I would like to thank all who contributed to the discussion. I learned a lot, and the study helped me seek out more scripture and find more scripture which helped answer any questions and doubts that I had. Previously, I had not studied much of Jeremiah, but I have found and been shown significant passages there.
Jeremiah 17:
24 “
And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully,” says the Lord, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it, 25 then shall enter the gates of this city
kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and this city shall remain forever. 26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of the Lord.
27 “
But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day,
then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”’”
Jeremiah 18:
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay
is in the potter’s hand, so
are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy
it, 8
if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant
it, 10
if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
Jeremiah 19:4 “Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents 5 (they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire
for burnt offerings to Baal,
which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind),
God speaks for himself in all this that He will act according to man's actions and choices. Even to the extent that the evil which those who sacrificed to Baal, did not come into His mind.
This by no means diminishes God, for He is omnipotent and omniscient. This shows He has chosen to deal with mankind in this way, so the responsibility for our actions is ours alone.
Again a great website on this issue is :
http://www.scriptureinsights.com/Foreknow.html