Freewill in the Old Testament

A good question was raised in my fellowship with some great input from others that I have combined in the answer shown below. This question and answer is a good lesson on explaining the myth of free will to carnal babes who struggle getting past some of the horrible KJV translations that support this false doctrine that has deceived the entire world. I plan to make this a permanent post later this weekend.

Question: I was debating the fallacy of man’s free will with a friend recently and found this verse after we ended the discussion. Now, besides the many references in the Books of Moses about “free Will offerings” – I understand that to be “voluntary offerings” but this verse would be hard to explain away.

Ezra 7:13 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.

This in no way shakes my foundation about the illusion of free will; this really confirms that the King James Translators were deceiving! How should this verse be addressed with those still under the influence of Babylonian doctrines? And what is the difference between “voluntary” and “free-will”?

Thanks S_________

ANSWER:  Dear S_________

There absolutely is no such thing as free will. The SUM of God’s word is the truth and makes that clear. It is horrible translation. We are clay in the hands of the potter and the Lord directs our every step and even gives us the desires of our hearts, even our very thoughts are given to us.

Amo 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

So if our every thoughts are given to us, it is pretty silly to then argue we have free will. Our will is in no way free of God’s causing and working all things. The hidden wisdom of the Lord tells those that see that He is the Lord of hosts and is stretching forth the heavens and the earth as He deems fit.

Zec 12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

Isa_42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

If we remember what the earth represents and where heaven is, the kingdom of God within us, then these Old Testament verses above tell us the Lord really is the Lord and is working all things in us according to His good pleasure. The Lord forms the spirit of a man and directs it whatever way HE chooses.

S________ the verse you found in Ezra is a very good example of applying the sum of thy word is truth principle. If we just read earlier in Ezra we see more truth that helps bring Ezra 7:13 in perspective. Those who left Babylon and went to Jerusalem did not of their own free will decide to do that outside of the causation of God. We see that clearly in the verses below. First we have the Lord changing the heart of the King Cyrus.

Ezr 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

Then we are told who really decided to go back to Jerusalem and leave Babylon on their “own free will”. It was those few God chose and stirred up their heart to go. The same way HE has stirred up our hearts to come out of Babylon.

Ezr 1:2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

So we see the LORD moving, changing, giving the “king” the very desires of his heart. The person in charge of our thoughts, THE LORD, has no problem changing the desires of any man. The Lord moves the king to put in place HIS plan to have a few leave Babylon.

Ezr 1:3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
Ezr 1:4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

It is no big deal to choose a few out of the many and thru them go build His temple. That is what the Lord is, was and will be doing in the hearts of men.

Ezr 1:5 Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

The theme of the Lord causing people’s hearts and spirits to be changed to go build HIS temple or tabernacle is a recurring theme in Scripture. The carnal minded free will believing crowd just won’t receive the plain truth of God’s word. The only people that will go build the tabernacle or temple of the Lord are His very Elect who will be caused to do so.

Exo 35:21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit MADE WILLING, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

Bringing the Lord’s offering is bringing ourselves as a living sacrifice. God never really cared about oxes, sheep and doves, that was all types and shadows for the living sacrifice of HIS ELECT. Yet this is all the work of the Lord, the POTTER. HE MAKES US WILLING. HE CHOOSES US we do not choose HIM.

Which is the same thing Christ tells us, He changes not and here is the simple New Testament version saying the same thing.

Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you

Anyone that makes a “free will” offering as the KJV translators chose to translate it, have been made willing by the Lord. The Lord who is the Potter molded the clay to conform it to HIS WILL and that will was to make the willing. A dear brother from the UK, well steeped in the word of truth provided some additional insight that helps us understand the absolute sovereignty of the Lord versus the relative truth of us making choices daily.

From another brother

S_______ I also notice right there in Ezra Chapter 7, a sequence of events happened that ultimately led to few deciding to leave Babylon to go back to Jerusalem. As Pete noted above it is, was and will be God ‘behind the scenes’ stirring up hearts and preparing to WILL and to DO according to His purpose.

We can use the book of Ezra itself to answer that question that “free will” is NOT “free” at all, as long as God has the hearts of ALL involved in His hands. We can approach from another angle and ‘see’ the Spirit’s operation in directing / moving the works of the flesh, as the wind blowing where He pleases. Few can hear it or see His direction. Here are the sequence of events:

First:

God stirred up the heart of the Kings, as Pete noted, first Cyrus king of Persia, and also hidden in Chapter 7, Artaxerxes king of Persia.

A. Ezr 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

B: Ezra 7:27 Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, [Artaxerxes king of Persia] to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem:

The heart of the Kings are in God’s hand. We have many examples, even right in the book of Ezra, it was written AGAIN….

Ezra 6:22 and kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy:for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Fulfilling this proverb:

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

The Proverb above is fulfilled throughout the Kings, as it’s in all of us, and it is evident when we read even the book of Ezra itself coupled with the rest of the Scripture. The Sum of the Word makes abundantly clear.

As we see in the verse above, if Artaxerxes king of Persia has NO SELF CONTROL of his own heart, to then translate him saying this:

Ezra 7:13 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.

….is hidden folly on the part of the translators?!

Second:

The thing The Lord put in the kings heart gave the thought, ‘the Word’ the decree to empower Ezra the priest to go ahead and do:

Ezra 7:21 and I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,

 Third:

The thing Ezra went up to then do was “given” of God. First, his knowledge, judgments etcetera to DO, was not of his own “free” will, but a will in the hand of the Almighty who is ‘behind the scenes’ empowering to will and to do. (Phillipians 2:12-13)

Ezra 7:6 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had GIVEN: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him

Never underestimate the importance and how crucial that word “according to the hand of The Lord his God UPON HIM” in that verse. It’s hidden words like those that totally debunks the myth of “free” will. The book of Ezra tells us right at the beginning the intended purpose which very few can see. It is like the Acts of the disciples, HOW the prophecies became fulfilled in that generation and the EVENTS that happened and is/will happen:

Ezr 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

What word Jeremiah speak that specifically concerns this book? This is one of it…;

Jeremiah 29:4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;

Jer 29:10  For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Jer 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Jer 29:14  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

Wow wow wow! It is GOD that CAUSED Israel to be in captivity. It surely is GOD that will gather them/us from ALL their captivity to exit Babylon back to Jerusalem.

Most Babylonish churches only recites verse 11. But the Sovereignty of God in causing captivity and releasing chains out of that captive state, which the book of Ezra shows how, is NOT seen. Couple book of Jeremiah and Ezra, let alone the rest of the scripture, and the folly and lie of “freewill” is greatly exposed.

And to put an end to that myth in the same chapter in Ezra, (this ties up neatly to your last question “And what is the difference between “voluntary” and “free-will”? ) we have this verse which underpins HOW events are being accomplished led by Ezra:

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

There we have it. “Ezra had prepared his heart….to seek…to do..to teach”. Ezra prepared his own heart?

The way this is written can explain what we mean by the word “voluntarily”, and the difference in the word “free will”.

We’ve already proven, and we know here in the Body that “freewill” or “free” moral agency is a false doctrine of the adversary, and is the almighty strong delusion covered in 2Thess 2:1-12. The “free” is false.

Voluntary however is NOT, when one can understand the operations behind it. Voluntary is from a RELATIVE point of view, from a subjective point. So from a fleshly perspective, we can say Ezra ‘voluntarily” prepared his heart. Learnt the law. Became a scribe/priest etc.

BUT….,..

From the ABSOLUTE point of view, Ezra cannot/ did not do anything of his own will. He CANNOT volunteer anything, or prepare his heart of himself simply because:

1 Chronicles 29:18 O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee

Psalms 10:17 Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

All summarised by this Proverb:
Proverbs 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, […Ezra and the Kings…] and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.

So the Absolute vantage point is that God is preparing hearts to do and to will. From an earthly perspective, everyday speech, we can get away with saying…”yeah, so and so volunteered….so and so did it voluntarily”. We with the mind of Christ that can see the Way of the wind, are given “seven eyes” to see BEYOND and ‘see’ in high definitions the moving behind the scenes, the causes of things, circumstances that brings one to do this or do that, long chain of events ‘behind the scenes’ that CAUSES one to arrive at a certain action/decisions. This is the way of the Spirit. Ezra or the Kings nor the people were not acting without direction. No man can direct his own steps:

Jeremiah 10:23  O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

But little by little, just like Ezra, the Lord is directing our steps/ our hearts into His will for his pleasure. No flesh can glory of this in God’s presence.

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. 12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

His outcome, intention, end purpose is to the end to “[e]stablish our hearts unblameable”, without spots or wrinkle. This is NEVER voluntarily as we choose to decide on our own. Voluntarily can be used positively when we acknowledge that it is God that CAUSES us to say “YES, I’ll follow Christ”, “NO, I won’t do that”

Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Matthew 4:18-19 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea:for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

The blind eye will say, “there it is, Isaiah volunteered of himself….the disciples volunteered to follow Christ OF THEIR OWN FREEWILL!”. Arrh…-sigh-.

Once again, that’s from a relative, earthly perspective. Scripture is written in such a way to deceive, cast out the lazy eye not given to see using the ABSOLUTE God’s eye, “eagle” eye vantage point.

As Pete stated earlier, the truth remains:

Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you

We do make choices but all those choices are caused of the Lord.

Some choices can have an appearance of “voluntary” to it. But ALL are, was and will be caused of the Lord. I’ll finish with this verse that the seven eyes can see, what caused us to do his command

2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. [….and HOW did Ezra the priest, and us the priests of today fulfil that?..] 5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

There it is again in the New Testament. The Lord directing hearts. The great director! 🙂

end extract from email

Conclusions

So Scripture interprets Scripture. The SUM of God’s word is truth. Whosoever is willing to come to the Lord and forsake this world is always made willing by the Lord. The Scriptures are absolutely clear that God is working all things for the counsel of His will. He is the Potter we are the clay. The relative statements in certain Scriptures always must fit within the truth of God’s absolute sovereignty. Being Lord of Lord’s means much more than making sure birds don’t fall from the sky outside of God’s will; it includes directing every step all men take and giving us our very thoughts. The little children’s song of HE has the whole world in His hands is more true than anyone realizes!

Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

The few chosen and dragged out of Babylon by the Lord are made willing by the Lord. That is what these verses and an examination of Ezra shows. None of us would every willingly, unless we were caused by the chastening grace of God to give up our life in this flesh. I first began to see the fallacy of freewill when I read and pondered the promises of the new covenant. I realized there was no YOU WILL, it was all I WILL says the Lord. I hope some of the readers will begin to realize this and try the spirits of what they heretofore have been believing.

Eze 36:23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Eze 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Eze 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Eze 36:29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.
Eze 36:30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

Amazing how all of these I WILL’s become man must do X,Y and Z to save himself. Oh praise God for the wondrous works of the Lord to the children. When men are saved, you can be sure the Lord and God will get all the glory and no one is going to be boasting they had any part in saving themselves.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

The sum of thy word tells a clear picture of God’s complete and absolute sovereignty. We do make choices but all those choices are caused of the Lord. When you have a Lord who can declare to you our every thought, it is not too far fetched to then understand how He stirs up the hearts of His chosen ones to go build His tabernacle and to do His works, that we will continue to do Lord willing.

2Pe 1:20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture at all is becoming its own explanation.

When we pit Scripture against itself or ignore some of it to make our points, we are making another jesus. Free will is a lie and keeps the whole world in strong delusion. When we put all Scripture together we see the truth and that truth is that NO MAN comes to Christ unless they are dragged.

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me drag him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

We have to use the SUM of God’s word and frequently dig deep into the words to uncover the leaven that carnal translators and the traditions of men have inserted into our Bibles over 2,000 years of apostasy.

It takes a lot of time once we leave the physical building to unlearn all the lies we did learn when we were in Babylon. So many have a zeal for the Lord but without knowledge. It has not been given to them to see yet and they will continue to stagger in spiritual darkness thinking they are in the light. One day Jesus will take care of it and upon that event we will wait.

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

I am hoping some ignoring Scripture and clinging to their idols will admit they have been blind on this issue. That is the beginning of their healing.

Sincere questions or comments can be emailed to me at peterjwilson56@gmail.com