The Well-Meant Offer: God Begs the Wicked to Repent (Ezek 33:11), Part 3
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An Impassioned Entreaty
Having provided an oath-bound affirmation of his preference for mercy over judgment, God now turns to the wicked and entreats them: “Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11b, ESV).
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The Well-Meant Offer: God Begs the Wicked to Repent (Ezek 33:11), Part 2
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God instructs Ezekiel to respond to the people’s complaint, and the Lord’s response has two parts: first, God makes an oath-bound affirmation; second, he issues an impassioned entreaty. Let’s consider each of those in turn.
Discussion
The Well-Meant Offer: God Begs the Wicked to Repent (Ezek 33:11), Part 1
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The setting of Ezekiel’s prophecy in general and of our text in particular is the exile. The first phase of the exile took place around 605 B.C. The second phase of the exile took place about 7 or 8 years later, around 597 B.C. And the final stage of the exile took place in 586 B.C. This is when the Babylonians destroyed the walls and temple of Jerusalem.
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“The Parable of the Sower frees us from our desire for resolution.”
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“How can we communicate the urgency of the gospel without manipulating others’ emotions or fears? How can we present the gospel in a way that is inviting without truncating the message to make it more palatable?” - Christianity Today
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Is Middle Knowledge Biblical? An Explanation
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“Among the more academic and influential contemporary advocates of Molinism are Alvin Plantinga and William Lane Craig (who has proposed that Molinism is the key to a Calvinist-Arminian rapprochement)….If you have not yet encountered it, there is a good chance that either you or one of the members of your church will. ” - Ref21
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How to Enjoy Your Crazy Life
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“Enjoying the fruits of your labor is a godly approach, not a godless one. Why? Because it recognizes that God himself gave you your income and material resources for this purpose.” - Thomas Overmiller
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“As a Calvinist, I can’t help but cringe whenever fellow Calvinists declare that humans do not have free will.”
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“By God’s grace, my prayer is that my current attempt at taking on the topic of free will is characterized by far more humility than it has been in the past. Similarly, my objective with this article isn’t to win a debate nor to provide anyone with talking points to help them win debates.
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The Well-Meant Offer: God May Desire What He Doesn’t Decree (Deut 5:29), Part 3
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Several rejoinders may be offered to the “anthropopathic” interpretations represented above.
1. God is Not Pretending
One may affirm that the text has a rhetorical function while also insisting that the human behavior enjoined is predicated on the divine disposition described. In other words, the inferred imperative (“you people should fear God always”) is based on an implied indicative (“God wants you to fear him always”).
Discussion
The Well-Meant Offer: God May Desire What He Doesn’t Decree (Deut 5:29), Part 2
Read the series.
The Objections Addressed
Some object to the exegetical and theological conclusions above. On the basis of texts like Psalm 115:3, they argue that God’s desires must be coterminous with God’s decrees. That is, all that God desires he must decree. Or, all that God decrees exhausts all that God may desire. Accordingly, they impose one or more of the following limitations on the text.
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