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NASB | Ecclesiastes 6:10 ¶ Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ecclesiastes 6:10 ¶ Whatever exists has already been named [long ago], and it is known what [a frail being] man is; for he cannot dispute with Him who is mightier than he. |
Subject: Such thing as a choice? |
Bible Note: Greetings WOS! Now this was the kind of interaction I was hoping for my friend! :-) If you read my posts on this topic so far, I have not presented a theory, I have simply posted verses that state that God repented and asked questions about them. I don't have all the answers on this issue, but I haven't been satisfied with the answers I have been reading in the commentaries about this point. So, allow me to interact with your points my friend! 1) The comments on verse 9 are excellent. Although no condition was proclaimed, I can see from the text and the fact that Jonah was sent at all that the Ninevites could respond with hope of a pardon. 2) The commments on v. 10 are the best I have read yet on this issue. Allow me to try to lay out my concerns over this issue and then try to explore some possible solutions. Concerns: 1) We have a series of Scriptures that apparently state opposite things. We have two verses that say 'God is not a man that He should repent' and multiple verses (using the same exact word) that say God does repent. Obviously, both statements cannot be true in the same way at the same time. 2) The usual attempt to 'harmonize' these verses is to say that the verses that state that God did repent are anthropomorphisms, while the others are actual descriptions of God. Who is to say that the other set of verses are not snthropomorphisms instead? 3) Accepting that God is omniscient, how could His warning to Ninevah ever be accepted as true. Calvinist or Arminian, God knew that He would not destroy Ninevah in 40 days. I certainly don't think that I have all the answers, but I think that there is a better way to harmonize these verses. Relationships do not occur timelessly. Yes, God knew that He would not destroy Ninevah and that Ninevah would repent. But, repentance takes place in 'time'. The commentary you quote mentions the change in relationship, but still kind of 'throws' away Jonah 3:10. Could it be that Jonah describes the relationship between God and Ninevah as it actually occurs within time - i.e. that God must actually operate within time when He relates to us. We know from the incarnation that God can subject Himself to space and time if He so chooses, though He is clearly not bound by them. Within time, things happen in a logical order. 1) God announced His intention to destroy Ninevah. 2) Ninevah repented and entered into a different status in their relationship with God. 3) Therefore, God (within the confines of time) repented of His course of action. These are just some thoughts my friend! I don't have the answer, but I know that I am not convinced by the 'anthropomorphism' approach either. It 'smells' too much of changing the text to fit a doctrine. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |