Contradictions In God's Character: Part 2
If you missed our previous post, Contradictions in God’s Character, you should check it out first! It contains some important context for what you’re about to read here. If you read part 1, and are back for part 2, welcome back, and thanks for joining us!
All posts in this series:
“Does God delight in burnt offerings?”
Well, you guessed it! The answer the contestants give for this question is both “yes” and “no.” The two citations that we are given are:
for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them or command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice.
Jeremiah 7:22
Exodus chapter 22-24 (list of commands given by God).
The point of these two references is to show the strange, seeming contradiction, that God says to the prophet Jeremiah that He did not give the Israelites the command of burnt offerings. But, when we read the laws given in the Pentateuch, there are very clear commands for burnt offerings to be given to the Lord!
Well, you guessed it again! There is an answer for this.
However, I did give them this command: ‘Obey me, and then I will be your God, and you will be my people. Follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.’ Yet they didn’t listen or pay attention but followed their own advice and their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.
Jeremiah 7:23-24
God did, indeed give the Israelites commands concerning burnt offerings. But he was not concerned with the actual practice of the burnt offering itself. He was primarily concerned with their obedience to him! God did not delight in their burnt offerings if they were done without any regard for God. The sacrifices He does delight in were those done with an attitude of worship and obedience. It is similar for us today. God does care for our actions. He desires us to be holy and to bear the fruit of the Spirit. But actions done with no regard for God or actions done out of our own selfish ambition do not glorify God. Why would God delight in that?
“Is God the author of evil?”
Oh, man. This will be loads of fun! The interesting thing about this question is that I’ve never heard it presented as a contradiction in Scripture. Usually this question is found being debated across the campuses of seminaries and in theological works and literature. Apparently, this is viewed also as a contradiction in Scripture, so here we go.
The two citations given for this question are:
I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I am the Lord, who does all these things.
Isaiah 45:7
The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:9
As per usual, the answers the two contestants give are both “yes” and “no.” This is actually pretty appropriate. If you were to poll Christians “Is God the author of evil?” I believe most would answer “Of course not!” But some would also answer closer to the affirmative. Let me be clear, this is not a contradiction of the Bible, but rather two different understandings of God’s total sovereignty over His creation. For the sake of both time and occasion, I will not fully argue the position I hold. Rather, I will present, as faithfully as I can, the two primary answers to this question among Christian orthodoxy.
The negative answer:
This camp would strongly deny that God is the author of evil. As, I believe, both camps would to a degree. The tough thing to wrestle with is how God is not the author of evil, yet still created a world in which there is evil. So, a distinction must be made. Evil is a product of the fall and of sin. Sin is not made of matter. It is not something that has been created. It is something that has come about through the actions of man. God is never an author of evil. Rather, God permits evil to occur that His plan of Salvation would come about. This is a somewhat brief explanation, but still a very common belief among Christians.
The more positive answer:
I won’t say that this camp would fully say, “Yes! Absolutely God is the author of evil!” Rather, this camp (spoiler alert this is the camp I would fall under) would say that God is not the author of evil, but Scripture is pretty clear that he intended evil and sin to occur. Two examples:
But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.’ And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Genesis 50:19-21
In this story, Joseph has been reunited with his brothers, who beat him, tore his close, and sold him into slavery. The “evil” that Joseph is referring to is obviously their act against him. However, Joseph’s response is totally perplexing. Instead of justly punishing them. He says, “Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good.” Wow! Joseph showing all of us up in patience and forgiveness. But I want to focus on one thing specific. “You planned evil against me; God planned it [the evil] for good.” God planned evil? Well, the way I read this story, God did indeed plan for this evil to take place for the good of so many more. For those who know the story, you understand that Joseph’s position resulted in the feeding of thousands of people around the land of Egypt during a famine. Yes, indeed, God planned this act of evil to result in good.
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
1 Peter 1:19-21
The most notable and obvious decree of God resulting in sin would be the death and murder of Jesus Christ. We learn in this verse, as well as in Revelation 13 that God decreed, before the foundation of the world, that Christ would die on our behalf. All of creation was set in motion to get to the murder of Jesus Christ on the cross, the ultimate sin; the murder of God. However, similar to Joseph’s story, this was to bring about so much good. Namely, the salvation of the world through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
My friends, God is not the author of evil, but I believe that Scripture is clear that he intended it. Not for evil’s sake, but for our good!
God never rests, however, he rested on the 7th day of creation
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding.
Isaiah 40:28
I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals. They have become a burden to me; I am tired of putting up with them.
Isaiah 1:14
You have not bought me aromatic cane with silver, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.
Isaiah 43:24
How is it possible that God “never becomes faint or weary,” but rested on the 7th day of creation and, in the verses listed gets “tired and weary?”
I spoke about this before, but I’ll mention it again. Often in Scripture, the writers use anthropomorphic language. Simply put, this is language that is used in ways humans can understand a particular action of God or something about His character. On the 7th day of creation, it is clear that God did not “rest” because He got tired. Rather, He simply “rested” in that he stopped the work of creation and began the work of “upholding” His creation (Nehemiah 9:6, John 5:17).
The references in Isaiah 1 and Isaiah 43 are excellent examples of anthropomorphic language being used.
The laws of the Old Testament that, if broken, were punishable by death from a God who is ‘gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love.’ (Psalm 145:8).
This is later toward the end of the video. But in this particular section, the game host asks the contestant what the punishment for the following crimes is according to the Old Testament law (of which, all are punishable by death): “Fortune telling, hitting a parent, cursing a parent, not listening to a priest, following another religion, adultery, not seeking the Lord, fornication, prophesying falsely, homosexuality, blasphemy, working on the Sabbath, Having ‘a few people’ in your town worship another God.”
The point of this is clearly to show the audience that a God who is “gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and great in faithful love” could not possibly be a God who decrees death a punishment to crimes as menial as these!
However, this is a gross misunderstanding of the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. Who has the right to determine what is good and what is evil? Is it the creator or is it the creation? Because God is good (1 Chron. 16:34), God cannot decree something that is not good. Therefore, if we think that God is being cruel, it is not that God is indeed being cruel. Rather, it is a plain demonstration of God’s surpassing holiness. If you read these punishments and your first thought is, “Man, that seems awful cruel and extreme of God! After all, he’s the God of love!” I would challenge you with the fact that God is love, yes, and longsuffering. But he is also just and wrathful against sin. Is God good if he doesn’t punish sin? I would argue that He is not. When we come to a passage like this, our response should be, “Lord, thank you for your everlasting graciousness to me because of the sacrifice of your Son Jesus!”
If you made it this far, congratulations! I’m honestly not even sure how I made it this far. Again, for those who read this, my desire and prayer is not to demean and condemn those who are attempting to reveal to other’s what they believe to be misleading and condemning. Rather, it is to reveal that the Scripture is truly the inerrant, inspired, and infallible Word of God. And we’re not through yet! Keep an eye out for Part 3, coming soon!
Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Be encouraged, because the Word of God is always at work!