Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Judges 2:18 and the Open Future

In Judg 2:18, we read the following:

Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord would be moved to pity by their groaning because of those who persecuted and oppressed them. (NRSV)

This text supports the Open view of the future and God’s interactions therein, as the Hebrew reads that God would be “moved to pity” (KJV: repent) or “change his mind,” evidenced by the use of the verb ‎נחם. The LXX, while not stating God would change his mind (due to the tendency of the Vorlage having strong anti-anthropomorphic tendencies, as proven by Daniel McClellen and others), states that God would be moved with compassion (παρακαλέω) by the prayers of the people.

For more texts supporting this concept, see the section “The Bible is both God-centered and Man-centered” of my lengthy critique of Reformed theology:




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