Infidel Objections to the Bible Answered
Infidel Objections to the Bible Answered. No. 12.
God Tempts Men.— And it came to pass, that God did tempt Abraham. Gen. xxii, 1. And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go number Israel and Judah. 2 Sam. xxiv, 1. O Lord, thou hast deceived (marginal reading, enticed) me, and I was deceived (enticed). Jer. xx, 7. Lead us not into temptation. Matt. vi, 13. God Tempts No Men.— Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. James i, 13. Temptation signifies nothing more than trial; any opposition or difficulty that may exercise our virtues, and make them known. In this sense God may be said to tempt men; that is he tries and proves them, and thus he tempted Abraham. Sometimes temptation means dangerous trials and enticements to sin, under which we are more likely to sink, than to overcome them. In this sense God “tempteth not any man;” nor will he if we resist them, “suffer us to be tempted above what we are able.” 1 Cor. x, 13. On 2 Sam. xxiv, 1, it is sufficient to remark that it was Satan, not the Lord, who moved David to number Israel. See margin. “The original word is pittithani, thou hast persuaded me, i. e. to go and prophesy to this people. I went, faithfully declared thy message, and now I am likely to perish by their cruelty. As the root pathah signifies to persuade and allure, as well as to deceive, the above must be its meaning in this place. Taken as in our version, it is highly irreverent. It is used in the same sense here as in Gen. ix, 27: God shall enlarge (persuade, margin) Japheth; and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem.” “The best commentators are of opinion that this expression imports: ‘Suffer us not to be led into, abandon us not unto, temptation,’ i. e., (by implication) so as to be overcome by it.” Macknight translates the text, “Abandon us not to temptation.” This gives a correct idea of the text, and relieves it of all difficulty.