A very potent text showing the contingent nature of prophecy (and God's
foreknowledge [I am an Open Theist]) is that of 1 Sam 2:30. As background, God
promised the household of Eli, himself a righteous man, an everlasting priesthood to his descendants.
Notwithstanding, this was revoked into something much more conditional as a
result of Eli's own sons who were sinful. To give greater context, here are vv. 27-36:
A man of God came to
Eli and said to him, "Thus said the Lord: Lo, I revealed Myself to your
father's house in Egypt when they were subject to the House of Pharaoh, and I
chose them from among all the tribes of Israel to be My priests -- to ascend My
altar, to burn incense, and to carry an ephod before Me -- and I assigned to
your father's house all offerings by fire of the Israelites. Why, then, do you
maliciously trample upon the sacrifices and offerings that I have commanded?
You have honored your sons more than Me, feeding on the first portions of every
offering of My people Israel. Assuredly
-- declares the Lord, the God of Israel -- I intended for you and your father's
house to remain in My service forever. But now -- declares the Lord -- far be
it from Me! For I honor those who honor Me, but those who spurn Me shall be
dishonored. A time is coming when I will break your power and that of your
father's house, and there shall be no elder in your house. You will gaze
grudgingly at all the bounty that will be bestowed on Israel, but there shall
never be an elder in your house. I shall not cut off all your offspring from My
altar; but, to make your eyes pine and your spirit languish, all the increase
in your house shall die as ordinary men. And this shall be a sign for you: The
fate of your two sons Hophni and Phinehas -- they shall both die on the same
day. And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who will act in
accordance with My wishes and My purposes. I will build for him an enduring
house, and he shall walk before My anointed evermore. And all the survivors of
your house shall come and bow low to him for the sake of a money fee and a loaf
of bread, and shall say, 'Please, assign me to one of the priestly duties, that
I may have a morsel of bread to eat.'" (1985 JPS Tanakh)
Even commentators who hold to exhaustive foreknowledge admit that this
prophecy was conditional, although no conditions were initially given to Eli
and his household. One popular traditional Catholic commentary stated the
following:
Ver.
30. Ever. God had promised the priesthood to
Aaron’s seed (C.) as long as the Jewish religion should subsist. H.—He had also
selected the branch of Eleazar, to recompense the zeal of Phinees; (Num.
25:13,) and yet we find that the house of Ithamar had possession for a time of
the high priesthood. We know not when or by what means by obtained it. The
promises of God to them were surely only conditional; and some think that they
only meant, that as He had permitted them to acquire this high dignity, so it
was an earnest that he would not deprive them of it, unless they proved
unworthy. But it is generally supposed that God had expressed his determination
of this head. Heli, Achitob, Achias, Achimelech, and Abiathar, (C.) were the
only pontiffs of the family of Ithamar. The last was obliged to resign to (H.)
Sadoc, under the reign of Solomon, 3 K. 2:27. Some suppose that Heli usurped
this dignity, (Capel) when he entered upon the civil administration, as the
people thought none more fit for the office, in a time of trouble.
Bertram.—Others think that the descendants of Eleazar forfeited this honour by
their crimes or indolence, or because they were not of sufficient age. But this
reason would not have excluded them for ever. The Scripture, therefore,
insinuates that Heli was appointed by God, and that his descendants would have
enjoyed his office, if they had not offended. C.—These promises were of a
conditional nature both to Phinees and to Heli, and Sadoc, v. 35. (George
Leo Haydock, Haydock's Catholic Bible
Commentary [New York: Edward Dunigan and Brother, 1859])
Had Joseph Smith received a revelation like this and it was thwarted by
the free-will actions of his sons, anti-Mormons would use this as proof Joseph
was a false prophet, but as this appears in the Bible, many will ignore this.
In reality, all prophecy is
contingent upon the free-will actions of mankind, Eli’s sons included. For
more, see:
Resources on Joseph Smith's Prophecies
