If God does not change, why does the Bible talk about God repenting, relenting, being sorry, regretting (Gen 6:6; Exod 32:14; 1 Sam 15:10–11; 2 Sam 24:16; Isa 38:1–6; Jonah 3:4; 4:10; etc.)?

Some dismiss these texts as instances of anthropopathism—attributing human motions and emotions to God for the sake of our understanding. There is probably some truth to this idea, but there is probably more to the answer than anthropopathism alone.

A better answer is to recognize that God changes in his dealings and relationships with changeable men in order to remain changeless in his dispositions: immutability does not mean immobility.

• God’s delight in his creation changed to sorrow when sin entered (Gen 6:6).
• God’s anger at Nineveh’s sin changed to approval when they repented (Jon 3:4).

A further point of explanation is the fact that many of God’s announcements are conditional in nature, carrying unspoken exceptions and exclusions. This explanation is particularly useful for Jonah, who explicitly recognizes this phenomenon when he flees to Tarshish (Jon 4:2).

Finally, it is necessary to ask how a perfect God could possibly change. If he changes for the better, it then follows that he was not perfect before. If he changes for the worse, then in time God could become infinitely evil.