Re: [TruthTalk] God's Hate and God's Wrath

[Judy Taylor]

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 07:41:42 -0600 "Caroline Wong" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: jt: Yes, but this does not make them or it any less evil when God's promise is to keep His people in peaceful dwelling places and away from strife and turmoil. This is a good example of the confusion the newer versions of the Bible.  If God is not in control then IYO is Satan more powerful than He is in some of these areas?    Caroline: When David counted his fighting men (which was a bad thing) , 2 Samuel 24 said God made him do it but 1 Chron. 21 said Satan made him do it. How you reconcile these two accounts IS the answer to your question above. Love,  Caroline   jt: I would choose neither. Anyone who knows God and how He interacts with men - and any person with spiritual discernment would know the answer to the above - but how does this answer my question?   Caroline: Reconciling the two verses will show what a person believe about God, human freedom, theodicy and inerrancy and maybe other things as well. I'll start you off by giving you what other people have concluded.   First, here are the two verses that cause the contention: 2 Sam 24:1 "Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David aginst them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah."   jt: The "anger of the Lord" is Satan Caroline; because he is the one who executes God's judgment (the curse). He may have incited David at a weak moment but he would not be permitted to force him to do anything against his will so it was David's choice and David's sin.   I Chron 21:1 "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel."   Some theories: 1) God and Satan are the same. Similar thinking include theory that Satan only does what God wants. That is, Satan is God's left hand and Jesus is his right.   jt: You can read the scriptures and see that God uses some nations to judge others but in the end they all have their day; however this does not make God and Satan the same, nor does it make them buddies.   2) The Chronicler edited (redacted) the account to fit his theology.   3) We will not know until we see God face to face.   Note that in one verse, God did it because he wanted to punish Israel and caused David to sin  (We don't know what made Him angry in the first place but it doesn't matter as that's not the reason Israel got punished).   jt: The anger of the Lord is not God Caroline. God does not cause any man to sin. David chose to sin and he later took responsibility for it.   Also, is it really sin to obey the voice of God? I mean, Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac. It would have been sin to disobey, not obey.   jt: It was not the voice of God, it was the voice of Satan and yes, it is sin to obey the voice of the enemy.   In the other verse, Satan wanted to get Israel into trouble.   jt: this is the scenario in both verses.   Consider too Job's story. Job only knew what went on on earth. He didn't know what went on in heaven.   jt: No he didn't but he did know the nature and character of the God he served and this is what kept him from sinning with his lips.   So reconciling these two verses will answer your question.   jt: They are reconciled in my own heart Caroline but this does not answer the question I asked you.   judyt