Isaiah 45:7 - Sovereign over Evil

Isaiah 45:7
The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing well-being and creating calamity;
I am the Lord who does all these.

Message: Sovereign over Evil

Time: Isaiah prophesied from 739–681 BC to a nation that had turned a deaf ear to the Lord. He wanted to see the nation of Judah return to serving God with humility and love for their neighbors. But he was called to pronounce judgments to on a people offering meaningless sacrifices in the Temple and committing injustices throughout the nation. It provides the most prophetic picture of Jesus in the entire Old Testament.

What the Lord is Saying:

Previously, I concluded in saying that God controls all things, this does not mean then that God does all things which would mean then that God does evil. God is over all. But man still has free will, free choices. But we are not to be deceived into thinking that God s evil for only good gifts from God, the father of lights. The light is only light and there is no darkness in it at all.

Again, what has been recorded and known is God controls all things, but does not do all things. But, to take this a step further, God is still sovereign over evil. While God is not the one doing the evil, like men condemning Jesus to death on a cross; Jesus and his death on the cross was necessary. Crucifixion was necessary for all men to be free. Jesus knew he would die before He actually died. He also knew he would rise from the dead before it happened. In good, only God is the author and for good God receives all the credit. But, for evil, only man receives all the credit. Thus, theologians have come up with the doctrine of concurrence to describe the concurrence or two events happening at the same time and those two events are God's sovereignty and man's free will. Man chooses to do right or wrong, but God controls all that occurs. God allows free will, thus choices, thus bad choices, thus evil -- and in the end controls all things. This would mean then that God is sovereign over evil.

Outcomes can be the same but the intent of getting to those outcomes can be different. God and Joseph's brothers wanted Joseph to go to Egypt, but Joseph's brothers wanted him there for evil purposes while God wanted him there for good purposes.

God is no less in charge of good as he is in charge of evil. Isaiah 45:7 says - The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these. Thus, the idea here is that God does ordain good and He does ordain evil, but He is not responsible for the evil but rather man is responsible. Adam and Eve choosing to eat from the tree of knowledge and good evil was inevitable or ordained by God, but Adam and Eve are the one's that bear the responsibility. Thus, it is good that evil exists as good needs evil. By saying that the Lord created darkness and created calamity does not also say that he chooses darkness in people and chooses calamity. Man is still responsible for his/her choices. God created evil but man committed sin.

Promise: God is not pleased with evil in and of itself, but He does govern it so as to bring about greater good.

Prayer: Lord God you are over all. Your ways are not my ways. You only do good but You watch over all of life and take control. Lord, continue to help me to know You and trust You no matter what. I want to lean on You. Define my days. Thank you for love and what it means to love one another. Thank you for truth and thank you for being everything I need. Lord, as evil enters my life I ask that I continue to trust in You and not give into it.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with March being about the sovereign providence of God and looking at how the Bible reveals His control over all things.