The Purpose of Evil
Is it possible for God to create without purpose? I cannot imagine such a thing. So l wanted to know what purpose God had in mind when he created evil.
“I make peace, and create evil.” (Isaiah 45:7)
At first I wanted to use another word for evil like “calamity”, or “disaster”, or “bad times” as do the corrupted English versions of the Bible. But I found that it is the same Hebrew word used in the phrase “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. But whether I called it evil, calamity, disaster or bad times…the Bible says God created it. So I continued to ask myself “Why?” and started to search the Scripture for the answer.
In my initial quest it did not help to find verses about God like the following…
“…the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will”, and “all is of God” (Ephesians 1:11; 2 Corinthians 5:18)
Not only did God create evil, it was the “purpose of His will”, for “all is of God”. It is no wonder most of Christendom and Flip Wilson flippantly shrug evil off on the devil with the quip…“the devil made me do it”. But of course God created the devil also…and must have known how he would turn out, in fact he must have created him to do the evil he does.
I knew down deep in my heart that evil must have a necessary purpose since God loves the world and sent his Son to save the world from the very evil He created.
I began to see that evil was temporary when I ran across the following verses in Jeremiah…
“Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them…” (Jeremiah 32:42)
A glimmer of light on this dark subject. God brings great evil upon people, but he also promised to bring them good. Evil in God’s plan must be temporary, so I reasoned that evil will last only until its purpose is finished.
BUT, WHAT IS THAT PURPOSE? Could not God have planned for eternal good without creating evil? It seemed to me I was no closer to that purpose than when I had begun my study. Surely God would have written down somewhere in His Word the purpose for evil.
I eventually ended up in the book of Ecclesiastes, written by one whom God had given great wisdom, one who had searched out by that wisdom all of the ways of the world…at first what I found lead to more discouragement as I read from the NASB version of the Bible…
“13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. 18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.” (Ecclesiastes 1:13-18 NASB)
And with that I was prepared to quit searching assuming God had not chosen to reveal his purpose, and He doesn’t have too I reasoned, after all He is God.
“I make peace, and create evil.” (Isaiah 45:7)
At first I wanted to use another word for evil like “calamity”, or “disaster”, or “bad times” as do the corrupted English versions of the Bible. But I found that it is the same Hebrew word used in the phrase “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. But whether I called it evil, calamity, disaster or bad times…the Bible says God created it. So I continued to ask myself “Why?” and started to search the Scripture for the answer.
In my initial quest it did not help to find verses about God like the following…
“…the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will”, and “all is of God” (Ephesians 1:11; 2 Corinthians 5:18)
Not only did God create evil, it was the “purpose of His will”, for “all is of God”. It is no wonder most of Christendom and Flip Wilson flippantly shrug evil off on the devil with the quip…“the devil made me do it”. But of course God created the devil also…and must have known how he would turn out, in fact he must have created him to do the evil he does.
I knew down deep in my heart that evil must have a necessary purpose since God loves the world and sent his Son to save the world from the very evil He created.
I began to see that evil was temporary when I ran across the following verses in Jeremiah…
“Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them…” (Jeremiah 32:42)
A glimmer of light on this dark subject. God brings great evil upon people, but he also promised to bring them good. Evil in God’s plan must be temporary, so I reasoned that evil will last only until its purpose is finished.
BUT, WHAT IS THAT PURPOSE? Could not God have planned for eternal good without creating evil? It seemed to me I was no closer to that purpose than when I had begun my study. Surely God would have written down somewhere in His Word the purpose for evil.
I eventually ended up in the book of Ecclesiastes, written by one whom God had given great wisdom, one who had searched out by that wisdom all of the ways of the world…at first what I found lead to more discouragement as I read from the NASB version of the Bible…
“13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. 18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.” (Ecclesiastes 1:13-18 NASB)
And with that I was prepared to quit searching assuming God had not chosen to reveal his purpose, and He doesn’t have too I reasoned, after all He is God.
But I did one last thing, I looked up the above passage in a Hebrew interlinear. And there in verse 1:13 and 3:10 was the Hebrew word “laanowt” which I found is only used these 2 times in Scripture. But I could have missed its meaning because the above English version of the bible (NASB) and most other versions had mistranslated the word. Then I read the verses in Young’s Literal Translation and the Concordant Version of the Old Testament and there it was…the purpose for all the evil that comes upon men - “TO HUMBLE THEM”….
“I applied by heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: It is an experience of EVIL Elohim has given to the sons of humanity TO HUMBLE THEM by it…I see the experience that Elohim gives to the sons of humanity TO HUMBLE THEM by it” (Ecclesiastes 1:13; 3:10 CVOT)
God created evil because he knew mankind must be humbled before they can be exalted. Experiencing evil is the means to that end. There was no other way or God would not have created evil. All people are finally and fully humbled by the greatest enemies of mankind – suffering and death…BUT by that experience, they will be able to appreciate the ultimate good to come after their RESURRECTION TO IMMORTALITY!
“Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep…As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive…But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY…. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, 22, 54; Colossians 1:21-22)”
Adam and Eve had known only good before they ate of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But the good they had could not be appreciated without the perspective of evil to contrast it with. And without the contrast they could not love and appreciate God for their blissful state. So God created evil...thank you Lord!
God created evil because he knew mankind must be humbled before they can be exalted. Experiencing evil is the means to that end. There was no other way or God would not have created evil. All people are finally and fully humbled by the greatest enemies of mankind – suffering and death…BUT by that experience, they will be able to appreciate the ultimate good to come after their RESURRECTION TO IMMORTALITY!
“Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep…As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive…But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY…. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, 22, 54; Colossians 1:21-22)”
Adam and Eve had known only good before they ate of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But the good they had could not be appreciated without the perspective of evil to contrast it with. And without the contrast they could not love and appreciate God for their blissful state. So God created evil...thank you Lord!