Who Has Free Will?

The issue of God's sovereignty (supreme power and control) over the world and over the affairs of men has long been a topic of debate for philosophers, theologians, and certain schools of doctrine within Christianity (primarily Arminianism versus Calvinism). The following questions have arisen from this argument: Does man have free will? Is he God's puppet? If God does control man, then why is man held responsible for his actions? Does the doctrine of God's sovereignty make Him responsible for evil? Believe it or not, all of these queries and many more related ones can be answered without appealing to doctoral dissertations or drawn out theological expositions but simply by surveying the Scriptures themselves. In the following essay, I will peruse through and comment on scores of Bible passages that address this important matter. Afterwards, the extent to which God governs His creation should be obvious.

What the Bible Says about Free Will and God's Sovereignty

Man's professed free will versus God's sovereignty has been a dilemma for Christians over the centuries but is not currently a point of debate. This is because the free-will argument currently reigns in most church circles and in public opinion. Of course, denying God's providence over men and creation is to be expected in an age of declining God-consciousness. A pagan culture and a church infected by that paganism will not recognize God's control over all things. It will instead attribute more and more power to man's will (when his life is not directed by fate, chance, luck, etc.)

What can we draw from the Scriptures on this matter? A careful reading of the Bible will reveal that God does in fact manage all things under the sun (including the sun) as well as the actions and decisions of men. This statement may be distasteful for champions of free will, but an honest look a the Bible should be enough to confirm God's absolute sovereignty. Also remember that God's total control of the world is assumed in the Scriptures and that God's sovereignty actually undergirds the entire biblical narrative. The Scripture passages I have cited and quoted below simply emphasize this reality more emphatically.

One caution should be taken before reading on. The doctrine of God's sovereignty over all things (including, as we shall see, the decisions of men) does not mean that we don't have a will or don't make any choices and that we are mere robots or puppets. We do have a will and make choices, but those decisions are still influenced and determined by factors that are ultimately under God's control and not ours. Or as premier theologian R.J. Rushdoony has explained, whatever freedom man has, it is a secondary one. In that sense, no decision of man's will is absolutely free - there are always circumstances that direct our decisions. Meanwhile, God is the only being who has a totally free will, which is why He is God and we are not. That is also why the metaphor God uses to show His control over us is Jehovah as the potter and mankind as the clay.

Some will concede that God does on occasion intervene and interrupt a man's will, but other times He leaves it free. For those who are not willing to grant God absolute sovereignty, this admission may be acknowledged since it is described in many biblical accounts. But does God's supreme sovereignty have to be mentioned in every biblical account for it to be true? I suppose that in today's theological climate, just to get a Christian to admit that God controls a man's will in any case is a small victory for orthodoxy. Even so, the situation is more complicated than a simple pitting of man's will versus God's.

We are human beings who make our choices in light of emotions, insecurities, peer pressures, societal expectations, family expectations, moods, erroneous thoughts, our sin nature, unexpected circumstances, disasters and tragedies, unforeseen blessings, influence of friends and enemies, God's compelling Holy Spirit, and so many other factors that are out of our control. Our genetic makeup, the time of our birth and death, who our parents and families are, where we are born, what we are originally named, our personalities, what inclinations and talents and skills we may have and who we might unintentionally run into when we go about our daily business are all beyond our power as well. In this sense, our decisions are constrained and controlled by our circumstances and our limitations, and those factors are under God's control. We are really and totally at God's mercy each moment of the day and for every breath we take, so we are not really free the way we like to think we are. In other words, God's will is ultimate and not man's. The biblical record underscores this reality emphatically.

Another important point to remember is that God's sovereignty over men and all else and our responsibility for our choices and actions are both taught in the Bible. Just because God is in total control and we are not does not mean we are not accountable for every thought and action we take in our lives. We in fact will give an account for everything done in our earthly lives as the Scripture declares. This is precisely because God rules all things and has the right to demand an accounting of our lives.

God's hand is the great personal and omnipotent force behind all of history and all human and non-human activity on the earth, and yet we have to make choices each day. As humans we may have trouble fully grasping those two ideas as coexisting together. Nevertheless, we are responsible to obey His commandments and to serve Him, and we are accountable for our actions. Seen from this angle, we may suspect the theology of people who grapple with the sovereignty versus responsibility issue and use this difficulty to advance their belief in the primacy of man's free will. They also may be trying to exalt fallible human logic over God's Word and commands.

By reading the many evidences of God's sovereignty over all things and people as presented in the Bible passages below, hopefully these issues will become clearer.

God's General Power over the World

Over All Creation

Psalm 135:6 The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.

Over the Nations and People

Psalm 33:10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

Over History, Over Animals, Over Man

Isaiah 46:10-11 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.

Over Light and Darkness, Over Prosperity and Disaster

Isaiah 45:7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.

Over All the People of the Earth

Daniel 4:35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"

To Do Anything He Wants

Job 42:2 I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.

To summarize this section, God declares his absolute power over all things and people. He does whatever He wants and fulfills what He says He will, He controls the forces of good and evil, nothing can stop His purposes, there is nothing He can't do, and He stops individuals and entire nations in their plans when He decides to.

God's Will

Regarding a Visit from Paul

1 Corinthians 4:19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.

Paul realizes here that he can visit the Corinthian church only if God wills it. He also expresses a similar sentiment to the Ephesians in the Book of Acts:

Acts 18:19-21 Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.

Regarding Paul's Apostleship

2 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia...

Paul confesses here that he is an apostle of Christ only by God's will.

Regarding Spiritual Maturity

Hebrews 6:1-3 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.

The writer here admits that Christians' desire to move on from basic to more advanced teachings will happen only if God permits it.

Regarding the Future

James 4:13-15 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

In this section James tells us that we do not know the future and that we cannot do anything if it is not God's will.

In sum, these passages all show that nothing happens apart from God's will and we can do nothing if God does not will it to happen.

God's Decree

For How Long a Man Lives

Job 14:5 Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.

For Job's Life

Job 23:13-14 But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store.

Of Prophecy, of Calamities, and of Good Things

Lamentations 3:37-38 Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?

Of a Famine

2 Kings 8:1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, "Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years."

Of the Lord's Betrayal at the Hands of Judas

Luke 22:22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.

Of Nebuchadnezzar's Becoming Like an Animal for Seven Years

Daniel 4:29-37 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes." Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"

Here we learn that God decrees good events, evil events (including famines and other calamities), how long a man will live, and His plans for individuals. In the case of Nebuchadnezzar, Jehovah decreed that this proud King of Babylon would become like an animal because of his arrogance in not acknowledging God's sovereignty over him. At the end of the king's judgment, he confesses that God most definitely does "as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth."

Many professing Christians who believe strongly in man's free will may recognize God's control of the spiritual world above (powers of heaven) but rarely will they admit that God "does as He pleases" with men in the world below (all peoples of the earth). But a pagan king of Babylon did admit this. Can anybody reasonably argue that God did not violate Nebuchadnezzar's will in this instance? Was it Nebuchadnezzar's desire and will to become like a beast for seven years, or was it God's will? It is obvious here that God did impose His will on the king, and there was nothing Nebuchadnezzar could do to stop it, as he himself testifies afterwards.

God's Advance Determination

Of How Long and Exactly Where People Will Live on the Earth

Acts 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Of the Good Works That Christians Will Do

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Of What the King of the North in the Book of Daniel Would Do

Daniel 11:36 The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.

Of the Conspiracy against Jesus by Herod, Pilate, the Romans, and the Jews

Acts 4:24,27-28 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them..... Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

Of Jesus' Crucifixion at the Hands of the Jews

Acts 2:22-23 Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

Of the Time for Jesus' Capture and Death

John 7:30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.

Overall, examples of God determining events and men's actions beforehand include where and when people will live, the good works that Christians will do, His judgment of a pompous ruler, the Jews not being able to seize Christ before his time, the Jews and Gentiles (led by Herod and Pilate) conspiring against Jesus, and the Jews being given Christ to be crucified. Incidentally, we know that the Jews, "with the help of wicked men," were held responsible for crucifying the Lord, so God's foreknowledge and predetermination does not absolve men of their guilt for evil actions. God is sovereign, but we are still responsible for what we do. (Both doctrines are taught in Scripture.)

God Directly Intervening to Control Men and Circumstances

God Converts Saul of Tarsus and Appoints Him as His Chosen Slave

Acts 9:1,3-6,10,15 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples.... As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." ... For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.... In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered.... But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.

Acts 26:13-16 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' "Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' "'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.

God Controls King Abimelech and Keeps Him From Sinning

Gen 20:4,6 Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? ... Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.

God Controls and Judges the Egyptians

Isaiah 19: 2-4, 14 I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian--brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists. I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them," declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.... The LORD has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.

God Controls and Judges Those Living in Jerusalem

Jeremiah 13:13-14 ...then tell them, 'This is what the LORD says: I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. I will smash them one against the other, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them.'"

God Makes Jews Invincible and Controls their Enemies with Panic and Madness

Zechariah 12:2-4 I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the LORD. "I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.

God Controls the Babylonians and Uses Them to Execute His Judgment

Habakkuk 1:6,12 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.... O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish.

God Controls and Defeats the Amorites by Confusing Them

Joshua 10:7-10 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you." After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.

God Controls Saul's Soldiers by Putting Them to Sleep

1 Samuel 26:10-12 As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD's anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let's go." So David took the spear and water jug near Saul's head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the LORD had put them into a deep sleep.

God Controls Paul and Silas by Preventing Them from Entering a City

Acts 16:4,6-7 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe.... They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them.

These instances make strong arguments against man's supposedly free will. Saul (aka Paul) was on his way to persecuting Christians but was accosted by Christ, blinded, and appointed God's servant. Was this turn of events not against Paul's will? God also told Abimelech that He kept the King from sinning against Him and did not let him touch Sarah. This sounds like God does indeed control people. God also stirs up, hands over, and pours a "spirit of dizziness" into the Egyptians, fills kings, priests, and prophets with drunkenness and smashes them against each other, strikes horses and their riders with panic, raises up the Babylonians to execute judgment, throws armies into confusion, puts soldiers into a deep sleep, and stops people from going places. This dramatic language delivers a clear message: God controls and determines the actions of men.

God Controlling People to Accomplish His Will

God Controls the King of Assyria to Bring Him to Judgment and Death

Isaiah 37:6-7,29,37-38 Isaiah said to them, "Tell your master, 'This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard--those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! I am going to put a spirit in him so that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.'" ... Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.... So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat.

In this first example, we see that God will "put a spirit" in a person if He wants to make that individual act in a certain way. Jehovah is so adamant about punishing the king of Assyria that he speaks of putting a "hook" in his nose and a "bit" in his mouth to make him go back to his homeland. Since God clearly controls Sennacherib here to bring him to judgment at the hands of his sons, can anyone argue that the King had free will to resist God? He couldn't have, for he does return to Nineveh and is destroyed when his sons kill him. It's important to note that the language we read ("I will put a spirit..." and "I will have him cut down...") does not leave room for us to interpret God's control of Sennacherib as His "allowing the events to happen" or God "prompting" or "leading" the king. God made those things happen directly and forcefully by determining His will and imposing it upon the situation and the man.

God Controls a Widow to Feed the Prophet Elijah

1 Kings 17:9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." ... So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." ... She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.

Here, God commands a widow to feed Elijah the prophet. Some may argue that the widow had free will to respond one way or the other, but the Bible doesn't say that God would ask the widow if she would choose to obey Him. He commanded her and told Elijah that the woman would feed him and then she did it after her discussion with the prophet, which means God made her do it. If the woman had free will to resist God's command, then she could have resisted it, and then God's word to Elijah about his provision to him could have been wrong.

Others may subsequently protest that God didn't determine the widow's actions but knew what she was going to do because he knows all things. He simply foresaw her free choice. But this would mean that there is something else in the universe (such as man's will, luck, fate, the stars, etc.) that is determining events outside of God's power and plan. It also destroys the clear implication of the passage and the certainty of God's pronouncement that He commanded the widow and she would obey.

Yes, God foreknew that she would obey, but He knew it because He decreed it. Foreknowledge and predestination go together as in Romans 8:29. This does not mean that the widow was a robot or did not make a choice. It does mean that her choice was directed by God. She may not have been aware of this, but God still decreed her choice. He doesn't need human permission to determine someone's actions although the person may be choosing the action in his/her mind.

God Controls the Egyptian's Hearts So That They Hate the Israelites

Psalm 105:24-25 The LORD made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.

This passage describes what happened after after Joseph died and was forgotten by the Egyptians. God multiplied the Hebrews and turned the Egyptian's hearts against the Jews to hate them. Did the Egyptians "choose" to hate the Jews? Yes, they did. But why? It is because God turned their hearts turn against the Israelites. Note that it doesn't say He "allowed" it to happen, as many Christians often say to try and soften the force of God's power over men. God turned their hearts. That means He controlled their emotions or their disposition towards the Israelites.

God Changes the Egyptians' Attitude So That They Favor the Israelites

Exodus 12:35-36 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.

When the Jews were slaves for many generations under the oppression of Egypt, the Egyptians despised them. But during the Exodus, God suddenly changes the attitude of the Egyptians toward the Israelites so that they give their former slaves whatever they want. As the passage describes it, God made the Egyptians favor the Israelites. If this is not a clear example of God controlling the hearts and minds of people, then nothing is.

God Controlling Other Forces and People to Accomplish His Will

God uses a Storm, the Casting of Lots, and a Great Fish to Control Jonah

Jonah 1:3-4,7,15-16 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.... Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.... Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.

Jonah 1:17,2:10 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights....And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

In this first instance, Jonah attempts to escape from God and avoid His will by boarding a ship and sailing away, but God causes a sea storm to force him into obedience. Interestingly, Jonah's pagan shipmates recognize that the storm comes from a divine source as "each cried out to his own god" (Jonah 1:5). Contrast this attitude (recognition of divine power over the earth) to modern civilization. Events that were once viewed as "acts of God" (storms, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.) are now seen as random or as happenings brought about by "Mother Nature." God's sovereignty over nature is thusly replaced with faith in chance or mechanistic natural forces.

Nonetheless, the Jonah account goes on to further emphasize God's total control of earthly forces when the sailors cast lots and the lot points to Jonah. After God controlled the result of the lot, He then commanded the fish that swallowed and preserved Jonah. Did the lot fall on Jonah by chance? And could the great fish have resisted God's command to swallow Jonah? These passages make clear that such cannot be the case since God was going to use Jonah to accomplish His will.

God Uses a Hailstorm to Defeat the Amorites

Joshua 10:8,11 The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.... "As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

Here is another case where God uses the weather to accomplish His purposes. God in fact literally fought Israel's battle against the Amorites using hailstones.

God Uses a Lion to Kill a Disobedient Man of God

1 Kings 13:23-26,28 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. Some people who passed by saw the body thrown down there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived. When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, "It is the man of God who defied the word of the LORD. The LORD has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the LORD had warned him." ... Then he went out and found the body thrown down on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey.

Here God uses another animal to carry out His purposes in judgment, this time a lion. The narrative describes events as they happened with the lion meeting the man of God and killing him. So how does the old prophet interpret this occurrence? He says that because the man of God defied God's word, "The Lord has given him over to the lion." This judgment is definitely not portrayed as an accident but as God sovereignly controlling an animal to bring about a specific punishment. To accentuate God's control over the situation, the lion is described as not having eaten the dead body or touching the donkey, which we would normally expect.

God Uses a Lying Spirit to Control and Kill Ahab

1 Kings 22:20-23,29-34,38-39 And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?' "One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.' "'By what means?' the LORD asked. "'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. "'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.' "So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you." ... So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, "Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel." When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, "Surely this is the king of Israel." So they turned to attack him, but when Jehoshaphat cried out, the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel and stopped pursuing him. But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, "Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I've been wounded." ... So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there. They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed), and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the LORD had declared.

In this case, God has determined to judge King Ahab by enticing him into a battle where he would be killed. God thusly commands a spirit to accomplish His will by causing Ahab's prophets to lie to him, reaffirming His control over the spiritual world and over men. Ahab is even told by Micaiah the Prophet that God would use the lying spirit to destroy him, but the King of Israel decides to attack Ramoth Gilead anyways. His plan is to go into the battle in disguise with Jehoshaphat the sacrificial lamb dressed in his kingly robes. In Ahab's mind, this scheme would deceive the enemy army into killing Jehoshaphat instead of him.

Apparently, Ahab believed that his supposed free will and clever (but cowardly) plot would prevail over God's decree. And when the enemy King of Aram orders his chariot commanders to focus exclusively on Israel's king, they do mistakenly target Jehoshaphat. But God does not allow Ahab to escape death. According to the passage, the enemy chariot drivers recognize Jehoshaphat as not being Ahab and subsequently leave him alone. Then a lone arrow is shot by an unidentified soldier and amazingly finds an opening in Ahab's armor.

So is this unexpected bowshot a "random" occurrence? Actually, in the expression "someone drew his bow at random," the word translated as random in the NIV comes from the Hebrew word "tom," which according to Gesenius' Lexicon, means "in innocence" or "simplicity of mind" ... "without any evil purpose." We shouldn't expect the Hebrew Old Testament scribes to use a term denoting the existence of chance in the universe as opposed to God's omnipotence, and this is clearly the case. The soldier did not intend to kill Ahab with his bow (which is what the word tom indicates) but God did, so Jehovah controlled both the man and the arrow. Undoubtedly, God does not share His power and sovereignty over men and events with the imaginary forces of luck and chance.

God Uses an Evil Spirit to Torment Saul

1 Samuel 16:14-15,23 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.... Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

This passage gives us another example of how God controls the forces of evil for His purposes. Saul is under God's judgment, so God sends an evil spirit to torment him. Besides further demonstrating God's sovereignty over all things, Jehovah's power over the evil spirit destroys the myth of Manichean dualism. This heresy teaches that the struggle between light and darkness is a conflict between two co-equal divine forces of good and evil. In reality, God rules supremely over the physical and spiritual world so that Satan and evil spirits are subordinate entities that cannot do anything outside of God's decree.

Events Later Revealed to Have Taken Place Because of God's Plan

God Instigates King Rehoboam's Response to the People's Request for Leniency

1 Kings 12:13-15 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

The key phrase in this passage is "for this turn of events was from the Lord." Apparently, the Lord's will was for the king to remain stubborn and unresponsive to the people so that God's word would be fulfilled. It is implied that God was behind Rehoboam's decision.

God Instigates Samson's Desire for a Philistine Woman

Judges 14:3-4 His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?" But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me." (His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)

Again, the central concept behind a man's decision is "this was from the Lord." Samson was insistent about marrying a Philistine woman against the wishes of his parents and against the social and moral custom of His people. But beyond Samson's unusual desire, another factor is credited as the overriding force: God's will. How else can these verses be interpreted?

God Instigates Saul's Suicide as a Punishment for Disobedience

1 Chronicles 10:3-4,13-14 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him. Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and abuse me." But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.... Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

According to this account, Saul fell on his own sword and killed himself. However, in the same chapter we are later told that the Lord put him to death. This seems to indicate that although a person may appear to be acting independently of God, Jehovah is ultimately behind human behaviors. Or at least He was with Saul. Perhaps it could also be said that because Saul was unfaithful to God, the Lord made sure that he was put to death -- by suicide.

God Defeating Men or Shaping Their Lives and Actions

God Warns Amaziah about His Power to Overthrow and Determines His Death

2 Chronicles 25:5,7-8 Amaziah called the people of Judah together ... He then mustered those twenty years old or more and found that there were three hundred thousand men ready for military service, able to handle the spear and shield. But a man of God came to him and said, "O king, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the LORD is not with Israel--not with any of the people of Ephraim. Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.

2 Chronicles 25:14-16 When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them. The anger of the LORD burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, "Why do you consult this people's gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?" While he was still speaking, the king said to him, "Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?" So the prophet stopped but said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel."

2 Chronicles 25:17,19-20,27 After Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, he sent this challenge to Jehoash [fn] son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel: "Come, meet me face to face."But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah ... You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, and now you are arrogant and proud. But stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?" Amaziah, however, would not listen, for God so worked that he might hand them over to [Jehoash], because they sought the gods of Edom.... From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there.

God Is Described As the Potter and People as Clay in His Hand

Isaiah 29:16,45:9,64:8 You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"? ... "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'? ... Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does? declares the LORD. Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

Romans 9:21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

God Chooses People and Brings Them Near to Him

Psalm 65:4 Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.

God Controls a Man's Words

Proverbs 16:1 To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.

God Controlling and Changing Hearts and Minds

God Forms The Hearts of All People

Psalm 33:13-15 From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth--he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

God Directs the Hearts of All Kings

Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

God Controls the Hearts of Caesar and the Roman Empire's Provincial Rulers

Revelation 17:16-17 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled.

God Controls the Hearts of Pagan King Cyrus and the Jews to Build the Temple

Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing ... Anyone of his people among you--may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.... Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites--everyone whose heart God had moved--prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.

God Controls the Heart of Pagan King Artaxerxes to Fund the Temple's Operation

Ezra 7:21,23,27 Now I, King Artaxerxes, order all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you ... Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven.... Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king's heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem in this way...

God Controls King Sihon By Making His Heart Stubborn and Obstinate

Deuteronomy 2:30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done.

God Controls Pharaoh By Hardening His Heart Continually

Exodus 4:21, 7:3, 9:12, 10:1, 10:20, 10:27, 11:10, 14:4 The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.... But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt ... But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.... Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them ... But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go....But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go.... Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.... And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.

God Controls and Destroys the Egyptians by Hardening Their Hearts

Exodus 14:17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.

God Hardens the Hearts of Israel's Enemies So He Can Destroy Them

Joshua 11:18-20 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

God Punishes His People by Hardening Their Hearts and Making Them Stray

Isaiah 63:17 Why, O LORD, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance.

God Blinds the Spiritual Eyes and Deadens the Hearts of the Unbelieving Jews

Isaiah 6:9 He said, "Go and tell this people: "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

John 12:38-40 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: "Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: "He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn--and I would heal them."

God Sends a Delusion to the Minds of Those Who Refuse to Love the Truth

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

God Changes the Hearts of His People in Salvation

Ezekiel 11:19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

God Separates His People from the Nations and Causes Them to Follow His Laws

Ezekiel 36:23-27 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

God Makes His Light Shine in the Hearts of His People

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

God Puts a Desire in the Heart of Titus to Direct His Actions

2 Corinthians 8:16-17 But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord.

God Sovereign over Revelation, Salvation, and Damnation

God Had Chosen and Predestined His People Before the World Was created

Ephesians 1:4-5,11 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will ... In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will ...

God Appointed Christians to Receive Salvation

1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

People Are Appointed for Eternal Life Ahead of Time

Acts 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

Jesus Gives Repentance and Forgiveness to His People

Acts 5:31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

God Gives the Gift of Salvation and People Cannot Access It Themselves

Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.

God Grants Repentance to People

2 Timothy 2:24-25 And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.

God Gives the Gift of Salvation and Grants Repentance to the Gentiles

Acts 11:17-18 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."

Christians are Born of God and Not of a Human Decision

John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

God Foreknew, Reserved, and Chose a Remnant for Himself but Hardened Others

Romans 11:2-8 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel: "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me." And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day."

God Has Mercy or Hardens Those He Wants To - Man's Effort Doesn't Matter

Exodus 33:19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

Romans 9:11-12,15-18,22-23 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls--she was told, "The older will serve the younger." ... For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.... What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath--prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory...

God Has Predestined Christians to Be Conformed to Jesus' Image

Romans 8:28-30 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

God's Secret Wisdom Was Destined for Christians' Glory Before Time Began

1 Corinthians 2:7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

God Gives Christians Spiritual Birth (Salvation) through His Word

James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

The Father Reveals Truth to His Children and Jesus Reveals the Father to Them

Matthew 11:25-27 At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Jesus Gives Eternal Life to Those God Has Given Him and Reveals God to Them

John 17:1-2,6,9,12,25-26 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.... “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.... I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.... While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.... “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

The Father Gives Jesus the Lives of People and Jesus Keeps Them to the End

John 6:37,39 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.... And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

Jesus Gives Spiritual Life (Salvation) to Those Whom He Is Pleased to Give It

John 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

Jesus Gives His Sheep (Christians) Eternal Life and No One Can Take It Away

John 10:27-29 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

God Calls and Leads His Sheep (Christians) - They Know His and Jesus' Voice

John 10:2-4,16 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.... I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

Jesus Has Chosen His Disciples to Bear Spiritual Fruit

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.