What does God learn?

          I heard a preacher the other day who said that God never learns anything because He already knows it. An absolute statement like that always makes my ears perk up. Is it true? Does God never learn?

        I mulled that over for a bit and I don’t think it’s true, not because of any weakness in God but because He has power we can’t even imagine.

        For instance, just before the flood (Gen.6:6), God regretted that He had made man—that sounds like He found out something about man that He didn’t like. Then again, in Israel’s days of deep reproach, we read that there was something (Jer.32:35) God hadn’t even thought of—throwing your child into the fire as a sacrifice to Molek!

        During the Lord’s time on earth, He often asked questions. Were they only rhetorical? Do we think He always knew the answers? How about the question of when Jesus will return? He Himself didn’t know. That means that Jesus would learn from the Father, when He was to return. But the greatest thing God ever learned was through Jesus, and that wasn’t just a fact but a whole lifestyle— “He learned obedience from what He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)  

        In the final analysis, it seems that God can choose not to know, just as He can choose not to remember. (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12; 10:17) I, for one, am glad He will forget all my sins, and I trust I will forget them as well. Then I look forward to learning true obedience, just like Jesus.