Biblical Predestination Part 2: Foreknowledge

"God knows the end from the beginning and he can do whatever he wants" <---

Can I show you an instance where God foresaw something happening and it did not happen?






1 "Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”

2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and [a]attack these Philistines?”

And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”

3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the Lord once again.

And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah." [1 Sam. 23:1-4]


<-- God told David that He will deliver the Philistines into his hand as he asked... he foreknew it and it happened


however....


"When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”

And the Lord said, “He will come down.”


12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah [b]deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”


And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.”


13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition." [1 Dam 23:9-13]


<-- David asked two things now

  1. Will Saul come down?
  2. Will the people of Keilah hand him over.


God said yes to both.  It never happened.  David CHOOSE to slip away and Saul never came down.


This shows

  1. Foreknowledge does not necessitate divine predestination. God foresaw a possibility... He foresees lots of possibilities.  Man still can choose to do or not do his will
  2. That which never happens can be foreknown by God, but  it is not predestined, since it never happened
  3. Since foreknowledge does not require predestination, foreknown events that happen may or may not have been predestined.
  4. This goes against foreknowledge requires predestination, so everything must be predestined from the fall to the holocaust.


God may foreknow an event and predestine that event, but predestination does not necessarily include the decisions that lead up to that event.  In other words, God may know and predestine the end - that something is going to ultimately happen, without predestining the means to that end.  1 Kings 22:13-23 shows this also.


Please sure to read the entire Blog Series on Biblical Destination 

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