Abel's murder.
Tamar's rape.
Israel's entire kingship.
Prophet's murdered.
Idol worship in His very own temple.
But doesn't this diminish God's sovereignty? Are we not saying God is then not in control?
A fair question and a good one. First, what does God have to say?
In the case of Abel, God was clearly displeased that Cain murdered his brother. God punished Cain for this sin. It is clear that God did not approve of this, yet it happened.
In Israel, we see that God did not intend for them to ever have a king other then God Himself. However, Israel rebelled and God consented to give them a king and even bless the line of David. David was never supposed to be king; God had intended for them to keep only Himself as their king, but God still allowed it to happen. Even in this entire existence that was not in accordance with God's original will - this second best option, if you will - God still worked with and through King David.
Why? Isn't God all powerful? Isn't he able to force His will? Of course He is. There is no question as to wether or not God can. The fact of the matter is that He won't. He will not force His will upon us. Because of this, things will happen - like the kingdom of Israel becoming a kingdom, and the various acts of violence that would be entangled therein- that are not God's original plan for the nation. A whole chain of causality happens that affects thousands of years and millions of lives because God allowed human choice. God is not limited by human choices because He cannot act against them; rather because He chooses to truly let us have freewill and all that that entails.
But does Jesus ever talk about this? Indeed He does. He mentions it specifically in two places in Scripture. (Luke 13:34 & Matt 23:37 ) Jesus, as Almighty God, tells us plainly that Jerusalem was disobedient to God's Will of its own freewill and that this was allowed. Not only that, but this affected all of history. Jesus makes it clear that this grieves His heart, but that He allows Jerusalem to kill prophets and deny Him because He gave them choice and they chose to do so.
Frankly, that we can choose to defy God's will and that doing so will cause things to change. These decisions are irreversible, not because God is limited by nature, but because He chooses to limit Himself by choice. This chain of disobedience can cause things to happen that God does not condone or even want to have happen, but He allows them because He has the ultimate Sovereign Power: the ability to grant us, mere humans made of dirt, the awesome power of true choice - Freewill.
Some may protest, saying that God might allow these things, but in the context of the kingdom of Israel God's Will was still His primary Will; meaning that God truly approved of all that Israel was and did, so far as commands, laws, and wars. However, we find again that Jesus disapproved of some of Israel's legal system that He, as God, had given them. When they ask Him about divorce, He makes it abundantly clear that it was not His Will that they even consider divorce, but He allowed it in their law anyway. He directly and clearly states that this was not His original intent and goes so far as to say that divorce in virtually all cases is sin, but it was allowed only due to the fallen nature of Israel.
So if Israel is so full of flaws and failures, where can we turn for an accurate look at what God wants?
Jesus
He is our perfect example. He commands us to be like Himself, and like His Father. We are called to be merciful, to love our enemies, to do good and not evil, and to be holy as He is holy. Jesus was the perfect example that we are commanded to follow; and He didn't leave any of His commands of love and self-denial in vague terms. He clearly states that His Kingdom is not of this world, that His people do not fight, and that we are to carry our crosses and follow Him. He lived in a time that being a political revolutionary would have been approved by the clergy, but He told us to be subservient to our enemies, making no distinction between political enemies or personal ones. He said this in the most literal, simple terms possible, and we believe He meant them literally.
Some may protest, saying that God might allow these things, but in the context of the kingdom of Israel God's Will was still His primary Will; meaning that God truly approved of all that Israel was and did, so far as commands, laws, and wars. However, we find again that Jesus disapproved of some of Israel's legal system that He, as God, had given them. When they ask Him about divorce, He makes it abundantly clear that it was not His Will that they even consider divorce, but He allowed it in their law anyway. He directly and clearly states that this was not His original intent and goes so far as to say that divorce in virtually all cases is sin, but it was allowed only due to the fallen nature of Israel.
So if Israel is so full of flaws and failures, where can we turn for an accurate look at what God wants?
Jesus
He is our perfect example. He commands us to be like Himself, and like His Father. We are called to be merciful, to love our enemies, to do good and not evil, and to be holy as He is holy. Jesus was the perfect example that we are commanded to follow; and He didn't leave any of His commands of love and self-denial in vague terms. He clearly states that His Kingdom is not of this world, that His people do not fight, and that we are to carry our crosses and follow Him. He lived in a time that being a political revolutionary would have been approved by the clergy, but He told us to be subservient to our enemies, making no distinction between political enemies or personal ones. He said this in the most literal, simple terms possible, and we believe He meant them literally.
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