We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

How do you respond to 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1?

One text says the Lord incited David to count the warriors of Israel and Judah. The other text says that Satan incited David to count the warriors of Israel. (The Lord had forbidden this, as it displayed a confidence in military strength rather than in Yahweh’s power).

Compatibilists frequently cite this as an example of how Satan always carries out God’s plan. God’s plan, they insist, is always good, though Satan is evil in carrying it out. The “paradox”—or (I believe) contradiction—that this viewpoint creates is unnecessary. These texts do not imply that Satan always carries out God’s plan, only that he sometimes does so. In this case, God planned on judging Israel and so he allowed Satan to bring it about. For editorial reasons, the author of 1 Chronicles attributes the act to Satan while the author of 1 Samuel attributes it to God who allowed Satan to do what he wanted to do.

As a parallel example, we should consider the way God sometimes uses the sinful, violent tendencies of one nation to punish another nation. As punishment on Israel, for example, the Lord allowed a wicked Assyrian nation to have its way with Israel (Isa. 10). Yet, God then punished Assyria for being the kind of nation that could be used by God in this way. Sometimes–but not always–the wicked intentions of an evil nation (or an evil being) convene with God’s purposes.

Related Reading

What about the Gospel of John and Calvinism?

Question: The Gospel of John seems to teach that people believe because God draws them, rather than that God draws people because they believe. If this is true, how can you deny the Calvinistic teaching that salvation is based on God’s choice, not ours? Answer: As you note, many people find support for the view…

Topics:

If salvation depends on our free choice, how are we saved totally by grace?

Question: I’m an Arminian-turned-Calvinist, and the thing that turned me was the realization that if salvation hinges on whether individuals choose to be saved or not, as Arminians and Open Theists believe, then we can’t say salvation is 100% by grace. If we have to choose for or against God, then the credit for our…

When Did Jesus Bind the Strongman?

Question: In Luke 11:21-22 Jesus said: “When a strong man, with all his weapons ready, guards his own house, all his belongings are safe. But when a stronger man attacks him and defeats him, he carries away all the weapons the owner was depending on and divides up what he stole.” My question is, when…

How do you respond to Romans 9?

The Deterministic Interpretation of Romans 9 Many people believe that Romans 9 demonstrates that God has the right and power to save whichever individuals he wants to save and damn whichever individuals he wants to damn. I’ll call this the “deterministic” reading of Romans 9, for it holds that God determines who will be saved…

How do you respond to John 13:18–19; 17:12?

“I am not speaking of you all; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he.’” Jesus prays…

How do you respond to Bart Ehrman’s book, “Misquoting Jesus”?

Question: I just read Bart Ehrman’s book Misquoting Jesus and it’s sort of rocked my world. How can we believe the Bible is God’s inerrant Word when we don’t even know what the original Bible said? Answer: I actually went to graduate school with Bart Ehrman (at Princeton). We used to smoke pipes together up…