Does God take pleasure in punishing the wicked?

[Lili]

But it is contradictory. How is it that the God of the Bible can both want people to turn from their wicked ways to live, yet he keeps certain people from turning from from their behavior, so that they will face death/ruin.

[Mountain Man]

One way to understand it is that God didn't override their free will but rather compelled them through his actions. It's like saying, "You made me mad!" You're not saying that someone somehow controlled you and caused you to be angry against your will; rather, you're saying they did something that provoked you to anger. God, being a perfect judge of character, knows exactly what actions he needs to take to provoke someone to take action that is according to his will.

Another possibility is that God actually did override their freewill, but the loss of freewill was simply part of the judgment for past wrongs.

[FlimFlamboyant]

But it is contradictory. How is it that the God of the Bible can both want people to turn from their wicked ways to live, yet he keeps certain people from turning from from their behavior, so that they will face death/ruin.

I think there comes a point where it's too late. They've had ample opportunity to turn things around over the course of their lives, and God eventually says, "fine, have it your way". You might say God is violating their free will by hardening their hearts, (and thus not giving them time to change), but in these cases, it appears that they have had plenty of time. Punishment has to be administered at some point, and I'm sure that wouldn't fall under their own free will, either.

[Lili]

If they had just kept sinning of there own free will, and then got punished, that would be consistent with Ezekiel 18:23, 32, 11:33. But since they were forced to disobey, it is inconsistent. Whoever wrote those verses had a different theological view than the author of Ezekiel.

[FlimFlamboyant]

If they had just kept sinning of there own free will, and then got punished, that would be consistent with Ezekiel 18:23, 32, 11:33.

What about all of their idolatry and evil works for who knows how long before that? Don't you think that had something to do with how God dealt with them?

[Mountain Man]

Indeed. Where's the verse that says that God caused them to sin in the first place?