Ezekiel 14:9—Did God deceive these false prophets?

Problem: Ezekiel declares that God “induced” the false prophets to speak and then would “destroy” them for doing so. But this sounds deceptive.

Solution: God’s action was neither deceptive nor morally coercive. Giving false prophecies is exactly what false prophets like to do. So, there is no coercion by God in inducing them to ply their trade. The sovereign God so ordered the circumstances that these evil men would, by their own free will, utter false prophecies that would reveal their true character and lead to their eventual doom. It is because they did not love the truth that God gave them over to error and its eventual consequence, destruction (see 2 Thes. 2:10–11).

This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Click here to purchase this book.