Foreknowledge by Joel Hayes - Library of Theology

clearly indorses the doctrine that men cannot do otherwise than God foreknows they will do.
Jeremiah 1:18, 19, 7:27-29; Ezekiel 3:7. In these places it is merely said, "They shall fight against
these," "The house of Israel will not hearken unto thee." The reason for this has already been given, and
it is repeated in Ezekiel 3:7, viz., "For all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted." the impudence
and hard-heartedness of the house of Israel had already been chosen, and the Lord merely foretold their
necessary results.
Ezekiel 24:13, 14. "Because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged
from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee." Because the Lord had given them
opportunities for repentance, and they had not repented, he did not intend that any additional motive for
change of conduct should occur till he had punished them.
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Will, Part II., Section XI., p. 62.
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Micaiah foretold the foolish and sinful conduct of Ahab, in refusing to hearken to the word
of the Lord by him, and choosing rather to hearken to the false prophets, in going to Ramoth Gilead
to his ruin, 1 Kings 21:20-22. 232
The history of this case shows clearly that before Ahab sent for Micaiah he had determined not to
hearken to him. Of course, the Lord knew that past determination and its necessary result, viz., that Ahab
would go and fall at Ramoth gilead; but this does not prove that he foreknew any free volition.
The moral conduct of Hazael was foretold, in that cruelty he should be guilty of; on which
Hazael says, What, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing! The prophet speaks of the
event as what he knew, and not what he conjectured, 2 Kings 8:12. I know the evil that thou wilt do
unto the children of Israel: thou wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. 233
Hazael had evidently already determined to murder his master Ben-hadad (in case he should not
die of his disease) in order to obtain the kingdom; and Elisha merely told him what would be the necessary
results of his murderous disposition. Hazael may not have intended at that time to do all that Elisha
predicted, yet certainly a chosen disposition which would lead him to murder his master would lead him as
a matter of necessity to more flagrant acts of cruelty on his exaltation to the throne. We have no evidence,
then, that Elisha foretold any thing more than the necessary results of some free volition already made.
Christ foretold Peter's sin, in denying his Lord, with its circumstances, in a peremptory
manner. 234
This amounts to nothing unless it can be shown that Peter had not already made a choice which
would necessarily lead to that denial. Peter was evidently very self-confident. He had chosen reliance on
self as a principle of conduct rather than reliance on his Master. And the most reasonable supposition here
is that Jesus simply announced to Peter the necessary result of his choice, designing thereby to teach him
how little he could depend on his own unaided strength. I may as well remark here that when a man chooses
pride or self-confidence or any other sinful passion as a thing to gratify, from that moment it becomes his
master, neither does he always know what particular future service will be required of him. Peter did not
know that his self-confidence would lead to such a dire result, but Jesus knew and so announced. But could
not Peter have repented? Not without a motive. It is reasonable to suppose that the Lord Jesus intended to
furnish that motive in uttering the prophecy, so that if Peter had then and there cast away his self-confidence
Will, Part II., Section XI., p. 62.
Ibid., p. 63.
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