April 16
Does God do Evil? (Part 1)
Shall
a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord
hath not done it? Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his
secret unto his servants the prophets.
(Amos 3:6-7)
As we study the Bible carefully we learn that God is
often said to do the thing that He allowed to occur after He has removed His
protection from a person or nation. However, this protection is only removed
when the person or nation has removed
themselves from His protection. God persistently begs and pleads with
people to return to Him before He finally and reluctantly “gives them up.”
Before He speaks about His responsibility for the
evil done in a city God asks, “You only
have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for
all your iniquities. Can two walk
together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 2:2-3). Due to their constant
sinning Israel was not in agreement with God and therefore was not walking with
God. Like every other passage of this type, Amos 3:6 is permissive in that God is allowing
men the consequences of their choices.
Commenting on Isa. 45:7, Amos 3:6, and other
passages that contribute evil to God, Daniel Waterland writes, “God sees fit to
execute vengeance he unties the hands of wicked men and lets them loose to
commit all uncleanness and iniquity with greediness. He withdraws his
protecting arm for a time from those whom he has once determined to chastize.”[1] Some of the church Fathers such as Irenaeus
(125-202 AD) agree:
“Upon all those
who separate themselves from Him, God inflicts the separation that they have
chosen. Now separation from God is death; separation from light is darkness;
separation from God means the loss of all good things that come from Him.”[2]
The Lord “does evil” by removing His protection from
those who reject Him. Stay in Christ and remain protected.
[1]
Waterland, Daniel “A Thanksgiving Sermon” The
Works of the Reverend Daniel Waterland (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1843), p.
452
[2]
Quoted by Faryna, Rev. Deacon Michael The Theology of Illness and Death, https://www.umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_andrews/profiles/MichaelFarynaArticle.html
(Last accessed: Dec. 19, 2012).
Divine Healing EBooks - Free Until April 18, 2016
Divine Healing: Guaranteed
Does God Send Sickness?
No comments:
Post a Comment