#385 — Should God Have Let Hezekiah Live? Who’s To Blame?
It interests me how many questions we ask about God — and ask God directly — come back to the question of what does God know, what does He control, and who is to blame when things go wrong. Here is another such question that was waiting in my inbox at tentpegsquestion@yahoo.com.
While reading about Hezekiah and his prayer for longer life, I couldn’t help but notice that Manasseh was born within the extra 15 years. Obviously pride was a bit of an issue for Hezekiah during that 15 years and it seems that he wasn’t able to instill in Manasseh what he needed to. And when we see how serious Manasseh’s sin was (2 Kings 21:10 and on) and even directly after the praise of Josiah, we hear again about the sin of Manasseh (2 Kings 23:26 and on), my question is…did God make a mistake? Is it possible there was some regret here?
A quick backstory: Hezekiah was the 14th king over Judah. He witnessed the fall of the Northern Kingdom and defended Jerusalem against invasion but he is best known for establishing religious reforms, removing idols and the altars to pagan gods and encouraging worship of Yahweh. He became ill and God told him through Isaiah that the illness was a terminal one. He mourned and cried and asked for God to reverse His decision. God responded to Hezekiah’s prayer and extended his life (after stopping Isaiah before he cleared the palace to tell him He had changes His mind, sending the prophet back in to the king to tell him the good news).
Hezekiah had a son who was the first king of Judah who had never seen anything of a united Israel. He co-reigned with Manasseh for several years before his eventual death, leaving his son to enjoy the longest reign of any king of Judah – 55 years. He is best known for reversing the religious reforms of his father and encouraging the worship of pagan deities throughout Judah. In Second Chronicles 33:12-14, he repents and is apparently forgiven. This is not mentioned in Kings and may be an addition made by the Chronicler who put together this history from various sources during and after the Babylonian captivity and some view this “happy ending” as suspect. Regardless…
There is no question that Manasseh was bad for Judah and set them on a course of destructive behavior that would plague them for hundreds of years. So, did God make a mistake in allowing Hezekiah to live?
This is actually a fantastic thought exercise. If God hears the prayers of His people and if God cares about us and promises to act in our behalf, what happens if He gives us what we want and it turns out to be bad for us? Should God only give us what we request when the result is absolutely perfect and good in our lives and in the universe? Think about that for a moment. If I ask God to help me repair my truck’s transmission and He helps me find the money and the right repair shop, is He responsible if I later decide to drive drunk and T-bone a car at a four way stop killing an entire family?
The Hezekiah-Manasseh question is not some academic exercise but a real life question. How many people ask for a child year after year and finally get a child through procreation or adoption? Once that child is given to them, their prayers are answered. Now… does that make God responsible for everything that child and its children and its grandchildren (et cetera ad infinitum) do?
Some religious systems would say “yes!” They believe God knows every single thing that is going to happen in the future and, much more than just knowing, He planned it. John Piper has recently said some outrageous and horrible things about God and the shootings of children in Connecticut… but he HAS to to continue to teach Calvinism and his version of predestination. As all of those of you who read Tentpegs regularly know, I am not a Calvinist. I introduced many of you to Gregory Boyd’s amazing book, “God at War” and wrote a series of blogs about it (do a simple search and you’ll find it). God and modern, quantum physics are in agreement that the future is not settled and entirely planned out. God will do what God has decided to do and He will move players and nations about as necessary to get what He wants, but that is a long way from saying that everything in our lives’ future is known and planned.
God gave me two children. Some people who have known me all my life might have accused God of being irresponsible to do such a thing, but He did it anyway. I made mistakes with both of them. Both of them have sinned. I happen to be immensely proud of both of them, their lives, their faith, and their characters but it would be ridiculous to assert that they have not erred and caused pain or disruption to others. Is God to blame for that since He gave those children to my wife and me in response to our prayers? Of course not! I am to blame for my mistakes and my children are to blame for theirs.
But – some may counter – if God KNEW they were going to make those mistakes or even do some terrible thing, doesn’t He bear responsibility for the answer to prayer that put them on the planet? Again, the questioner assumes that God knows every decision every human is going to make and they assume that God is responsible for what we decide to do. I would dispute both of those assumptions vigorously.
To up the ante, some would then say that God could have (and SHOULD have) stopped the shooter before he entered the school. I understand that impulse and agree that, if I were God, I would have stopped him. But that shows more my ignorance of what it means to be God than my “superior” instincts. Let’s not even get into the “what would those kids done to the world in a negative way in their lives” or “this way they were assured of heaven when if they’d been allowed to grow up, who knows?” discussion. Those are the kind of arguments Calvinists are forced into but I see no need to go there. The fact is – God allows us to make our own decisions and unleash love or pain on the planet. It is His desire that enough of us choose Jesus and live accordingly that this planet and its people are redeemed. And if He intervened all the time, that would be horrible.
Think about it: you thank God for the food you are about to eat and then He won’t let you eat your favorite part of the meal because you have this or that health condition. You are late for the airport but he won’t let you drive faster. You are not allowed to have an evil thought, an impure impulse, or a daydream about health, wealth, sex, etc. We would be a world of Stepford Wives and the whole message of that book was that you might think you’d like that kind of arrangement but when you see it in person it becomes horrific.
I’m thinking about going to Chipotle for lunch later today. I will ask God for safe passage through the streets of Colorado Springs and I will thank Him for my food. And He will let me eat it even though it might not have been the best choice for me… if I get there at all, for others on the road have free will, too, and they might exercise theirs in a way that would impede my safe arrival at the restaurant. I understand that. But I don’t blame God.
January 31st, 2013 at 7:52 pm
Thanks again. Two in a row. Cool.
I am in complete agreement and I have to just toss out there that I don’t assume the two things mentioned in the 8th (or so) paragraph.
I guess I gravitated to this question simply based on the specificity of God’s answer to Hezekiah and the subsequent results as it pertained to the whole of Judah.
And I do believe that this broke God’s heart. We see throughout the scriptures of God’s unfailing love for us and the pain he feels when we turn from him.
Always uplifting to read Patrick. Thank you!
January 31st, 2013 at 10:32 pm
My theory is Hezekiah was too busy trying to finish everything he could in his 15 years to spend time raising his son. Since Hezekiah knew he would be dead in exactly 15 years, I’m sure that gave him an unprecedented sense of urgency.
I’m sure another lesson we can draw from this is knowing how much time you have left is not a good thing. It will skew your focus severely.
February 1st, 2013 at 3:49 am
Eric, I am 51 years old and have approx 1.5 years left to live. I do not feel my focus is severely skewed. It does effect people differently. All of us are different . Just speaking from my point of view. Praying for a cure though!
February 1st, 2013 at 7:08 pm
Above Patrick wrote the following “You are not allowed to have an evil thought, an impure impulse, or a daydream about health, wealth, sex, etc. We would be a world of Stepford Wives and the whole message of that book was that you might think you’d like that kind of arrangement but when you see it in person it becomes horrific.”
When this life is over and we are with the LORD will we — have an evil thought, an impure impulse, or a daydream about health, wealth, sex, etc? Will we be Stepford wives? Will we have lost our supposedly “free” will?
I actually look forward to the day when I no longer have a fallen nature and the depraved desires that go hand in glove with it. We have been given spiritual life and a new heart but we are still living in the already and not yet.
Calvinism isn’t the demonic thing you sometimes make it out to be.
Hesed,
Randall
Romans 7: 14-25 from the NASB on line
14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold [a]into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21 I find then the [b]principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God [c]in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in [d]the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner [e]of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from [f]the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
Footnotes:
Romans 7:14 Lit under sin
Romans 7:21 Lit law
Romans 7:22 Or concerning
Romans 7:23 Lit my members
Romans 7:23 Lit in
Romans 7:24 Or this body of death
February 3rd, 2013 at 12:18 am
Why would Paul feel wretched if he had no choice? Is God really so cruel as to make us feel the guilt of sin we are bound to make without any recourse or change on our part? Why would He so earnestly plead with Israel in Ezekiel 18 to turn and live if they were bound to their sins by His sovereign will? Why is there ever a call for repentance? Forgive me but I don’t understand the strict Calvinist view though I never doubt the majesty and supremacy of God.
February 4th, 2013 at 2:47 am
Hi David,
As you said, you “don’t understand.” You seem to jumping to the typical conclusions/arguments of those who simply talk about a straw man version of Calvinism and then blow the straw man down – such as we have no choice if God is sovereign. If you affirm the sovereignty of God you may decide to become more familiar with the doctrine. You may want to read Romans 9:1-23 as a place to begin.
Hesed,
Randall
February 5th, 2013 at 4:27 pm
Hello Randall,
A few thoughts:
Note that I was addressing “strict Calvinism” not the entire range of teaching or beliefs associated with Calvin. The arguments may be “straw men” but they weren’t of my origin; they’ve been either presented to me by folks who claimed to be Calvinist or found in some writings whose authors clearly had Calvinsit leanings. Instead of “don’t understand” , I should have said “don’t agree with” and it appears you don’t either.
With respect to Romans 9, I find this to be a necessary part of Paul’s argument started in chapter 1. Once he proved that salvation is by faith (which leads to obedience according to Rom. 1:5 and Rom. 16:26 – very consistent with James), he had to address the question, “What about all those promises God made, then?” This is exactly what Paul addresses in chapters 9 – 11, since the character and nature of God would be in question if He broke a promise and this faith-based salvation were not part of the original plan. Chapter 9 is an excellent place to find more about the unchanging nature of God’s promises against the capriciousness of humanity. But it is only part of the argument present in the book.
My objections to Calvinism come from the conclusions I’ve heard presented based on this text (and others.) Like Patrick, I find too many statements in Scripture as a whole that Calvinism doesn’t address, sometimes even diminishing a certain passage while emphasizing others. A lot seems to get swept under the rug when the phrase “sovereignty of God” is used.
Again, only my thoughts. God blessings be with you.
February 5th, 2013 at 6:36 pm
Hi David,
Calvinism is one understanding of scripture and places tremendous weight on the sovereignty of God. Like all other understandings, it falls short of answering all our questions and leaving us completely satisfied. All of us place more weight on some scriptures and less on others, and none of us gets it exactly right. We are all finite creatures attempting to understand an infinite creator.
I make real choices and I really am responsible for the choices I make. This does nothing to diminish my view that from eternity past God knew me and and all I would ever do and think. I believe (the scriptures teach) He chose me b/c it pleased him to do so – not b/c of anything he foresaw in me that was better than any other person. My salvation is all of grace.
May god be gracious to us both and put it in our hearts to seek Him; and in seeking Him to know Him better, and in knowing Him better to love Him more, and in loving Him more to be more obedient to his precepts.
Hesed,
Randall
February 3rd, 2013 at 2:47 am
Calvinism is one of our efforts to explain what our tradition cannot. Which is: How can God let this continue? The birthrate is now 334,000 per day. We’ve long believed that most will go to hell. So every 3 days, a million more new babies are hell-bound. Population enthusiasts have estimated 100 billion people born since the beginning. No bliss of the saved is worth it. Darkness and void were far better. Our tradition is wrong. God can be surprised, sad, and disappointed – same as we are with our children – but he’s not finished. When his judgments are in the earth, the earth will learn righteousness (Is. 26:9). The whole purpose of the resurrection is to face those judgments. It’s fundamental to the good tidings for all people. Our quest is to be saved from God’s wrath which will be felt in those judgements.
February 4th, 2013 at 3:42 pm
I have been a part of nearly 20 churches in my time in the military and other travels. I used to teach a 13 week Bible class on “Why People Do Not Understand The Bible Alike.” Although I presented 13 of the thousand assumptions with which people “understand” the Bible, the problem is neither God or the Bible. The problem is human assumptions. And it seems to me that the greatest problem about the subject of the why or why not of God acting or not acting is the myriad of assumptions about the nature of God.
Philosopher, Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, who also had a strong belief in God, taught, and I think rightly so, that God had created the best possible world. I agree. But we need to think of the implications of that when we discuss subjects like this one. If God made a world that is the best of all possibilities, what are the implications for humans, for humans actions including beliefs, and for humans’ relationships with God? As long as humans have free will, there will be not only bad things happen, there will be bad people.
March 6th, 2013 at 7:36 pm
It’s not about us, it’s about what Jesus has already done. It is finished! No more striving, no more working, only rest in him. Eyes on Jesus and off of ourselves. Right believing, faith in the Son of God is our only hope!