Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Harold Holmyard <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Shoshanna,


> He's just always doing his job.
>
> The proverbs you cite clearly relate to man, not angels.
>
> Because angels do not have free will and were not given the Torah and 
> 613 mitzvot.
>
> And the serpent in Genesis, the consensus of our commentators is that 
> it was a real serpent, they just differ as to who he represents - the 
> Angel of Death, or Satan.  At any rate he did the same thing - 
> enticed Chava to disobey G-d.
>  



HH: A text that could suggest what you are saying is 1 Kings 22, but 
this text is dealing with the angelic system as it is now, not the way 
it was before the angels sinned. You do not admit that Satan is a fallen 
angel, so you do not see that God uses even the wrath of angels (cf. Ps. 
76:10, which talks about the wrath of man bringing him praise).

HH: Angels are creatures more glorious than human beings. Certainly they 
have free will, and many have rebelled against God. They have a certain 
place in heaven now, but will one day be thrown out. God uses even 
rebellious angels to accomplish His ultimate purposes. The evil spirit 
that afflicted Saul and the spirit that lied through Ahab's false 
prophets to entice Ahab into war are examples of God's sovereignty over 
the rebellious angels. There were angels who left their own estate and 
have been imprisoned in the underworld until the day of judgment. The 
"sons of God" in Genesis 6 are understood to be such angels by ancient 
Jewish exegesis. The king of Tyre is compared to Satan in Ezekiel 28. 
Isaiah 14:12-14 probably compares the king of Babylon to angelic 
rebellion in heaven.

HH: It is not right to lie or to tempt others to sin. It is not right to 
accuse too harshly (Zechariah 3). It should be obvious that a holy God 
does not want anybody to do such things:

Psa. 92:15 showing that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

HH: If God commands the angels so that they have no free will, and he 
commands them to lie, then it is as though God were lying. But God does 
not lie:

1Sam. 15:29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his 
mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”

HH: It is only in the context of a fallen world, with fallen angels and 
fallen men, that he allows angels to tempt and lie.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard