God asks questions....

[Abiding in His Word]

In reading scripture lately, I find God asking questions that I'm certain He already knew the answer to. Here's a few:

Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" Gen 3:9

And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" Gen 3:11

Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Gen 3:13

Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" Gen 4:9

And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?' Gen 18:13

He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from and where are you going?" And she said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai." Gen 16:8

The LORD said to him (Moses), "What is that in your hand?" And he said, "A staff." Exo 4:2

Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 1Kings 19:9

Then God said to Jonah, "Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?" And he said, "I have good reason to be angry, even to death." Jonah 4:9

There may not be one simple answer, but I'm wondering why He asks questions of people when He knows the answer. Thoughts?

[aaron]

My most simple answer is that I think He takes pleasure in conversation with us. In prayer, many times I ask God a question and believe He asks me a question in return. Jesus asked many questions, it would be a fun study to ready all of Jesus' questions. As a family, we have been studying His miracles one by one daily. I can imagine great discussions happening around questions. Thanks abiding.

In my years of youth ministry, I often found asking questions and hearing answers the most rewarding part vs. teaching while they sit quietly. (As if that's possible for teenagers lol)

My 2c.
-a

[Abiding in His Word]

Thanks, aaron; I, too believe asking questions leads to very interesting discussions. But just from the few I posted that God asked, it seems that there's a very pointed reason for each and that He isn't just asking for the sake of conversation. For example, the question directed to Cain....

"Where is Abel your brother?"

It seems to me that He might be giving Cain the opportunity to repent for killing his brother. He listens for sorrow or remorse but instead gets a very flippant answer in which he denies knowing. "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

Notice that God gives him a second chance to acknowledge his sin (verse10). "What have you done?" It's only when God tells him of the consequences of his action does Cain express any sorrow or remorse and then it's not for what he'd done, but only for his own safety. "....whoever finds me will kill me."

Interestingly, Cain does see that his sin has separated him from God's presence. "...from your face I will be hidden."

God is so wise isn't He in the manner He brings us face to face with our failures and shortcomings?

[mark s]

God knows the answers, I think He wants us to know, and acknowledge the answers.

[extravagantchristian]

Yeah, He wants us to think...and arrive at the answer on our own. Sometimes we humans just don't THINK... about the right stuff... at the right time... and the full result of our beliefs and choices. Sometimes we hold onto beliefs that we don't even realize are there, and we have a natural way ignoring the truth and twisting things around in our mind to fit our wants and whims. A lot of the time we only see what we want to see. We can only have about 10,000 thoughts in one day ya know. We're pretty slow, compared to God. We're basically just a bunch of dumb apes wandering around, I'm surprised God wants to have anything to do with us lol... for some reason our thoughts and decisions really matter to Him...

[Jericho]

"Where is Abel your brother?"

It reminds me of the way a parent will ask there child something they already know the answer to. Especially if you know they did something wrong.

[Abiding in His Word]

It reminds me of the way a parent will ask there child something they already know the answer to. Especially if you know they did something wrong.

Yes, Sword, but look how patient God is with Moses. I wonder if we would be so patient with our children when they challenge us with questions. Maybe we need to see that sometimes their resistance isn't from rebellion, but rather out of a sense of inadequacy or the inability to accomplish the task set before them. That's how I see Moses' resistance.

Looking back at the whole discourse between Moses and God, it seems that the first question was initiated by Moses.

"What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? Ex 4:1

"What is that in your hand?"

Moses knew it was a staff. It seems God wanted Moses to know that his staff would be the instrument that would hopefully make them believe Moses was sent by God. But this would only be the first sign.... God continues to provide Moses with a series of signs He will provide and still Moses tries to wiggle out of the assignment.

Then Moses said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." Exo 4:10

And who would (at that point) be bold enough to once again try to persuade the Lord that we were not the right person for the job?? But Moses does....

But he said, "Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will." Exo 4:13

And see the patience of the Lord....he concedes to have Aaron accompany Moses and speak to the people.

Truly this is an example of God's intimate knowledge of our human weakness and insecurity and His patience and encouragement, isn't it!

Questions.....and answers.

[Keeping Alert]

I think God has different purposes with different questions.

For Adam, Eve or Cain, it is like in a court where questions finds out the criminal...

For Moses, it is to reveal to Moses that the simple and unasumming things that he has, can be used by God for His purposes... I can use this dead staff, so can I use you, Moses...

To Elijah and Jonah, it is for them to search their souls and find them misaligned...

I believe the Holy Spirit currently does the same thing in various situations... and how often it is because we did not take note of those questions that troubled our hearts that we did not glorify God.

Blessings,
KA