omnipotence to ensure that those predicted events happen at the purposed times and places. By God predicting certain events and bringing them to pass using His omnipotence, God demonstrates His ability to keep His promises and encourages people to put their trust in Him and His chosen One.
But this is irrelevant to any exegesis of your biblical proof texts. You should not eisegete your exhaustive determinist presuppositions into texts. You should be exegeting them out of your proof texts. Same applies to me eisegeting open theist presuppositions into proof texts.
But this is irrelevant to any exegesis of your biblical proof texts. You should not eisegete your exhaustive determinist presuppositions into texts. You should be exegeting them out of your proof texts. Same applies to me eisegeting open theist presuppositions into proof texts.
