S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

Isaiah 45:7 in the King James Version reads, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." How does Isaiah 45:7 agree with the view that Go...

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July 01 2013 • 4 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Ezekiel Kimosop Supporter

Why does Isaiah 45:7 say that God created evil?

To answer this question we require to take a number exegetical steps.
First we examine the root word in the original language. The Hebrew language is rich in meaning and a single word often means more than one single thing. We then consider the root meaning of the word used and the number of possible translation variants. To simplify this process we can simply look at a number of common Bible translations but a Hebrew concordance would be more useful. The Strong's concordance data for the Hebrew word "rah" for "evil" carries the following variants - bad, evil, distress, misery, injury and calamity. 

The editorial decision for the KJV was to render the word as "evil" and this is basically where the problem or confusion lies. The NIV and NJB render it as "disaster" while NAS translates it as "calamity". The NRS chooses "woe" while the NLT (a paraphrase) translates the word as "good times and bad times". 

The next step is to identify the passage context of Isaiah 45:7. This will give us an idea about how the verse fits into the larger passage and to determine the main idea that emerges from the teaching of the passage. This is a critical stage that many readers overlook yet the rules of Bible interpretation demand that we pay careful attention to this process. Several faulty interpretations have led to strange teachings in the church community as a result poor exegesis of scripture.

For example there is a popular but unbiblical notion that Isaiah 6:1 teaches that it was necessary for King Uzziah to die so that Isaiah could receive his prophetic revelation. The passage context of Isaiah 6 nowhere supports that conclusion. This verse is just a historical record of the period when Isaiah was called by God so that the Jewish readers who knew Judah's royal history would figure out the period when Isaiah was called to ministry. The common phrase "Uzziah must die" is therefore a misplaced sermon title because its interpretation is unbiblical and is not informed by sound exegesis of the passage of Isaiah 6. 

In our above case of Isaiah 45:7, when we examine the larger passage context of Isaiah 45:1-19 we notice that the passage speaks about the appointment of Cyrus whom God would use to punish the wicked people of Israel who turned to Idolatry and had forsaken their true God. In exercise of His sovereign power, God appoints King Cyrus 150 years before his birth to carry out this divine mandate. He would bring calamity or disaster upon Judah through deportation to a foreign land where they will remain for a long period. This is what practically happened in 586 BC when the Babylonians razed down Jerusalem and took the people into exile. 

Knowing the Hebrew variants of the word "rah" and the meaning conveyed by the passage context of Isaiah 45:1-19 leads us to draw an exegetical conclusion that the word evil in Isaiah 4:7 should best be translated calamity or distress. We can therefore surmise that God permits disaster, calamity or unpleasant circumstances to punish his people for evil or disobedience (1 Kings 9:9; Daniel 9:14) and to cause His divine purposes to be accomplished (Romans 8:28) but God is certainly not the author of evil (1 John 1:5, James 1:13).

We also learn from other sections of Scripture that God can and does permit painful trials afflictions upon His saints in order to refine their faith (1 Peter 1:7, Jas. 1:2-4). Job was innocent (but certainly not sinless) yet God chose to permit his suffering to prove His point to Satan (Job 1:12). Even though God's ways are often incomprehensible and mysterious (Isaiah 55:9), He does not contradict His revealed will or moral nature (James1:17).

November 15 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Brandon Irocz Supporter

Read the verse very well and you will see that God is not saying He created (past tense) evil, which would have meant that He created evil in the beginning along with other things He originally created, but rather He said "creates" (present tense at that time) 'evil' - which in this case is all about the punishment that will come on His misbehaving chosen nation at the hand of king Cyrus of Babylon. God did not create evil, but can allow it to teach us a lesson for a season and if we repent He is just and merciful to forgive and restore us wholly.

March 01 2015 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Kenneth Heck Supporter

We must read the verse carefully. First, there is the opposition of light to darkness. Then there is the opposition of peace to evil. But are peace and evil opposites? No, therefore, the translation is somewhat misleading and defective. In fact, translating spiritual books from one language to another is always quite difficult. 

As others have said above, the true word for 'evil' should be thought of as adversity, affliction, calamity, distress, misery, disaster, or woe. All these are characteristics of the "day of the LORD' where divine judgment and wrath are unleased. For Israel, instead of wrath, there is only chastisement, or nothing of Israel would remain. 

Peace in this verse isn't only a political matter, it is primarily spiritual, implying violations of the Mosaic Law are not occurring. The opposite of peace is overwhelming sin or violation of the Law. Normally, peace comes after divine judgment has been satisfied. So this verse tells us that the LORD can create peace - and he specifically tells us how it is done - by unleashing his wrath resulting in the adversity, calamity, etc., experienced by his people.

March 01 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John McElroy Supporter

Notice the context; "I form the light and create darkness." These are together for a reason. Darkness is merely am absence of light, just as evil is the inevitable product of the absence of goodness. Evil is there for not created, but made through the removal if goodness, just as darkness forms where there is no light. This is an important concept to grasp, because it has practical application. Just as one does not fight darkness with darkness, so it is foolish to fight evil with evil. This we know; however, what I see so often is people obsess about their shortcomings, only to see them get more pronounced. Why? Because we try to fight the sin rather than shedding light on the truth that overcomes the sin. "What good can I do to defeat this sinful thought or temptation?" 

All things exist and have come into being according to God's purpose. His purpose is for His children to be like Him. This world is the foundation of that process. From what tree where our ancestors commanded not to partake of, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They partook of their own free will, but now, we are also partakers as their offspring, by their error and by our own, for none is able to overcome the desires of the flesh apart from submission to God. And how can we submit unless we are witnessed to concerning whom we are submitting to?

So yes, God created both good and evil; however, evil is merely a byproduct of the separation from goodness which is the result of the exertion of the will to sin. And through sin death(the absence of life) reigns. But thanks be to God, I am made alive again through Christ by the power of his completed work which has torn away the veil of separation by which I can cry out Abba, Father with confidence amd assurance of my salvation to the Glory of God.

March 24 2017 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Ake Supporter

Please let people remember that the devil's original name was Lucifer[Angel of Light] that exists in heaven. Suddenly, he rebelled in his mind against God. Is that evil or good? Who created Lucifer? God knows the beginning and the end of all things.[Alpha and Omega]. That was why He created hell [evil] for evil people and heaven[good] for good people. Devil cant create anything, he did not has the power to form or create. God did not give the devil that power. I really believe in Isaiah 45: 7 as inspired by God.

August 29 2013 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

The context here is that of Cyrus and the Jewish nation (Isaiah 45:4-13) where God allows Cyrus to be successful for the sake of Israel. God allows all things; they are all in His plan (Ephesians 1:11), both good and bad.

(see Ephesians 1:11 NLT--" Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.").

But it is up to us moral creatures to be responsible for our choices. We have free will, and if we choose evil, then calamity ensues. 

God is holy (Habakkuk 1:13). -- "You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?"

December 13 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Matthew Allen Supporter

From my humbled, unbiased perspective, through Biblical research and personal traumatic experiences, through my own faith in God, the Father, and The Anointed Christ Jesus as our and my personal and collective savior, there IS an answer:

God always intended well, good, wholesomely, and genuinely in a grand nature. God intended well for one of his own creations, which includes the earlier version of Lucifer (before "The Betrayal Towards God"), yet the entity of Lucifer was secretly sinning against God though jealousy, or so the devil thought. 

The Almighty God, whom Art in Heaven, DID allow Lucifer to have a special free will, a truly free arc-angel, and the devil CHOSE to be thrown from Heaven from his actions whilst there right before the "Cast from Heaven". I truly believe it was to attempt to be unappreciative and really disrespect the Creator of All things, which made Lucifer simply no longer himself, a good individual with grand potential, and changed the devil's attitude to a point where that being felt they were greater than The Creator Himself, which in itself is the betrayal, and the source of the sin.

This includes the taking of the name "Satan", or "The Main Accuser". It was most likely the only unprecedented happening for God in all of any existence, for one of His own creations to practically say that they created Him, so many can claim God made evil, yet the events that took place were as such: 

God made Lucifer, Lucifer Unprecedentedly Betrayed God, seeing as God intended well for the devil, the devil's intentions (put throne above heavens, rebel against The Heavenly Father, etc., simultaneously created evil. Therefore, It was Lucifer's free-will decision(s) after being created and reaching maturity and granted a free will that created the evil.

That's absolutely the best way I can put it.

September 11 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Ken Sweetser Supporter

Isaiah 45:7 'EVIL' (RAH) is the Strong's Concordance Hebrew #7451-7455, and Gesenius Hebrew-Lexicon, has many more definitions than provided. In Deuteronomy 30:15 it is also used and you are given a choice to choose between good and evil. And in 31:29 it says God will bring it upon them in the latter days. In I Corinthians 10:11 tells us that 'all things that have happened in the past are examples of those things that are to happen in the ends of the world (end days).' The statement in Isaiah 45:7 are prophetic in nature and followed by a list of WOE's. In 45:18 The LORD God follows up by giving a reason for CREATION. EVIL is coming and his name is Lucifer, The Devil, Satan, Dragon, Serpent, Beast, Accuser, etc and has a title of the King of Babylon as spoken by Jesus and Daniel (Matthew 24:15), and God kicks him out of heaven in Revelations 12:7-17 and again it says WOE to you on earth for he comes in great wrath. But believers overcome by the shed blood. AMEN.

September 11 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jorge Rizzo Supporter

God created all things that are in heaven, and in Earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him (Col. 1:16-18).

Our GOD is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and OMNISCIENT. There is NOTHING he does not know in advance. When he created the angels he did know that one of them would do EVIL, and become his opponent.

We must not forget that God planted the tree of knowledge of good and EVIL. When he created man and woman he did know that they would sin against him by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and EVIL. When they did it, God CURSED the Earth.

When God freed the Hebrews from Egyptian captivity he offered them the blessing and the CURSING (Dt. 30:19). Part of that curse was: “And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall AVENGE the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.” (Leviticus 26:21-25).

When God says, “I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things,” why can’t we understand that he is being LITERAL?

Isaiah 45:7 agrees with Deuteronomy 32:39, where God says, “I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.”

We like to know and repeat that our “God is PEACE”, as Gideon said (Judges 6:24), but we must not forget that our God is a “Man of WAR”, as Moses said (Exodus 15:3). And this same Man of War says of Babylon: “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms...” (Jeremiah 51:20). And he says even more: “Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness...” (Ezekiel 7:11).

We must not be deceived by these apparent contradictions in the Word of God which has led many to the error of claiming that God will not destroy the wicked for God is LOVE. For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face (Psalms 11:7, NIV). Our God says, “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” (Proverbs 8:17).

Unfortunately, the same people that claim that God is LOVE, forget that God is JEALOUS: “I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me...” (Exodus 20:5).

“It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry?” (Psalms 76:7, NIV).

“O Lord, thou God of vengeance, thou God of vengeance, shine forth!” (Psalms 94:1, RSV).

“For I lift up my hand to heaven, and swear, as I live for ever, if I whet my glittering sword, and my hand takes hold on judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries, and will requite those who hate me.” (Dt 32:41, RSV).

Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath? (Romans 3:5). God will not withdraw his anger. (Job 9:13).

Fortunately, our God “did not retain his anger for ever because he delights in mercy.” (Micah 7:18, JUB), and he shows steadfast love to thousands of those who love him and keep his commandments (Exodus 20:6).

Blessed forever be the Triune God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

September 10 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Wilfrid Friedrich Nietzsche Supporter

According to me, Isaiah was clear about what he claimed in (Is 45:7) (God "creating" "evil" & "darkness". He specified the word "CREATED". Can't be any more clearer than that! Can't by-pass his word's written black on white! Can we?

Paul confirms this verse of Isaiah by saying to the congregation of Rome : 
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience." (Rm 13:1-5) 

This is why Jesus says : “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s..." (Mk 12:17) Even if those Elites-rulers of the world are ABUSIVE in their authority-power (given to them by God Himself) in this "Jungle of God", where "All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt." (Ec 8:9).

If God is "omniscient" (allknowing) & knew in advance that Adam-Eve & Lucifer would've disobeyed; why would God still create man with animals where only the "strong" (predator) survives or take's the "power" in this "jungle" (creation of God)?

October 10 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Olusegun Engr. AFOLABI Supporter

Why does Isaiah 45:7 say that God created evil/calamity?
God created all things, and the scriptures here is emphasizing that God created both the good and evil, and also want us to appreciate what is good from those that are evil, it is a logical comparison, and with the sincere knowledge that evil will hurt and dangerous for human relationship. 

This can better be understood by considering Isaiah 45: 6-9, "That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that 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.
Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? Or thy work, He hath no hands?

September 20 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

n.l. pearson Supporter bible study teacher/revealer of the WORD

Short answer, because I didn't see this reference scripture. Proverbs 16:4 says “The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked [according to their role] for the day of evil” (AMP) - “everything” being the key word. He is everything. Therefore, He knows everything; free will always comes into play. People can change/repent - that’s what GOD would like to happen. (2 Peter 3:9)

December 17 2021 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report