Does God Know and Control the Future?
Isaiah 46
I want to start by telling you the story of Suzanne. Suzanne was a committed Christian who felt a deep call to be a missionary to Taiwan. She prayed fervently for God to bring her a husband who also wanted to be a missionary to Taiwan. And while she was in college she met a young man who loved Christ, loved God’s Word, loved to pray with her – and he wanted to be a missionary to Taiwan. So after dating for three and a half years, seeking counsel from others, and praying and fasting for God’s leading, they got married.
But two years into their marriage she found out that he was having an affair. He stopped the affair, but after a few months ended up starting it back up again. Then he started treating Suzanne terribly, and ended up divorcing her and moving in with his girlfriend. Then Suzanne found out she was pregnant.
So she went to her pastor, shared with him what happened, and asked him: “Did God know this would happen? If He did know this would happen, why did he let me marry this man? I prayed and prayed and prayed – God could easily have told me not to marry him.”
Here’s what her pastor told her. He said God didn’t know this would happen; that God knows a lot of the future, but He doesn’t know everything. So God gave her the best counsel He could with what He knew about her husband at the time. (This story is found in Bruce Ware’s God’s Lesser Glory, pp.56-57).
What do you think of that counsel? That view is sometimes called “Open Theism.” It holds that God doesn’t know all the future, and doesn’t control all the future, and that some trials are purely random, out of God’s control, with no purpose. There’s another view which is called “Classical Theism.” It holds that God does know all the future, and does control all the future, and that every trial we face is wisely and lovingly purposed by God to bring us great good.
So which is true? To answer that, let’s turn to Isaiah 46. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Isaiah 46 is on page 607 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Isaiah was an Old Testament prophet who wrote these words from God for the nation of Israel. And chapters 40-55 are written to be read by Israel when she is in exile in Babylon. God knew that while she was in exile, she would be tempted to worship false idols, and so in Isaiah 46 God starts off talking about how he is different from idols.
How is God different from idols? Look at vv.1-7 – and notice how many times God talks about carrying – who carries whom --
1 Bel bows down; Nebo stoops [Bel and Nebo are the two best-known Babylonian idols]; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts.
2 They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity. [When Babylon is conquered nations carry her idols away. So idols are carried by people.]
3 "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.
5 "To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?
6 Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship!
7 They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble.
Here God shows that there is no comparison between Him and the idols. Idols have to be carried by people. So picture an Israelite bowing down to Bel or Nebo – “You Bel are awesome, you Nebo are powerful, you are mighty. OK, worship’s over; now I’m going to take you to work with me.” Idols have to be carried.
But God is totally different. God does not need us to carry Him; God is the one who carries us. To see this read vv.3-4 again --
3 "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.
God is talking to the house of Jacob and the remnant of the house of Israel. He’s talking to His people – those who are trusting God’s saving mercy. Today that would mean all of you who are trusting Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord, and Treasure. You don’t become God’s people by being good enough; you become God’s people by trusting Jesus.
So because you are trusting Jesus Christ then from the womb to gray hair God is carrying you. So what does that mean?
Picture a father carrying his son or daughter, like I used to carry Brad or Anna. What’s going on? At least two things. I am affectionately caring for Brad at every moment. And in the same way, as God is carrying you He’s feeling affection and love and compassion and care for you. And I am also giving powerful help to Brad – carrying him so he can rest; carrying him over rough spots. And in the same way, as God is carrying you He’s supporting you and protecting you and upholding you.
So because you are trusting Jesus Christ, Friday as you drove to work God was carrying you: feeling affectionate care for you and giving powerful help to you. Yesterday as you did laundry God was carrying you: feeling affectionate care for you and giving powerful help to you. This afternoon at lunch God will be carrying you: feeling affectionate care for you and giving powerful help to you.
But there’s something else implied by carrying. When I carry Brad I am taking him somewhere. When God carries us He’s taking us somewhere. So does God know and control the future to which He’s taking us? Or is he taking us into a future that He doesn’t know and control? Does God know and control the future to which He is carrying us?
God tells us in vv.8-11. Look at what He says --
8 "Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'
11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
Here God continues the theme he started in vv.1-7 – explaining that He is like no other being in existence. And in v.10 he says that what makes him different is two things.
First, He knows every detail of the future. Look at the beginning of v.10 --
… declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done…
God declares the end from the beginning – from the beginning of time God declares the future. And from ancient times God declares things not yet done – the future. How can He do that? Because He knows every detail of the future. Remember what David said in Psalm 139? Even before you were born God had written your days in a book.
So God knows everything you will do this afternoon, He knows what will happen in Libya next week, He knows who will be our next President, He knows the exact day you will die, He knows everything.
Second, God controls every detail of the future. This is in the second half of v.10 – read the whole verse to get the flow of thought –
… declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'
So not only does God declare the future – God’s counsel brings about the future; His purposes accomplish the future. So not only does God know every detail of the future, God controls every detail of the future.
Then in v.11 God gives them a concrete example of how He has done this in the life of Cyrus. In previous chapters of Isaiah we saw that God knew the future of Cyrus: Cyrus would become emperor of Persia, conquer Babylon, and send exiled Israelites back to the Promised Land to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. God knew the future of Cyrus.
But in v.11 we see that God did not just know all this would happen, God made all this happen --
… calling a bird of prey [that’s Cyrus] from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
So God didn’t just know the future of Cyrus. God brought about the future of Cyrus.
Now there’s some mystery here. This raises questions I can’t answer. But the Bible is clear that God controls every detail of the future – and at the same time we make authentic, genuine choices for which we are responsible. But at the same time God controls every detail of the future. Both are true.
So – does God know and control the future to which He is carrying us? Yes. Yes, he does. But this raises one more question -- what is the future to which God carries His people? Look at vv.12-13 –
12 "Listen to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from righteousness
13 I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off, and my salvation will not delay; I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory."
At the time God speaks these words most of the nation of Israel are stubborn of heart and far from the righteousness of trusting God. And what God is saying is that if they will repent and trust Him, then He will start carrying them – and His carrying them will bring them to more and more salvation. Every turn of the road will bring them to more and more of His salvation.
So what is “salvation”? Sometimes in the Bible “salvation” refers to physical healing, but sometimes salvation means not being physically healed. Sometimes in the Bible “salvation” means being delivered from a trial, but sometimes salvation means not being delivered from a trial.
So is there something salvation always means? Yes. Salvation always means experiencing more of God’s presence through Jesus Christ. What the Christian life is all about is experiencing God – His love, His nearness, His presence – through Jesus Christ. Salvation always means more of God.
So because you are trusting Jesus Christ, at every moment God is carrying you with affectionate care, and powerful support – and – and – He is carrying you purposefully into more and more salvation. Every turn of the road, every trial you face, every difficulty, every problem, is part of God’s wise and loving plan to bring you more and more of His salvation – more and more of Himself.
You can see this in the story of Joseph. Joseph lived a thousand years before Isaiah was written; his story is found in the book of Genesis. All his life God was carrying him, and because God knew the future and controlled the future every turn of the road was purposed by God to bring Joseph great good --
When he was sent to his brothers out in the field – God was carrying him towards great good.
When he was sold by his brothers into slavery – God was carrying him towards great good.
When he was bought by Potiphar – God was carrying him towards great good.
When he was unjustly accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife and thrown in prison for years – slime, dark, rats – even in bringing him to this God was carrying Joseph towards great good.
When Pharaoh had a troubling dream and heard that Joseph interpreted dreams – God was carrying him towards great good.
And when Pharaoh was blown away by Joseph’s interpretation and made him the number two man in Egypt so Joseph’s people – the people of Israel – could be fed during a terrible famine – God was carrying him towards great good.
At every turn of the road in Joseph’s life – God was carrying him: affectionately caring for him, powerfully supporting him, and purposefully bringing him to great good. And at every turn of the road in your life – God is carrying you: affectionately caring for you, powerfully supporting you, and purposefully bringing you to great good – more of God Himself.
Questions?
What about Suzanne? So what about Suzanne? What would we tell her? To answer that – let me tell you about another woman. She was deserted by her husband in an even worse way than Suzanne. This woman’s pastor taught her that God knows everything and is sovereign over everything and works everything for our great good.
And here is a letter she wrote to her pastor:
If God does not know everything the future holds, how is he any different from any other friend on whose shoulder I might cry? He may be good, and loving and righteous, but if he is not in control of what happens to me tomorrow, how can I have any confidence that he can work all things together for good?
The confidence that God knows what He is doing has gotten me through the last five years. I believe that God knew from the beginning what [my ex-husband] would do – that God cannot be surprised by anything. And because I believe that, I can believe that God intends this whole thing for my good.
It’s not just that everything will turn out all right in the end; it’s that right now He is working His purpose out in my life, to move me to the next degree of glory. If that working includes suffering, how much better it is to know that it is purposed by a loving, all-powerful God, who “gives unto each day what he deems best.”
[From John Piper’s “Grounds for Dismay: The Error and Injury of Open Theism,” in Beyond the Bounds: Open Theism and the Undermining of Biblical Christianity, pp.383-384.]
So what would this woman tell Suzanne? And what would she tell those of us who are going through great trials? She would say:
“God knows what He is doing.”
“God knew from the beginning what [your ex-husband] would do.”
“God intends this whole thing for [your] good.”
“Right now He is working His purposes out in your life, to move [you] to the next degree of glory.”