Free Will, Love, and Divine Providence

Lesson 8

Free Will, Love, and Divine Providence

(Genesis 22, Psalm 81, Hebrews 11, Ephesians 1)

Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: What do you think God’s “providence” means? Our recent lessons remind me of a meat slicing machine that I observed as a young man. The machine could make impossibly thin slices. In the last few lessons we have discussed interrelated topics such as whether God is responsible for evil, whether God is just, and whether God executes judgment. These all have in common the question of how God deals with humans. This week our “slice” is whether God, consistent with His providential care, controls all that happens on earth? If He does, why doesn’t He put a brake on terrible events? Why doesn’t He eliminate adversity in our lives? Once again, let’s plunge into our study of the Bible to see what we can learn about our God!

1. Who Is In Charge?
   
   1. Read Genesis 22:1-2. What does God’s providence look like in this instruction to Abraham? (This makes no sense. In Genesis 21:12 God promised Abraham that his descendants would come through Isaac. On the theological front, 2 Kings 16:3 tells us offering your child as a burned sacrifice was a “despicable” practice of the nations God drove out of the promised land.)
   2. We will skip the verses telling us that Abraham took the steps to obey God. Read Genesis 22:9-12. What is God’s will in this story? (His will is that Isaac not be killed. This is not obvious to the reader until we get to this verse.)
   3. Read again Genesis 22:12. If God knows everything, how can he say, “Now I know that you fear God?” (The easy answer is that God allows us to choose, and He does not control or know our choice in advance.)
      1. How does this story make sense? (Genesis 22:1 tells us that this is a “test.” Of greatest importance is that this illustrates how hard it was for God the Father to give up Jesus to torture and death.)
      2. How is God letting us choose consistent with God being in charge? And why would God the Father give up His own Son to torture and murder? (God is, because of our sin, forced to make choices that He does not want.)
      3. How do we reconcile this verse to the idea that God knows the future?(I look at this like a chess board. God knows all the moves that we can make, and He knows the outcomes of the moves. In that sense He is in charge. But that also creates problems for His providence as we will see next.)
   4. Read Psalms 81:10-14. Let’s take a little tour of history. God’s people were enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years. When God rescued them from slavery, only two of the original group of thousands survived to enter the land promised to them. How do these verses answer those who say that following God is a risky business? (They tell us that while God remained available for help and to ensure success, the people were not following God. They chose to follow their own desires. The result was calamity.)
   5. Read Isaiah 30:15. Has God laid out a path for rest and success? (Yes. God says if you follow My plan and return to Me you will enjoy rest, salvation, and quiet confidence.)
      1. Did the people follow God’s plan? (No. They were “unwilling.”)
   6. Read Isaiah 30:16. What is special about fleeing on horses? Riding “swift steeds?” (Horses were the cutting edge military invention. Horses meant you could move with quickness and power.)
      1. For what are God’s people using them? (To flee!)
      2. Is it working? (No. Those pursuing them also have horses.)
   7. Read Isaiah 30:17. Are the people confident in victory? (No. They are cowards. A thousand of them run away from one person. Five enemy soldiers make them run. The end of all of this cowardice is that they are completely vulnerable, they are in plain sight, and the enemy cannot miss seeing where they are located.)
   8. What are we to conclude from Psalms 81 and Isaiah 30 regarding God protecting us from evil? (He protects us and gives us peace if we turn to Him. If we do not, we are destroyed.)
      1. What do these texts teach us about God getting His way? God’s providence being fulfilled? (He wanted His people to win. God did not get what He wanted.)
2. The Difficulty of Providence
   
   1. Read Hebrews 11:32-34. In the prior section we saw that people did not enjoy the great things God had planned for them in His providential care because they did not listen and obey Him. What about the people named here? Did they obey God? (We know that some, like Samson, obeyed God imperfectly. But in general they obeyed. Even Samson obeyed in the end.)
   2. Read Hebrews 11:36-38. Are these people who did not obey God and suffered the consequences of it?
   3. Read Hebrews 11:39. What does this teach us about those who suffered? (They were faithful. They were commended for their faith.)
      1. How do we explain God’s providence in this? It was a simple and obvious lesson that if you do not follow God, He is thwarted in giving you the great things He has planned for you. But these followed God’s will and suffered terribly. How is that possible?
   4. Read Hebrews 11:40. This is the explanation of why some faithful followers of God suffered terribly even though they were faithful. How do you understand this explanation? (God has a better future for them. God’s ultimate providence for them is coming.)
      1. What does the “apart from us they should not be made perfect” mean? (God is working on putting the positive result of His providence in place. At some time in the future, all of the followers of God who remain faithful and trust Him will be made perfect. All the great things God has in mind for them will come to pass.)
      2. That leaves the question about why it works out so well for some and so terribly for others? (The obvious answer is that things work out badly for those who follow their own will. But for those who follow God’s will, and still suffer, we are left with the answer given to Job: we must trust God.)
3. Getting Traction for God’s Providence
   
   1. Read Ephesians 1:9-10. This tells us that God has a mysterious plan. What does looking at the experience of Jesus teach us about this plan? (Jesus died and was tortured so that God’s plan might ultimately take place. This shows us that God’s plan is a process that sometimes involves suffering.)
      1. What should we make of the fact that God’s will is a “mystery” that is explained in Jesus? (If we ever doubt God’s providence, we simply need to look at what Jesus has been doing for us.)
   2. Read Ephesians 1:11-12. What is God’s predestination for all of us? (We are predestined to follow the will of God. To receive the inheritance He has for us. And to give Him glory.)
      1. Does this mean that we have no free-will in this? (Just the opposite, we see that those who refused to follow the will of God did not receive the benefit of His great plans for them. God has great things in mind for us!)
   3. Read Ephesians 1:13-14. Can you explain why Christians engage in heroic medical efforts to stay alive? Or to extend the length of life by a few months? (Perhaps someone depends on them. However, generally someone that sick is unable to help others. I wonder if the problem is that down deep they are not sure they are saved.)
      1. What does this text teach us about the assurance of salvation? (The Holy Spirit seals us for salvation. If you have the Holy Spirit working in you, then you have the “guarantee” of your heavenly inheritance.)
   4. Read John 16:33. Would you like to have peace in the middle of trouble? (If yes, this text tells us that we can have peace because Jesus has “overcome the world.”)
   5. Friend, God has a plan for you. That plan, that divine providence for you, is to spend eternity with Him. You can thwart the plan by rejecting God’s will. But if you accept the plan eternal life is yours even though you may face temporary hardships here on earth. Why not choose God’s plan for you right now?
4. Next week: The Cosmic Conflict.