Word of Encouragement (06/29/2022)
Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” (Ex. 5:22-23)
It is interesting to observe that Moses’ complaint does not stem from unbelief; rather, it comes from his firm belief in the sovereignty of God. Even though Pharaoh was the one, who increased the workload for the Hebrews in an angry response to Moses and Aaron’s request (and Moses knew this all too well; “he has done evil to this people”), Moses did not blame Pharaoh (at least, in this lament); he blamed the LORD (“O Lord, why have you done evil to this people?”). How could he do this if he did not believe that even Pharaoh’s actions were under God’s sovereign control—at least, God had the power to make something else happen?
Moses was not the only one who thought this way, was he? Why do people grow distant from God when bad things happen to them? It doesn’t matter what caused them—a natural disaster, a social upheaval, a war, a terrible accident, someone’s mistake or failure or sin, even one’s own mistake and sin—they blame God for letting it happen. They instinctively know that, if there is a true God, He has to be an all-powerful Being, who is in control of everything. And this is why so many people choose not to believe in God. If God is all-powerful and, at the same time, all good, how can He allow so many tragedies and atrocities to take place in His world? Either He doesn’t exist or He cannot be the kind of God we can trust and worship.
It is easy to fall into one of two extreme choices: either God is absolutely sovereign and therefore He is responsible for everything and man is responsible for nothing, or God doesn’t exist and it is all up to us (or fate or the laws of physics, etc.). But most Christians believe that it is some kind of “mixture” of the two—some believe that it is a cooperation between God and us, 50-50; others believe that God is 100% in charge and man is 100% responsible as well. To many, the latter seems so illogical; they wonder how that can possibly be true. But this world is full of mysteries. Then, how much more mysterious must be the being of God (the Trinity, for example) and the ways of God (His sovereign control over the world without violating man’s free will)!
We shouldn’t believe something just because it is mysterious. But the Bible seems to suggest the latter view. The Book of Exodus says both that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (4:21, 7:3, 9:12, etc.) and Pharaoh hardened his heart (8:15, 8:32, 9:35, etc.). Joseph said to his brothers, “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” (Gen. 50:20). When Peter and John were released, the disciples prayed, “...for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:27-28). The biblical message is clear: even though the deeds of the wicked are predestined by God, the wicked are still guilty of their sins. Jesus said, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come” (Luke 17:1). How this is so may be a mystery but that this is so (according to the Bible) cannot be contested.
So then, how should we live? We must remember that we are accountable to God only for His revealed will (i.e., His commandments). So then, instead of wondering what God’s secret will is (whether our sin is predestined by God or not), we should focus on doing what God’s Word says we should do. We should never presume to know what God’s secret will is and do what is against God’s law. If we should sin, we should not blame God’s predestination. Doing that would add to our sin the sin of blasphemy. Instead, we should confess and repent of our sins. Then, we have the assurance that God would bring something good, even out of our sin and failure.