Jeremiah himself illustrated the
principle of conditional prophecy when he told king Zedekiah, in the name of
the Lord, that he would not go captive into Babylon if he followed the
prophet's instructions; otherwise, he would be taken captive and Jerusalem would
be destroyed (Jer. 38:17-23).
Concerning the men of Keilah, the
Lord said to David, "They will deliver thee up [to Saul]" (1 Sam.
23:12), but this didn't happen because David fled from the city (vss. 13-14)!
Two centuries later, the prophet Elisha told King Joash to smite on the ground
with his arrows. The king did so three times. The prophet then said that he
should have smitten five or six times in order to consume Syria (2 Kings
13:18-19). Obviously, the actions of men play a role in the fulfillment of
prophecy. (John A. Tvedtnes, A Reply to Dick
Baer)
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