Now we are going to run into the problem of being in agreement and not understanding each other. So is the way of forums.
God knew Jeremiah in the womb, ordaining him a prophet. (God planned)
David saying God knows the paths behind and before me. (God knows)
No Major, God declared and spoke what it will be, in every one of those verses. It's hard to not mess that up.
I'll explain it one more time Major.
Each person is made with a purpose. God does not blindly drop people on earth then gain some foreknowledge later about them. It's a plan.
Each person needs to find that plan. The plan is not foreknowledge, it's a plan.
The donkey that showed up for Jesus was not foreknowledge, it was spoken to happen. Jesus however needed to follow the plan to run into the Donkey.
Elijah was told to go to the river to be fed by birds. It was not that God knew a bunch of birds would happen to gather there, but God sent the birds to bring bags of McDonald's.
Your having to come to terms with wanting to believe we have free will but if that is the case then God does not have foreknowledge unless we follow his plan.
If God has foreknowledge before we are placed in the womb, then it's no longer foreknowledge but Calvinism.
God has never made a bad choice, yet, he had to remove Saul as King, Eli from his house of worship, and the list goes on.
The plan is perfect but man is not so perfect.
God knows us by our heart, and his Wisdom. Not by foreknowledge of just some fortune telling ability.
Saying to Moses, I suspect it will take a heavy hand against Pharaoh. God knows this because God knows Pharaoh.
Gen 18:21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
Just answer this this Major............... Two easy scriptures. At what point does God know here?
We agree there is a plan, it's set. God knows the start for us and the end of the path for us. I can prove that in scripture.
what happens when Man does not follow that Path Major?
Explain those two scriptures.
You claim I misunderstand them, so be my guest, explain away. I have more when your finished.
It's going to lead back to God is Love, His thoughts and plans are of peace for us, no foreknowledge or plans to destruction. God always responds to the actions and heart of man. Not some distant foreknowledge of man. Wisdom and heart, not fortune telling.
We have a free will.
Yes we have a free will my brother! Lets see what we can do with he verse you have asked about.
Gen 18:21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not,
I will know.
Mike, the kind of language found in Genesis 18:21 actually is present throughout Scripture. As early as Genesis chapter three, God asked Adam,
“Where are you?” (3:9). In Genesis four, He asked Cain, “
Where is Abel your brother?” (4:9). The book of Job reveals that at the beginning of God’s first speech to Job, God asked the patriarch, “
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (38:4). Are we to assume questions like these or statements like those found in Genesis 22:12 and 18:21 (“I will know”) imply a lack of knowledge on God’s part?
I mean that is what you are saying. Now, allow me to tell you something that you do not seem to know. The world renown
atheist Dan Barker, has used the exact same argument that you are trying to use. He alleged in a February 12, 2009 debate with Kyle Butt (Christian Apologist) that the Bible paints a contradictory picture of God and His knowledge. Whereas some scriptures indicate that God knows the future, supposedly, the God of the Bible cannot exist because other passages reportedly teach that God does not know the future.
Barker said:
"Look what God said after he stopped it ( Abraham's sacrifice)....... He said: “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for I know now, I now know, that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld thy son.”
I know now? I thought God knew everything. The Bible says God knows the future but here He is saying, “I didn’t even know.” The Bible even says that God searches and understands all the imaginations of the heart. The God of the Bible does not know the future (2009).
I thought you might be interested in the fact that atheist's are using the same thought pattern as you are. Strange bedfellows IMO.
Anyway.....What father, having seen his son dent a car door, would imply ignorance by asking, “
Who did that?”
Obviously, the father did not ask the question to obtain information, but to see if the son would admit to something the father knew all along. On occasion, Jesus used questions or made statements for the same purpose. When He questioned the Pharisees’ disciples and the Herodians regarding whose inscription was on a particular coin, it clearly was not because He did not know (Matthew 22:15-22). Likewise, when Jesus asked the multitude that thronged Him, “Who touched Me?” (Luke 8:45), it was not because the woman who touched Him was hidden from Him (Luke 8:47). Jesus knew the woman who was made well by touching His garment before she confessed to touching Him (Mark 5:32). His question was intended to bring attention to her great faith and His great power (Mark 5:34).
In no way are the questions God asks or the statements He makes an indication of Him being less than omniscient.
Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him:
for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
If you read my response to Genesis 18:21, you have pretty much the answer for Genesis 22:12.
The Bible’s usage of phrases such as
“now I know” (Genesis 22:12) or
“I will know” (Genesis 18:21)
in reference to God actually are for the benefit of man. Throughout the Bible, human actions (such as “learning”) frequently are attributed to God for the purpose of helping us better understand His infinity. When Jehovah “came down to see the city and the tower” built at Babel (Genesis 11:5), it was not for the purpose of gaining knowledge. Anthropomorphic expressions such as these are not meant to suggest that God is not always fully aware of everything.
Rather, as in the case of Babel, such wording was used to show that He was “officially and judicially taking the situation under direct observation and consideration”. Almighty God visited Sodom and Gomorrah likely “for appearance’ sake, that men might know directly that God had actually seen the full situation before He acted in judgment”. “These cities were to be made ensamples to all future ages of God’s severity, and therefore ample proof given that the judgment was neither rash nor excessive (Ezek 18:23; Jer 18:7)”.
I do hope this helps your understanding.