“I Create Evil”
“I form the light, and
create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].” (Isaiah 45:7)
“[Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on
iniquity:…” (Habakkuk 1:13)
“Let no man say when he is
tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither
tempteth he any man:” (James 1:13)
In above set of Scriptures, we find one of the supposedly
contradictory texts of the Scriptures.
On one hand, from the lips of the Lord Himself, He clearly states that “I create evil”. Then later in the Scriptures we find Habakkuk,
as he speaks concerning the Lord, says “[Thou
art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:” then, to
add confusion to our subject, James states clearly that God “cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”
In this series of lessons, we will be looking into two basic
questions, first, “What Is God’s Role In The Existence of Evil ?” and,
secondly, “What Is The Purpose Behind The Existence Of Evil ?”
THE
STUDY:
Before
we begin this portion of our study, let’s pick up with the summary from our studies
so far …
1. “Evil” describes something that
causes harm or injury
2. “Evil” can be referring to harm that is so
severe, that it causes total destruction or uselessness
3. “Evil” can, but not necessarily, involves
moral wickedness
4. “Evil” can describe sin or it can describe
the results of sin
5. “Evil” can describe the direct results of sin
6. “Evil” can describe the indirect results of
sin
7. “Evil” can describe an act that is morally
wicked
8. “Evil” can describe, not the act, but the
result of moral wickedness
9. Evil is “the condition/act of sin, OR the
direct or indirect results of sin, that are harmful, and potentially ruinous,
to any part of God’s creation.”
10. Our Lord is in absolute control of all
things, this principle is clearly presented throughout the Bible
11. It is only because the Lord is in control of
all things that we can place our unwavering faith in Him
12. The Sovereignty Of God affects: His ability
to aid us, His answering our prayers, His ability to save, His prophecies to use
13.
The Lord is in control of Satan himself, who can do nothing apart from the
Lord’s allowance
14.
The Lord is perfectly holy and separate from sin.
15.
Satan and Adam are the ones who are responsible for sin’s existence and
entrance into this world
If
God, due to His holiness, cannot be the author of sin then what did He mean
when He said “I create evil”?...
“I Create Evil”…
Exactly What Did Our Lord Create?
“I form the light, and
create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].” (Isaiah 45:7)
To
understand what the Lord is speaking of we must remember the Biblical
definition for “evil”.
Evil
is “the condition/act of sin, OR the direct or indirect results of sin, that
are harmful, and potentially ruinous, to any part of God’s creation.”
In
other words, the term “evil” can describe either:
1.
the act of sin
2.
OR the result of that sin.
We
have already seen that, due to the absolute holiness of God, the creation of
sin cannot be attributed to the Lord. Therefore when He says “I create evil”,
He cannot be speaking of the act of sin.
However, there is no reason to deny that He was speaking of the results
of sin in the world. As a matter of
fact, the Bible makes it clear to us that this is exactly what He is saying.
Following
the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the LORD IMPOSED upon the serpent,
mankind and all nature several “evils” in response to the commission of sin by
Adam. These included: the curse upon the
serpent, enmity between serpent and man, physical, spiritual and eternal death,
the growth of weeds, and the mother’s pain in childbearing and the dominance of
man over the woman…
“And the LORD God said unto the serpent,
Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed
above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt
thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and
thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
[shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said,
Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the
tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in
sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou
taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:14-19)
In
these we can see the Lord’s acceptance of the responsibility for these “evils”
upon Satan, the woman, the man, and nature by the phrases “I will” and
“cursed”.
What
about some of the results of sin upon nature?
The evils of tornados and earthquakes, floods, and famines all of which
only exist due to the entrance of sin into nature…
“Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy
wind fulfilling his word:” (Psalms 148:8)
The Psalmist tells us that the elements of nature
exist at the Lord’s bidding and fulfill His will. But the Word goes much farther in Job 37:
“For he saith to the snow,
Be thou [on] the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of
his strength. He sealeth up the hand of
every man; that all men may know his work. Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. Out of the south cometh
the whirlwind: and cold out of the north. By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is
straitened. Also by watering he
wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud: And it is turned round
about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the
face of the world in the earth. He causeth it to come, whether for
correction, or for his land, or for mercy.
(Job 37:6-13)
Here,
we are clearly told that the Lord is the One that “causeth it to come” and that He then uses these evils of nature “whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.”
Throughout
the Word we see His origination, control and usage of the many “evils” of
nature. A few well-known examples
include:
1. Gen 6:-9: - the worldwide flood of Noah’s day
1. Gen 6:-9: - the worldwide flood of Noah’s day
2.
Exo 9:-13: - the many of the ten plagues of Egypt
3.
Deut 28: - drought as punishment for sin
4.
1 Kings 16: - rain withheld
5.
Jonah 1: - storm to stop Jonah’s flight
6.
Nahum 1: - whirlwind and drought used as examples of judgment from the Lord
All
of these were created by God, controlled by God and meted out in response to
the presence of sin in the world.
What
about the physical (medical) evils that comes upon mankind…. Is the Lord in
control of these things? Below are just
a few of many examples of the Lord causing, and then using, physical
afflictions for His purpose..
1.
Gen 19: - men of Sodom smitten with blindness
2.
Exo 9: - boils upon animals and Egyptians
3.
Deut 28: - boils, hemorrhoids, rashes
4.
2 Kings 6: - Dothan’s army smitten with blindness
5.
Acts 9: - Blindness upon Saul
6.
Acts 12: – Herod smitten with worms
In
the above six I chose, ALL of them clearly tell us that the Lord, or one of His
angels, brought these afflictions upon these men. And all of these are related
to the sinful condition of mankind.
The
Bible clearly tells us that the Lord creates and uses many direct and indirect
evils (harmful events) in response to the sinfulness of mankind. It is, in this sense, that He says “I create
evil”
Note:
Please keep in mind, the evil results of sin do not always proceed upon men
directly from the hand of the Lord. The
example of Job helps us to understand that, at times, the Lord sovereignly
allows Satan to bring the results of sin upon man. In Job’s case, it included both physical sickness,
as well as, natural catastrophes as well as others (Job 1:-2:).
Be
that as it may, it opposes the clear declaration of the Scriptures to believe
that all of these evils come indirectly from the Lord. There are many times in
Scripture where we are clearly told that these types of evils come directly
from the hand of the Lord because of the sinful condition of mankind.
In
our next lesson… Why does a loving God allow sin to take place and why does He bring
to pass the evil results of sin upon mankind?
THE PRACTICAL
APPLICATION:
What we have seen in our study so far….
We have attempted to come to a very basic understanding of the
term “evil” as used in the Bible. We
have come to see that:
1. “Evil” describes something that
causes harm or injury
2. “Evil” can be referring to harm that is so
severe, that it causes total destruction or uselessness
3. “Evil” can, but not necessarily, involves
moral wickedness
4. “Evil” can describe sin or it can describe
the results of sin
5. “Evil” can describe the direct results of sin
6. “Evil” can describe the indirect results of
sin
7. “Evil” can describe an act that is morally
wicked
8. “Evil” can describe, not the act, but the
result of moral wickedness
9. Evil is “the condition/act of sin, OR the
direct or indirect results of sin, that are harmful, and potentially ruinous,
to any part of God’s creation.”
10. Our Lord is in absolute control of all
things, this principle is clearly presented throughout the Bible
11. It is only because the Lord is in control of
all things that we can place our unwavering faith in Him
12. The Sovereignty Of God affects: His ability
to aid us, His answering our prayers, His ability to save, His prophecies to
use
13.
The Lord is in control of Satan himself, who can do nothing apart from the
Lord’s allowance
14.
The Lord is perfectly holy and separate from sin.
15.
Satan and Adam are the ones who are responsible for sin’s existence and
entrance into this world
16. The Lord is the author and sovereign
controller of the results of sin upon mankind
May the Lord bless you as you continue to seek His truth.
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may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in
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