Did God Create Evil?

What do you think of when I say the word create?

So if God created us with the ability to choose knowing we would sin. He allowed Satan in the Garden. Then didn’t God essentially create evil?

Then if the Bible is God’s Word.  How would you begin to respond to this verse?

Passage:

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things (Isaiah 45:7 KJV).[1]

We have touch on the topic of evil.  Do you remember how I said we define it?

Why does it matter how we define things?

How do you know that a line is crooked?

Everything has a standard.  Can you name me something that has a standard?

What is the difference between how we define things and how God defines them?

How do we know how God defines things?

This brings us to a very important topic on how we read & study the Bible.

What is the difference between reading and studying the Bible?

What types of things are important to learn when we study the Bible as opposed to simply reading it?

2 Important Principles

Words don’t have meaning they have usage!

Context is King!

Now let’s read a little more!

Isaiah 45:1–7

In Isaiah 45:1–7, the prophet foresees God calling and anointing King Cyrus of Persia to be His chosen instrument to subdue nations (namely Babylon) for the sake of His people Israel. Cyrus, who was not yet born at the time of the prophecy, did not know the Lord or even acknowledge His existence, making him an unlikely choice to be God’s anointed. The pick of Cyrus proved all the more that God is sovereign and in control of all things and people. As the only true God and Creator of all life, His authority and decisions cannot truly be challenged:

“There is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things” (Isaiah 45:6–7, KJV 1900). If everything God created was good (Genesis 1:31; 1 Timothy 4:4; James 1:17), why does Isaiah 45:7 say God created evil? The Hebrew word translated as “evil” (ra‘) in the King James Version of Isaiah 45:7 has two applications in the Bible. The term can be used in the sense of moral evil, such as wickedness and sin (Matthew 12:35; Judges 3:12; Proverbs 8:13; 3 John 1:11), or it can refer to harmful natural events, calamity, misfortune, adversity, affliction, or disaster. It is in this second sense that Isaiah speaks, and his meaning is reflected in most modern Bible translations of Isaiah 45:7 (emphasis added): “I make success and create disaster” (HCSB); “I make well-being and create calamity” (ESV); “I send good times and bad times” (NLT). God does not create moral evil. For one thing, moral evil is not a “thing” to be made but a choice or intent contrary to God’s good purposes, His holy character, and His law. Moral evil does not conform to God and His will. God is good (Psalm 34:8), holy (Leviticus 11:44; Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:16), and loving (1 John 4:8); therefore, His plans and purposes are good, holy, and loving. As Ruler of the universe, God sometimes creates calamity to accomplish His will. He brought disaster to discipline His people when they turned their backs on Him and refused to repent (Jeremiah 18:17). And He promised to bring calamity to Babylon through Cyrus for the sake of His chosen people—to restore them to their homeland and rebuild their ruined cities (Isaiah 41:8–10; 44:26; 45:4; 2 Chronicles 36:22–23; Ezra 1:3). As the Sovereign King over all earthly kings, God can make light or darkness and create peace or calamity. He can use Cyrus as His agent of redemption and peace for Israel and as the bringer of calamity upon Babylon. God moved beyond the boundaries of Israel, selecting a world power that did not even recognize His sovereignty to accomplish His greater kingdom purposes. Cyrus would be the Lord’s divine instrument to help spread the good news of God’s “righteousness” and “salvation” (see Isaiah 45:8) to “all the world from east to west” (Isaiah 45:6, NLT). Cyrus would be the channel, but God was the Architect and Inventor of it all. God’s sovereign rule over all things good and bad—over success and calamity for His people Israel—is cause for hope in the lives of believers today. We can trust and “know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28, NLT). God’s purpose is to bring us to spiritual maturity (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:4; 5:27; Colossians 1:22; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Jude 1:24). Our experiences may seem bright or dark, peaceful or disastrous, but God promises to craft them all together, even adversity, affliction, and “evil,” for our ultimate benefit.

The context of Isaiah 45:7 makes it clear that something other than “bringing moral evil into existence” is in mind. The context of Isaiah 45:7 is God rewarding Israel for obedience and punishing Israel for disobedience. God pours out salvation and blessings on those whom He favors. God brings judgment on those who continue to rebel against Him. “Woe to him who quarrels with his Master” (Isaiah 45:9). That is the person to whom God brings “evil” and “disaster.” So, rather than saying that God created “moral evil,” Isaiah 45:7 is presenting a common theme of Scripture—that God brings disaster on those who continue in hard-hearted rebellion against Him.[2]

Explanation:Scripture reveals a God who is perfectly holy (Isaiah 54:5 and Revelation 4:8), just (Revelation 16:5), and right (Psalm 119:137). “The LORD is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him” (Psalm 92:15). The very nature of God is holy and right and therefore nothing he creates could ever be morally evil. So how is it that Isaiah says that he created evil?[3]

Scripture clearly states that God created everything (see John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15-17). And if we accept that evil is a reality, how can we say he didn’t create it? The answer lies in the fact that evil is not a thing or substance or entity to be created. Rather, evil is the corruption of a good thing that God did in fact make.

God made humans and it was good. This is repeated multiple times in Genesis 1. He gave humans the power of free will, and that was good as well. This means he gave them the choice to believe that he was the arbiter of right and wrong and that he knew what was best for them when he said not to eat of a certain fruit—and that was good. When the first humans believed he did not know what was best for them—which was the corrupting of a particular good thing—evil was then born.

Evil then is not a substance or an entity, but the corruption of that which is good. This means that evil is parasitic upon good. Evil depends upon the existence of good in a way good does not depend upon evil. Thus, while there can be good without evil, there cannot be evil without the existence of goodness. Just as the concept of “bentness” requires “straightness,” the existence of evil requires that good be previously in existence.

Evil became a reality when there was 1) a rejection of what God said was true and worthy of obedience, and 2) an act in opposition to his command. He wanted humans to trust and obey him. In fact, he designed all of us to live fulfilled and meaningful lives by worshipping him and living in right relationship with him. And when the choice was made to cease trusting in him and following his ways, evil became a reality.[4]

[1]McDowell, J., & McDowell, S. (2013). The bible handbook of difficult verses: a complete guide to answering the tough questions. Harvest House Publishers.

[2]Got Questions Ministries. (2014–2021). Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Vol. 2). Faithlife.

[3]McDowell, J., & McDowell, S. (2013). The bible handbook of difficult verses: a complete guide to answering the tough questions. Harvest House Publishers.

[4]McDowell, J., & McDowell, S. (2013). The bible handbook of difficult verses: a complete guide to answering the tough questions. Harvest House Publishers.