Then what about election? Sorry, I must be missing something.
None of us are OT prophets. I am not sure why you seem to keep overlooking the distinction between an ability to choose and free will. Do you think they are the same thing? That any can choose what colour of socks to wear does not equate to a dead person having the ability to choose to be alive. Man is a slave to sin; dead in his trespasses and sins. God made us alive while we were yet sinners... He circumcises our hearts so we can love Him. Before that we are hostile in our minds toward Him. Total depravity affirms that every fiber of man's being is contaminated and affected by sin - his mind, will, and emotions. Many think this doctrine is taught only by Calvinists, but it is ubiquitous throughout Christianity, being present also in Arminian and Molinist teachings. The Bible teaches this on the will: there is God's will, and there is man's will. Man's will is either aligned with God's, or it is not, and without faith, one cannot please God. Scripture teaches that man lives "in the lusts of his flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and [is] by nature [a child] of wrath, even as the rest." All suppressed the truths of God for lies and had exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling man. There are none righteous, all have gone astray. More could be said, I am sure, but I will just add this: many do not discuss heart circumcision, which is a shame. When it happens is a whole 'nother thing. Some believe we are saved even apart from faith. I do not agree with that... but it is complex.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
- John 3:16