andyc
New member
This is what I (and Job) call a FWQ (Foolish Women Question). Knight's question is very similar to that of Job's wife:
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die [in other words, "what glory can come to a God who predestines Job to be attacked by Satan?"]. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.[Job 2:9,10]It happens to be exactly the God that Job knew and served. And is exactly the God that Joseph knew and served. And is exactly the God that David knew and served. Concerning the famine that happened to Jacob and his family, David writes that God authored it:
Ps 105:16 Moreover he [God] called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.
David also says that God was behind the selling of Joseph into slavery:
Ps 105:17 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
David confirms that it was alll according to God's master plan, the timing, the circumstances, everything:
Ps 105:18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: 19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.
Furthermore, David writes that God even turned the hearts of the Egyptians to hate Israel:
Ps 105:23 Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. 24 And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies. 25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.
After everything that happened to Joseph, he didn't ask the kind of FWQ that Open Theists ask. According to Knight's view, Joseph should not have thought that God would have intended and planned the evil that befell him. Because "that would make God the orchestrator of all events including" the betrayal of Joseph's brothers, his being sold into slavery, his false imprisonment by Potiphar, the forgetfulness of the Pharaoh's chief butler who could have had him freed, and the famine that happened in the land. According to Knight's view, Joseph should have followed up this summation with, "Can you imagine God designing such events?" But Joseph wouldn't ask that FWQ. Instead he said the following:
Gen 50:20 "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."
According to Knight's view, Job should never have considered that God would have intended and planned the evil that befell him, because "that would make God the orchestrator of all events," including the destruction of his property, the deaths of his family members and servants, and the disease and affliction he suffered. According to Knight's view, Job should have followed up this inventory with, "Can you imagine God designing such events?" But Job wouldn't ask that FWQ. Instead, he said the following:
Job 1:21 "And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."
When Job's wife asked the kind of question Knight asked, he rebuked her, saying:
Job 2:10 "But [Job] said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips."
If Knight and other Open Theists had been Job's friends, they would have advised Job to curse God and die. If they had been Joseph's brothers, you would have chided him for thinking that God would plan evil for good purposes. Since Open Theists cannot fathom a God who plans evil for good purposes, the logical result is that they have no grounds upon which to trust God. But the Settled Theist can truly trust God because he knows that any evil that he experiences has been planned by God for the good of His elect. The Open Theist cannot, as the Settled Theist can, "glory in tribulations also" (Ro 5:3), and "take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (2Co 12:10)." The Open Theist cannot agree with Paul, because evil is random and meaningless. The Open Theist cannot appreciate the words of David who acknowledges "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. (Ps 119:71)"
How does the Open Theist trust such a God who does not orchestrate evil for good purposes? How can they reconcile their view with the promises of Scripture? The Settled Theist can view even the worst of circumstances and evil as paling in comparison to the glory that will be revealed in us.
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Ro 8:18)."
"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (2Co 4:17)"
Great stuff!
