Just because God asks a question, it doesn't mean He does not already know the answer...
God also often shows "human emotion" in the Scriptures: jealously, disappointment, sorrow, grief, repentance, etc. All such words and statements are for man's benefit. God speaks to mankind on a physical, human level, because mankind is carnal (Rom. 8:7) and CANNOT comprehend spiritual things. So God presents us with many statements of human emotion as though God is actually experiencing those "human emotions" at the time He expresses them to us.
This is the RELATIVE truth, only understandable to spiritual babes with carnal minds. God interacting with the human race is not unlike a marionette show for children. To the children, IT APPEARS as though all the action on the stage is REALITY. But every ADULT knows that the real reality is BEHIND THE CURTAIN. The "operators" of the marionettes are the ultimate reality. GOD IS THAT OPERATOR BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF HUMAN UNDERSTANDING:
"In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him Who works [Greek: 'operates'] ALL THINGS after the counsel of His own will" (Eph. 1:11).
God also often shows "human emotion" in the Scriptures: jealously, disappointment, sorrow, grief, repentance, etc. All such words and statements are for man's benefit. God speaks to mankind on a physical, human level, because mankind is carnal (Rom. 8:7) and CANNOT comprehend spiritual things. So God presents us with many statements of human emotion as though God is actually experiencing those "human emotions" at the time He expresses them to us.
This is the RELATIVE truth, only understandable to spiritual babes with carnal minds. God interacting with the human race is not unlike a marionette show for children. To the children, IT APPEARS as though all the action on the stage is REALITY. But every ADULT knows that the real reality is BEHIND THE CURTAIN. The "operators" of the marionettes are the ultimate reality. GOD IS THAT OPERATOR BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF HUMAN UNDERSTANDING:
"In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him Who works [Greek: 'operates'] ALL THINGS after the counsel of His own will" (Eph. 1:11).