57 from captivity, He was merely suggesting a possibility to Moses with no intention of actually going down that path. His ultimate purpose was to (1) test Moses by giving him the opportunity to intercede and (2) show mercy and grace to His people Israel. God could never have set aside His covenant promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and still remain true to His character. As such, we must not conclude that Moses altered God’s original plan toward Israel; rather, he in fact carried it out, for it was always the Lord’s will to withhold final judgment on this particular occasion (“And the Lord relented of the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people” — Ex. 32:14) as indicated by the outcome (see also, God’s similar interaction with King Ahab in 1 Kings 21:25–29 and King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:1–7). As we can see from Scripture, God is the protagonist in history — and He alone is the measure of all things. Here is the reason why: The Lord is not merely more powerful than we, He is all-powerful, and in being all-powerful, He is sovereign over all things; and being sovereign over all things, He controls all things that come to pass. Thus, there can be no contingency — no chance occurrences, no blind fortune or “dumb luck” — in His universe for even “the lot is cast into the lap but its every decision is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:33). All things — even seemingly “random” events — happen because He has ordained them so, and no clay vessel can thwart the Potter’s will (Rom. 9). Only for this reason, then, does history have overarching purpose and meaning: because all historical events were planned by God and ultimately bear our Lord’s seal of approval. Divine Grace and the Human Will God’s sovereign control over our lives by no means constitutes blind determinism, where individuals — like Sophocles’ tragic character Oedipus — valiantly strive against their grim destiny but are hopelessly overcome by it. Quite the contrary, according to Scripture, we freely choose all that we do, yet we do so in circumstances that God has arranged for us, for according to the psalmist, “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me” (Ps. 139:5). Moreover, we cannot blame our unrighteous actions on God who controls all things for He never tempts us with evil nor does He entice us to sin (James 1:13); rather, we are tested by God, but tempted by Satan, for “God is faithful” and does not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability but, instead, “provides the way of escape” (1 Cor. 10:13). So, when we do sin, we are at fault, having been “lured and enticed by [our] own desire” (James 1:14).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=