Premise:
God created everything therefore He created evil.
If we believe that God created a perfect world and He is sovereign, where did evil come from? There are some who believe that His sovereign control includes the creation of evil, and they base their conclusion on the words of Isaiah 45:7. In that verse, God says, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil" (KJV).
In order to understand what God was saying through the prophet Isaiah, we need to look at the words used in the text of. Hebrew words often have a wide variety of meanings, depending on the immediate context in which the word is used. The job of the translator is to accurately select the best modern English word that is closest to the meaning of the word used in the original Hebrew manuscripts. As well as to account for changes in daily use of the word such as 1 Cor. 13 in the KJV states the use of the word Charity where we now use the word Love.
The fact that different English translations use different words for the Hebrew word ra‘ the fact that ra‘ is contrasted to shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, helps to give parameters to the meaning of ra‘. Shalom, again, is a rich word with broad meaning. Depending on the context, shalom can be translated "peace," "well-being," "welfare," "prosperity," "safe," "health," and "peaceable." in Isaiah 45:7 makes it evident that different translators interpreted the context of Isaiah 45 in different ways. Five different English translations are compared below.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things (KJV).
I form the light, and create darkness, I make peace, and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things (NKJV)
I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things (NIV).
The One forming
light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating
calamity; I am the
Lord who does all these (NASB).
I form light and
create darkness, I make weal and create woe,
I am the Lord, who does all these things (RSV).
The
Hebrew term ra‘ has a broad spectrum of meanings. It can mean
"wickedness," "mischief," "bad," "trouble," "hurt," "sore," "affliction," "ill,"
"adversity," "harm," "grievous," and "sad." Thus, as with the interpretation of
any word, it is the immediate context that dictates the exact nuance of the word
to be translated into English.
The
fact that ra‘ is contrasted to shalom, the Hebrew word for peace,
helps to give parameters to the meaning of ra‘. Shalom, again, is a rich
word with broad meaning. Depending on the context, shalom can be
translated "peace," "well-being," "welfare," "prosperity," "safe," "health," and
"peaceable."
The context of Isaiah 45:7 is a profound declaration of
God’s total sovereignty over the affairs of men. God’s stunning revelation that
Cyrus, the totalitarian ruler of Persia, was being chosen by Him to be "His
anointed" (Isaiah 45:1), the deliverer of the nation of Israel, was shocking to
Isaiah’s readers. This is especially true given God’s clear denunciation of
idolatry in the immediately preceding context (Isaiah 44:6-23).
The irony of this passage is that God reveals how He intends to use a pagan,
idol-worshiping dictator like Cyrus to return His
people Israel to the land from which they had been deposed by the Babylonian
despot, Nebuchadnezzar.
In summing up the gamut of His awesome character and
unpredictable ways (see also
Isaiah 55:8-9), God declares:
“I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from Me
there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged Me, so
that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there
is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and
create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all
these things” (Isaiah 45:5-7 NIV).
This
is the signature exclamation of the only sovereign potentate of the universe: "I
did this!" From the beginning to the end, from light to darkness, from
prosperity to disaster, all are the work of His hands. God uses even the most
wicked and evil exploits of this world to bring about His glory and divine
purposes. That is what is so awesome about God. Only He can take the most
wicked, evil, and self-serving intentions and make good come out of them (see
also
Romans 8:28).
Does
God create evil? Certainly not. If He was the author of evil, then
He certainly would not be a good God that is worthy of worship and praise, much
less trusted to have our well-being in mind. The idea of a good God creating His
own enemy and the object of His wrath seems inconceivable. It would be
inconsistent for a good God to mastermind the idea of evil, will it into
existence, and still be considered a good God.
Rather, God created man in His image with the freedom to choose.
With this freedom came the opportunity to rebel against Him. Man did rebel
(Genesis 3), and the rest is history. The annals of human history chronicle how
God uses everything—even the chaos of this world—to bring about His glory and
purposes. Those purposes include our growth in becoming more Christ like.
If you would like to discuss this topic further - or if you have questions:
Click the link to go to our discussion page. Either, feel free to create a
new topic/question or to participate in an existing one:
Did
God Create Evil Questions & Discussion.
Logging in is optional but if you do decide to,
all information is confidential and will not be
distributed
to anyone or any organization.