Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 11-12 NKJV, Ch. 13-14 NLT, Ch. 15. NET

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Thoughts

“…but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.”

What does it mean when it says that the Lord regrets something that He did? Does it mean that God saw that He had made a mistake? 

When I lose my tempter and speak crossly to someone I love, later on, I regret it. Did I make a mistake when I lost my temper? Was it wrong to say what I said, the way I said it? Usually. 

When I forget to do something that my wife asked me to do, I regret it when I have to tell her that I forgot. I disappointed her. I made a mistake. 

Can God make a mistake? Not if He is God. God is, by His very nature perfect. And we have recently read God saying, “I do not change my mind.”

So what does it mean when we read that God regretted something He did?

The Hebrew root for the word “regret” is “to sigh”. If you are a parent, you understand this kind of sigh. I remember watching my kids making mistakes, and my wife and I sighing in disappointment. Many times, we could see what led up to the fateful moment, but in the hopeful love of a parent, we so wanted them to make the right decision. And when the inevitable happened, all we could do was sigh.

This gives us an idea of the regret that God had. Here in chapter 15 of 1 Samuel, God knew that Saul would fail, but it still made Him sigh when it happened.

I’m sure if you think about it, you can remember a time or two where you have experienced this kind of thing, too.