Search Results:
What is the significance of 1 Samuel 2:27–31?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: 1 Samuel 2
Because Eli “scorned” God’s sacrifices and did not punish his sons for their vile behavior, the Lord says, “‘I promised that your house and your father’s house would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but…
What is the significance of 1 Samuel 13:13–14?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: 1 Samuel 13
Because of Saul’s rebellion, Samuel tells him, “The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever but now your kingdom will not continue.” The biblical narrative depicting God’s dealings with Saul up to this point is predicated on the assumption that God intended to establish Saul’s descendants as the…
What is the significance of 1 Samuel 15:10?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: 1 Samuel 15
In light of Saul’s sin the Lord says, “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me.” Common sense would suggest that one can only regret a decision one makes if the decision results in an outcome other than what was expected or hoped…
What is the significance of 1 Samuel 15:35?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: 1 Samuel 15
“…the Lord was sorry that he made Saul king over Israel.” (see 1 Sam. 15:12). Once again, the Lord expresses his regret over having made Saul king of Israel, an emotion which is inconsistent with the classical view of God’s foreknowledge. It’s important to note that Samuel had prayed all…
What is the significance of 1 Samuel 23:9–13?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: 1 Samuel 23
“David heard that Saul knew that he was hiding in Keliah. Saul was seeking to kill David, so David wisely consulted the Lord as to what he should do. David said, ‘O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has heard that Saul seeks to come to Keliah, to destroy…
What is the significance of 2 Samuel 24:12–16?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: 2 Samuel 24
The Lord gives David three options of how Israel will be judged. “Three things I offer you; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.” This verse reveals how the Lord gives people genuine alternatives and responds to their choices. If God foreknew what David would choose,…
What is the significance of 2 Samuel 24:17–25?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: 2 Samuel 24
“So the Lord answered [David’s] supplication for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.” The passage suggests that the Lord intended the plague to judge Israel further but David’s supplication persuaded him to change his mind and relent from his punishment. If the future is to some degree…
What is the significance of 1 Kings 21:27–29?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: 1 Kings 21
Because of Ahab’s great sin the Lord tells him, “I will bring disaster on you; I will consume you…” (vs. 21). Ahab repents and the Lord responds by telling his messenger prophet, “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I…
What is the significance of 2 Kings 13:3–5?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: 2 Kings 13
The Lord judged the Israelites by allowing them to be oppressed by King Hazael of Aram (vs. 3). “But Jehoahaz entreated the Lord, and the Lord heeded him; for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. Therefore the Lord gave Israel a savior, so…
What is the significance of 2 Kings 20:1–7?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: 2 Kings 20
The Lord tells Hezekiah “[Y]ou shall die: you shall not recover” (vs. 1). Hezekiah pleads with God and God says, “I will add fifteen years to your life” (vs. 6). If everything about the future was exhaustively settled and known by God as such, his prophecy to Hezekiah that he…
What is the significance of 1 Chronicles 21:7–13?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Chronicles 21
The Lord gives David three options of how Israel may be judged. “Three things I offer you; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.” Paralleling 2 Samuel 24:12–16, this passage reveals that the Lord gives people genuine alternatives and then responds to their choices. If the…
What is the significance of 1 Chronicles 21:15?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Chronicles 21
“And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but when he was about to destroy it, the Lord took note and relented concerning the calamity; he said to the destroying angel, ‘Enough! Stay your hand.’” This powerful passage tells us why God sent the angel and why he…
What is the significance of 2 Chronicles 7:12–14?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Chronicles 7
The Lord says to Solomon, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their…
What is the significance of 2 Chronicles 12:5–8?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Chronicles 12
The Lord allows King Shishak of Egypt to almost conquer all of Israel because of King Reheboam’s rebellion. “You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak” (vs. 5). The officers and king repent, so the Lord responds by saying, “They have humbled themselves; I will…
What is the significance of 2 Chronicles 32:31?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Chronicles 32
“God left [Hezekiah] to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.” God tests his covenant partners to discover whether they will choose to remain faithful to him, an exercise that is absurd if God exhaustively foreknows exactly how faithful every person will…
What is the significance of Psalm 106:23?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Psalm 106
“Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.” Moses (on several occasions, we have seen) persuaded God to change his mind regarding his plan to judge Israel. This inspired verse explicitly…
What is the significance of Isaiah 5:3–7?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Isaiah 5
The Lord describes Israel as his vineyard. Referring to himself, he says that the owner of the vineyard loved his vineyard and did all he could to care for it. “[H]e expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes” (vs. 2). Then the Lord asks, “What more was…
What is the significance of Isaiah 38:1–5?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Isaiah 38
God tells Hezekiah “you shall die: you shall not recover” (vs. 1). Hezekiah pleads with God and God decides to “add fifteen years” to his life. As we noted concerning 2 Kings 20:1–5, if God foreknew that he wasn’t going to end Hezekiah’s life, his declaration that he intended to…
What’s the significance of Isaiah 63:8-10?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Jeremiah 63
The Lord said (or “thought”) to himself, “Surely they are my people, chidren who will not deal falsely.” So, the text says, “He became their savior” (Isa. 63: 8). But “they rebelled and grieved his holy spirit.” So the Lord “became their enemy” (9-10). If the future is exhaustively settled…
What is the significance of Jeremiah 3:6–7?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Jeremiah 3
Regarding Israel, the Lord says “I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me’; but she did not return.” If the future is exhaustively settled in God’s mind, the meaning of this verse is unclear. How could God really think that something was going to happen…