The Openness of God
Jer 19:5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
Jer 32:35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
Clearly these two verses are showing us that God does NOT have knowledge about every aspect of what will or will not happen. God is caught by total surprise by the actions of the nation that He, Himself, formed. Consider the five points below next time someone attempts to teach the lies of omniscience, and fatalism.
- Yahweh frequently changes his mind in the light of changing circumstances, or as a result of prayer (Exod. 32:14; Num. 14:12–20; Deut. 9:13–14, 18–20, 25; 1 Sam. 2:27–36; 2 Kings 20:1–7; 1 Chron. 21:15; Jer. 26:19; Ezek. 20:5–22; Amos 7:1–6; Jonah 1:2; 3:2, 4–10). At other times he explicitly states that he will change his mind if circumstances change (Jer. 18:7–11; 26:2–3; Ezek. 33:13–15). This willingness to change is portrayed as one of God’s attributes of greatness (Joel 2:13–14; Jonah 4:2). If the future is exhaustively already known by God, as classical theism teaches, it would be impossible for God to genuinely change his mind about matters.
- God sometimes expresses regret and disappointment over how things turned out—even occasionally over things that resulted from his own will. (Gen. 6:5–6; 1 Sam. 15:10, 35; Ezek. 22:29–31). If the future is exhaustively known by God, it would be impossible for God to genuinely regret how some of his own decisions turned out.
- At other times God tells us that he is surprised at how things turned out because he expected a different outcome (Isa. 5:3–7; Jer. 3:6-7; 19–20). If the future is exhaustively known by God, everything would come to pass exactly as God knew or determined it to be.
- Yahweh frequently tests his people to find out whether they’ll remain faithful to him (Gen. 22:12; Exod. 16:4; Deut. 8:2; 13:1–3; Judges 2:20–3:5; 2 Chron. 32:31). If the future is exhaustively known by God, He could not genuinely say he tests people “to know” to whether they’ll be faithful or not.
- YAHWEH sometimes asks non-rhetorical questions about the future (Num. 14:11; Hos. 8:5) and speaks to people in terms of what may or may not happen (Exod. 3:18–4:9; 13:17; Jer. 38:17–18, 20–21, 23; Ezek. 12:1–3). If the future is exhaustively and eternally settled, God could never genuinely speak about the future in terms of what “may” or “may not” happen.