Asking Can a nation change...
Asking "Can a nation change its god?" in Jeremiah's day is akin to asking, "Can a leopard
change its spots?" today. (Jeremiah does in fact ask that question, Jeremiah 13:23.) The
expected answer was, "No."
There is a leopard that appears to have changed its spots, however. The famous black
panther is, in fact, a leopard or a jaguar that has melanism. Melanism occurs because of a
mutation or abnormality of one of the cat's genes that is associated with coat coloration
and markings. A melanistic leopard appears to be black and often is more aggressive than