Abram was tested when God told him, as related in Genesis 12:1, “Now the LORD had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house To a land that I will show you.” And Abram obeyed. Genesis 12:4 states: “So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” Although this is not stated as a test, Hebrews 11:8 informs us that, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” This would certainly have been a test to Abram, but God tested him more severely when He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Genesis 22:1-2 reads: “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’”
After it was obvious that Abraham would pass the test, God said, in Genesis 22:11-12, “But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ So he said, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’” This shows us that God did not know for sure whether Abraham would obey God in this matter until Abraham passed the test. On the other hand, God knew that Abraham would command his children and his household after him to keep the Way of God to do righteousness and justice (compare Genesis 18:19; Authorized Version).
Of course, these were not the only two tests that God put on Abraham during his life. The Jewish commentators enumerate a number of other tests that Abraham faced and passed during his lifetime.
Another very interesting and instructive test was given to Moses after the children of Israel made a golden calf when it appeared to them that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain. Exodus 32:7-10 reads, “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”’ And the LORD said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.’” So, Moses was being offered the honor and glory of being the progenitor of his own great nation. For many this would be a very great test, but the answer Moses gave, and the reason behind it, is very instructive. In fact, it may explain, in part, the comment God said about Moses later in the book of Numbers.
Here is the response Moses gave to God. Exodus 32:11-13 states, “Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: ‘LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, “He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.”’”
Here we see that Moses was far more concerned about God’s reputation amongst the Egyptians than he was about his own glory. Moses continued to plead for God’s people as is mentioned in Exodus 32:31-33, “Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, ‘Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.’ And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.’” Moses here was willing to give up his eternal life if God would not forgive His people of their great sin.
When we read of the comment that God made about Moses in Numbers 12:3, “(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)”, this could at least partly be because Moses was willing to give up his own future, both as a progenitor of a nation, and, even, if possible, his own eternal life, in order to maintain God’s reputation and His forgiveness of His people.
A similar episode occurred when the people refused to listen to Joshua and Caleb after they had spied out the land. This is written in Numbers 14:11-20, “Then the LORD said to Moses: ‘How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.’ And Moses said to the LORD: ‘Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, LORD, are among these people; that You, LORD, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, “Because the LORD was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.” And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, “The LORD is long suffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.” Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven the people, from Egypt even until now.’ Then the LORD said: ‘I have pardoned, according to your word…’”
Again, Moses was concerned about the reputation of God and pleaded for His people rather than desiring his own glory. At his request, God pardoned them and did not destroy them at that time, and did not make a new nation under Moses. But as a punishment, they were not allowed to go into the Promised Land because of their refusal to obey.
These examples show that God did not know ahead of time how the Israelites would behave.
Another example would be the evil conduct of mankind before the Flood. When God saw the wickedness on earth, He was very sorry that He had made man and He was grieved in His heart (Genesis 6:6-7). His reaction was similar when He spoke about the horrible crimes of the Israelites sacrificing their own children. He said that such an action did not even come into His heart (Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5). Following Abraham’s plea, Christ sent His two angels to Sodom to ascertain whether ten righteous people could be found in the city. As we know, not even ten righteous people lived there.
In general, we can say that God has decided not to know whether someone will commit the unpardonable sin. This includes those people whom God calls in this day and age, because if He knew that they would fail and inherit eternal death, He would not call them now for salvation. Instead, He would wait until the Second Resurrection to call them when it would be easier to qualify, since Satan won’t be around anymore to deceive them, and living conditions would be so much more pleasant. But the reward for those in the First Resurrection will be so much greater.
Coming now to David, there is an interesting Psalm written by him revealing what God knew about him. Psalm 139:1-4, “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thoughts afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.” Continuing in Psalm 139:13-16, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they were all written. The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” This shows that God knew David intimately and personally.
And yet, even with God knowing all this about David, he still asked God to search him, to find out more about him that God did not already know. Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” This phrase could also be understood, that David was asking God to reveal to him sins about himself, which he, David, had not realized.
There were other examples where David was tested, like when he had the opportunity to allow Abishai to kill Saul, David refused to let him and instead trusted God to provide the right outcome. 1 Samuel 26:8-11 states: “Then Abishai said to David, ‘God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!’ But David said to Abishai, ‘Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?’ David said furthermore, ‘As the LORD lives, the LORD shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.’”
Some of his tests he failed, but when his sin was pointed out to him, he repented deeply. Before David was anointed king, God stated in 1 Samuel 13:14, “But now your [Saul’s] kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” This was long before David was made king.
It is interesting that God chose two kings to reign over Israel and were both offered royal lineages if they would obey Him. While He did not want to know whether Saul would rebel against Him, He was confident that David would obey Him. But when God has a specific purpose for individuals in mind, He causes people to fulfill them, and in that way “knows” their future to an extent. Examples were Cyrus, Josiah and even Pharaoh in Egypt, as Moses said to him in Exodus 9:16, “But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
The first king of Israel to be mentioned that God had chosen was Saul. God had originally intended Saul to begin a kingly line. But Saul disobeyed and offered a burnt sacrifice, which he, not being a priest, was not allowed to offer. Samuel told him, as is written in 1 Samuel 13:13-14, “And Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.’”
God’s regret is stated in 1 Samuel 15:11, “‘I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.’ And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night.” This example shows that God did not know that Saul would directly disobey Him, and it follows that God did not know what Saul would do in the future.
Other people whose future God knows about are the beast and the false prophet. They will be thrown into a [not: the] lake of fire (which does not mean that they will have committed the unpardonable sin. They will be resurrected in the Second Resurrection.) Jesus also knew from the beginning that Judas would betray Him (John 6:64). God knew way ahead of time events which would take place, as described in detail in the book of Daniel, and He also knows what will happen in the future, as described in the Book of Revelation. He knows that most will not repent when He pours out His plagues, but some will.
Also, God knows or knew the future of some who would make it into the Kingdom. Jesus said about the apostles that they would rule the twelve tribes of Israel in His Kingdom (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:28-30). God knows that the two witnesses will not fail Him. God knew that Jesus Christ would not sin; otherwise, the prophecies about His rule in the Kingdom of God could not come to pass.
After king David and king Solomon, God chose Jeroboam to be king over Israel. God offered Jeroboam a sure house with the same promise He gave to David. The story begins in 1 Kings 11:29-31: “Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam, ‘Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you…”’” Continuing in 1 Kings 11:37-38, “So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.”
This conditional promise, based on obedience, shows that when God made it, He did not know or better, He did not want to know, if Jeroboam would obey or not. The word “if” shows that this promise was conditional. We look back knowing that Jeroboam did not obey, and the results are revealed in 1 Kings 14:6-11. Jeroboam’s wife had disguised herself as another woman, and went to Ahijah to inquire about a sick son. Ahijah, who at that time was blind, gave her the bad news. “And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, ‘Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news. Go, tell Jeroboam, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes; but you have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back—therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male of Israel, bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the LORD has spoken!’”’”
So, as a conclusion regarding the question as to whether God knows what we will do in the future, He knows us intimately and has a good idea what we will do based on our past actions. However, our future is not predestined such that we have no choice in the matter. With God’s help, it is possible for us to repent of sin, and change.
In chapters 2 and 3 in the book of Revelation, the expression, “he or him who overcomes” is used seven times. This again shows us that our future in God’s Kingdom is dependent on our overcoming. Even though our calling is predestined, our future is conditional on our actions. Even though, Paul stated under godly inspiration that he was confident and quite sure that we will make it into His Kingdom (Philippians 1:6).
Yes, God knows everything there is to know, from the minutest detail to the whole universe and beyond, including the spiritual creation, things we have no comprehension of whatsoever. But He is still learning about those He is calling by testing and trying us, and watching our actions to see whether we will obey Him or not, as was shown in the few examples listed above.
God needs to test and try us to make sure that we will not rebel like Satan did, but that we will be able to live harmoniously with God forever in His Kingdom.
Lead Writers: Paul Niehoff (Australia) and Norbert Link