Board index ‹ Assorted Bible Questions

[Willy Nilly]

What is the point of God testing humans if he already knows exactly what the result will be?

[jimwalton]

The test is for our benefit, not God's. We are not to assume that God gains any cognitive knowledge that He previously lacked. God is able to see (what for us is) forward in time, so, as you said, he knows what the results will be. For us, however, it's a real test, a genuine learning time, and an opportunity to grow forward in some skill or attitude. All of God's tests for us include some benefit for us to gain. God wants from us more than mere participation; He's trying to make us into something. God knows what the result will be, yet He always takes delight in our expressions of love, faith, honor, and worship.

[Willy Nilly]

That's an angle I wasn't thinking about, thanks for the response. How about specifically for Eve? What benefits did it give her? I struggle to see how letting this entire fiasco happen is better than just telling the snake to f*** off out of Eden.

[jimwalton]

Eve is different because God didn't test Eve.There's no indication in the text that this was any kind of test. Instead, it was real life. It's one thing to test and train a soldier; it's real when he's in the heat of battle. God warned Eve of a very real possibility of temptation, had already shown her how to choose correctly, and honestly let her know of dire consequences if she chose wrong. But He didn't test her.

> What benefits did it give her?

If she had done what God said, the benefits could have been continued access to the tree of life and to the presence of God.

> I struggle to see how letting this entire fiasco happen is better than just telling the snake to f*** off out of Eden.

God doesn't interfere with people's free will. If He did, it wouldn't be free will, but action by coercion. God is interested in a love relationship, which is something people have to choose. He has to let people make their own choices, or it's not free will and it's not love.

We don't know how many times Eve was in a compromising situation. We don't know what all was involved. We read about the one she failed, because that's the one pertinent to the Bible's story of the covenant and salvation-redemption. God can't stop people from making their own choices. But He had both instructed Eve and warned her. The result had to be up to her. It wasn't God testing her.