Greetings to all. I know it's been a while since my last post. In August we completed a survey through the Gospel of John with regard to the doctrine of election. A number of you expressed the need for time to get caught up, so it seemed like a reasonable time for a respite.
From here on, my plan, Lord willing, is to send out occasional posts that I hope will be of interest to you.
Book update
My book, God's Elect: The Chosen Generation which details a unique, encouraging, biblical understanding of the doctrine of election in the New Testament, is in the typesetting phase of publication. No release date has been set as of yet. I'll keep you posted.
Divine Determinism
R.C. Sproul, a well-known pastor and teacher who passed away several years ago, enjoyed testing his seminary students by reading this statement from the Westminster Confession:
“God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and immutably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; . . .”
He would then ask his students, "How many of you believe that statement?" Quite of few of the hands would go up. Then he would ask, "How many of you don't believe that statement?" A number of hands would go up. Then he would ask, "How many of you are atheists?" Of course, no hands were raised.
He would feign a look of puzzlement and state that he couldn't understand why those who don't believe that statement from the Westminster Confession didn't raise their hands when asked if they were atheists. Of course, his goal was to convey his position that anyone who doesn't believe that God has preordained every event that comes to pass, must be an atheist. In other words, his position was that the belief that God has foreordained and controls everything that happens in this world/universe, was a requisite for believing in the God of the Bible. He taught that a deity who does not control all, is certainly not the sovereign God of the Scriptures.
This concept of God's sovereignty, that is, the belief that a sovereign God meticulously controls all things, is often called "divine/theological determinism" or "meticulous providence". In effect, it presupposes a definition of "sovereignty" that requires the predetermination and control of everything that happens. But is this view of God biblical?
This is a huge topic, but I wanted to scratch the surface with today's post.
Who did What? - Genesis 50:20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:20 ESV)
The verse above is often cited as a proof-text for divine determinism or meticulous providence. In this verse, Joseph is speaking to his brothers, who, years earlier, out of jealousy and anger, threw Joseph into a well and sold him to Midianite traders, who in turn, sold him Potiphar, the captain of the Egyptian guard (Gen 37:12-36).
In Gen 50:20, Joseph tells his brothers that their act of treachery, although intended for evil against him, was "meant" (ESV)/"intended" (NIV) for good by God. Indeed, the amazing events that ensued allowed Joseph's position in Egypt to be instrumental in saving many from a severe famine.
To those who subscribe to the doctrine of divine determinism, this verse is often cited to support the notion that the entire event was preordained and orchestrated by God. To put it another way, they would say that Gen 50:20 is evidence that even the nefarious acts of the brothers were brought about by God in order to achieve his greater purposes, the salvation of many.
Not So Fast
There can be no doubt that the brothers intended (had a mindset) to harm Joseph, but is it true that God was responsible for the brothers' sinful actions to accomplish his purposes? Was it in God's mind from the beginning to make this happen? Not necessarily.
The problem with that interpretation has to do with the Hebrew word "châshab", translated in the ESV as "meant" both times it is used in Gen 50:20 ("you [the brothers] meant it for evil. . ., but God meant it for good. . . ") While it is clear that it was the brothers intention/mindset to do harm, it does not necessarily support a pre-planning of the event by God.
The word "châshab" is used twelve times in the book of Exodus (same author as Genesis), most often in reference to the skillful crafting of the tabernacle furnishings. Note that such a use of "châshab" has nothing to do with a predisposition or predetermined mindset. It is a reference to the subsequent action of fashioning, shaping, crafting, of the material given to a skillful worker.
So I believe that rather than an event that was pre-planned by God, we can understand Gen 50:20 as the act of a God who fashioned the evil workings of the brothers into something beautiful - the salvation of many. This aligns perfectly with our understanding of the God of the Bible who "works all things together for good" (Rom 8:28), or who reshapes the clay based on the actions of the nations (Jer 18:1-10) or of the individual (2 Tim 2:21).
Final Thought
The Bible is full of exceptions to the rule. Can/did God predetermine future events and bring them about? Of course (Acts 2:22-23). Can God do whatever pleases him, including override our own will? Of course (Gen 20:6). But is that how God typically operates in our lives?
There is no doubt that God has predetermined certain events - especially those directly related and necessary for the success of his plan of redemption (Acts 2:23). But a God who pre-plans evil as a general modus operandi is foreign to the pages of Scripture. With this understanding in mind, it seems much more reasonable to see Genesis 50:20 as a description of the God who, out of his love for us, fashions/shapes/crafts ("châshab") the evil done in the minds of men, into something good.
In other words, man breaks the eggs; God makes the omelet.
Next Post: Here's a link. https://www.bibleinsights.net/post/human-infrastructure
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