God's Promise

‘It repented the Lord that he had made man…’ (Gen 6:6,5)
Does God repent or grieve over His creation or the work of His hands?
Let me cite two verses. ‘God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent.’(Num. 23:19) This verse was spoken by Balaam, a prophet. He was brought before the King of Moab to curse the people of Israel. Here repentance that he refers to is something else. God had earlier warned him in a dream not to curse the people whom He had blessed (Num 22:12). It had nothing to do with His work or creation. The next verse refers to the point where Samuel brings God’s word concerning the kingship of Saul. ‘…the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man that he should repent’(1 Sam 15:29). Here the venerable prophet and Judge of Israel refers to David: ‘Out of the stem of Jesse’ as we read in the book of Isaiah(11:1) God had decided Saul had not in him to be the Chosen One. The anointed one or the Messiah was, instead, to emerge from the root of Jesse. Here again the word repentance is used to refer Israel and His promise to bless them through His anointed one who shall be an ensign …to it shall the Gentiles seek…’(Is.1:10)
God shall never repent as to His Promise, which is revealed gradually in a dispensation that as I mentioned earlier is representational. That Promise in a nutshell embraces both Old Testament as well as New Testament. In any case Israel is a linchpin around which His blessings should cover the whole earth. In a manner of speaking His Promise to Abraham is valid at any point of time. (Gen 12:1-3).
His repentance that He had created man must refer to something else to which I shall come in the next post.
benny

Key To Bible Study

‘that no prophesy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.’( 2 Pe. 1:20)
While we study the Bible grace the single most essential quality we need to ask for. As Peter says it is God of all grace who can make us perfect, strengthen and settle us (1 Pe 5:10). If we rely on our own wisdom or imagination we are likely to go out of bounds and arrive at conclusions that may prove to be contentious and also detrimental to our own spiritual growth. Grace of God however does not make interpretation fit only one size but does according to each person’s needs. If it were the case Paul would have had no case for finding fault with Peter while he visited Antioch. (Gal 2:9-11) Grace was given to Paul as one coming to the Lord from a Gentile background to worship Him in a manner that Peter could not entertain. We see Peter was too steeped in Hebraic tradition to hearken unto the vision of God. While in Joppa he heard the voice say: ‘Arise Peter; slay and eat.(Ac 11-7’ Was not the vision in preparation for an important turning point in the history of the Early Church? We have no right to give private interpretation but exercise the spirit given to us from above. By which grace working in Peter allowed him to give Paul an upstart in comparison his freedom to go among the Gentiles as he himself would minister to the converts from Jewish sect.
All interpretations that build up the church in love and unity must be considered as from God. That of the worldly wisdom caters to divisions, pride; such division distracts us from God. What is not glory for the Lord might end up as grist for the mill of Satan.
What are we at best? We are rational in thinking and yet we are far from adequate in measuring His Wisdom and Power.
In the coming posts I shall try to explain the nature of Dispensation to explain the second part of Genesis.
benny