12/18/2024 – Day 178 – 1 Kings 19:22 / 1 Kings 22: 13- 28 – “Micaiah’s Message of Defeat”/ So , we have the Lord “deceiving” a prophet?
We’re going to follow this through “letting scripture testify to scripture”, both Old Testament and New Testament, but I think we will find it edifying.
First, you may want to reread this section, at least the verses associated with “The Apologetics Study Bible” commentary for this section. Let’s get started:
“22:21 Literally, ‘the spirit’ using the definite article. The most natural understanding would be the Holy Spirit. However, there is a theological problem with God being a deceiver. Some try to moderate the tone by translating the verb deceive as ‘entice’. This does not solve the problem. Both Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:7) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 14:9) spoke of the Lord deceiving a prophet, using the exact same Hebrew word as here.”
“22:22 A ‘lying spirit’ was a pun on the Hebrew word, which can mean both spirit, wind, or breath.”
“22:23. While the ‘lying spirit’ spoke through the prophets, the Lord clearly laid out the truth and Ahab had a choice whom to believe. God is truth and cannot lie. He does permit lying spirits to deceive those who will not believe the truth (2 Thessalonians 2: 5-12).” (*A)
“22:28 Micaiah appealed to the Lord’s test of the true prophet: 100 percent accuracy in prediction verifies that the prophet’s message is from the Lord (Deuteronomy 18: 21-22)
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Now, let’s look at two perspectives on the same question embedded in our story: “How Can the Bible Affirm Both Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom”. The first response by Bruce A Ware , page 1054 of this Bible. Here is a link to the article:
https://kelvinho-kh.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-can-bible-affirm-both-divine.html
The second response, same title, by Wiliam Lane Craig, page 1850 of this Bible. Here is this a link to that article:
https://www.difa3iat.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/How-Can-the-Bible-Affirm-Both-Divine-Sovereignty-and-Human-Freedom-1.pdf
Insert – my comment – I agree with Casey that Luis Molina (1535-1600) offers an attractive solution to our apparent theological dilemma , left to a surface level. To me, where it really hits home is God’s unfathomable knowledge and holiness to the human mind. The three logical stages outlined starts to exhibit a congruent unity between Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom, that just did not seem possible. But, God will always be unfathomable: It is a good thing that we have an eternity to get to know Him, for that is how long it will take, praise God!
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Ok, one more scriptural connection to His Truth: “The Man of Lawlessness” 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-12, Our Day 224 reading. By placing “Day 224” in the title of this post, we will be able to connect the two as one, in case we missed it in this earlier go round. Let’s get started with the commentary on another instance where God is charged with deceiving people. Here is the Bible verse commentary for the reading:
“2: 11-12 On the basis of verse 11, God is sometimes charged with deceiving people. But verse 10 sets the critical context: ‘They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth… For this reason’ they experience delusion… They exchanged the truth of God for a lie’), so here: The delusions certain people experience reflect God’s response to a prior decision on their part.
And one verse outside to pick up two new testament chapters linking up on this question:
“2:13 On the question of God electing or choosing people for salvation, see the article ‘How Can the Bible Affirm Both Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom?’ (page # 1850) and the notes in Romans 9 and Ephesians 1.”
Soli Deo Gloria indeed!
12/18/2024 – Day 178 – 1 Kings 19:22 / 1 Kings 22: 13- 28 – “Micaiah’s Message of Defeat”/ So , we have the Lord “deceiving” a prophet?
We’re going to follow this through “letting scripture testify to scripture”, both Old Testament and New Testament, but I think we will find it edifying.
First, you may want to reread this section, at least the verses associated with “The Apologetics Study Bible” commentary for this section. Let’s get started:
“22:21 Literally, ‘the spirit’ using the definite article. The most natural understanding would be the Holy Spirit. However, there is a theological problem with God being a deceiver. Some try to moderate the tone by translating the verb deceive as ‘entice’. This does not solve the problem. Both Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:7) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 14:9) spoke of the Lord deceiving a prophet, using the exact same Hebrew word as here.”
“22:22 A ‘lying spirit’ was a pun on the Hebrew word, which can mean both spirit, wind, or breath.”
“22:23. While the ‘lying spirit’ spoke through the prophets, the Lord clearly laid out the truth and Ahab had a choice whom to believe. God is truth and cannot lie. He does permit lying spirits to deceive those who will not believe the truth (2 Thessalonians 2: 5-12).” (*A)
“22:28 Micaiah appealed to the Lord’s test of the true prophet: 100 percent accuracy in prediction verifies that the prophet’s message is from the Lord (Deuteronomy 18: 21-22)
______________________________________________________
Now, let’s look at two perspectives on the same question embedded in our story: “How Can the Bible Affirm Both Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom”. The first response by Bruce A Ware , page 1054 of this Bible. Here is a link to the article:
https://kelvinho-kh.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-can-bible-affirm-both-divine.html
The second response, same title, by Wiliam Lane Craig, page 1850 of this Bible. Here is this a link to that article:
https://www.difa3iat.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/How-Can-the-Bible-Affirm-Both-Divine-Sovereignty-and-Human-Freedom-1.pdf
Insert – my comment – I agree with Casey that Luis Molina (1535-1600) offers an attractive solution to our apparent theological dilemma , left to a surface level. To me, where it really hits home is God’s unfathomable knowledge and holiness to the human mind. The three logical stages outlined starts to exhibit a congruent unity between Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom, that just did not seem possible. But, God will always be unfathomable: It is a good thing that we have an eternity to get to know Him, for that is how long it will take, praise God!
____________________________________________
Ok, one more scriptural connection to His Truth: “The Man of Lawlessness” 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-12, Our Day 224 reading. By placing “Day 224” in the title of this post, we will be able to connect the two as one, in case we missed it in this earlier go round. Let’s get started with the commentary on another instance where God is charged with deceiving people. Here is the Bible verse commentary for the reading:
“2: 11-12 On the basis of verse 11, God is sometimes charged with deceiving people. But verse 10 sets the critical context: ‘They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth… For this reason’ they experience delusion… They exchanged the truth of God for a lie’), so here: The delusions certain people experience reflect God’s response to a prior decision on their part.
And one verse outside to pick up two new testament chapters linking up on this question:
“2:13 On the question of God electing or choosing people for salvation, see the article ‘How Can the Bible Affirm Both Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom?’ (page # 1850) and the notes in Romans 9 and Ephesians 1.”
Soli Deo Gloria indeed!