The Showcase of God's Glory: Middle knowledge pt. II

Proponents of middle knowledge cite various Biblical accounts as evidence that God possesses middle knowledge. 1 Samuel 23, one such passage, recounts God’s warning to David that Saul would come to Keilah in order to kill him (v. 10-11). In verse 12, God further warns David that the men of Keilah would surrender David over to Saul when he arrived. David, therefore, flees Keilah and in turn is not captured by Saul. Neither God’s natural or free knowledge can account for His warning to David in this passage. Knowledge of Saul’s plans and Keilah’s reaction are not necessary truths to the nature of God, so they cannot be attributed to His natural knowledge. However, since Saul in fact never actually comes to Keilah (v. 13) and the men of Keilah never actually hand David over, there are no existing actual events that God’s free knowledge could contemplate. Rather, the events of 1 Samuel 23 demonstrate God’s knowledge of counterfactuals, which constitutes His middle knowledge.
Proponents also posit that middle knowledge plays a significant role in creation. Hasker notes that in creating a world involving libertarian freedom, some risks are inevitable. Free agents may choose to do good, but they may also choose to do evil. In fact, there remains the risk of all agents doing tremendous evil. In the face of such risks, an omnibenevolent God would perhaps not create at all, rather than chancing such calamity. Further, since natural knowledge only informs God of those truths which emanate from His nature, and free knowledge only informs God of that which is created and actualized, before the moment He spoke creation into being God would only know the possibilities; and thus, the events which transpired would come sequentially to Him as a surprise. Without middle knowledge the creation event seems to undermine both God’s wisdom and foreknowledge.
Middle knowledge informs God before the Creative Act of the free actions of all possible agents in all possible situations. God foresees all their free choices, and thus has the ability to know what circumstances to create to achieve the best possible ends. God desires to create agents which will desire good and love Him, but allows them to respond freely to Himself. Middle knowledge does not allow God to determine which actions men will take, but simply to know what those free actions would be in any given set of circumstances. Craig summarizes, “by means of His middle knowledge, God is able to construct a possible world which is within His power to actualize and which is consonant with His will.”