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See No Evil

Thursday, August 04th, 2011 | Author:

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

Calamity – If God is sovereign, then why is there evil?  How can a good God allow evil in the world?

If you’ve never struggled with these questions, perhaps you haven’t read Job.  The existence of evil is one of the fundamental conundrums of theological thought.  Lots and lots of material has been written about this problem.  Many people have struggled with this reality in their lives.  It just doesn’t seem to make any sense.  If God really is all-powerful and all good, why is there evil?

Typical theological answers focus attention on the Fall, suggesting that human disobedience is the cause of all this (it’s kind of like global warming – it’s all our fault).  But a careful reading of Genesis indicates that the yetzer ha-ra was designed into the human fabric.  It was there before the Fall.  And who created that?  The answer has to be “God.”  So the Fall doesn’t really solve the problem, does it?  It only pushed the problem deeper into the unknown.

Maybe the real issue is a category mistake.  Maybe we are reading the Scriptures as if they were written for Western minds.  Maybe that’s the reason that the NASB, NIV, ESV, NKJV and RSV all use circumlocutions for the Hebrew word ra, usually translated “evil.”  Our theology prevents us from using this usual translation.  Instead, we alter the verse so that God creates “calamity,” or “woe,” or “disaster,” or some other less reprehensible occurrence.  All of this linguistic effort is motivated by our unwillingness to attribute “evil” to God.  (You can see how much twisting is involved by following this on-line discussion).  This is a result of seeing evil as an attribute with independent identification and definition.  In other words, we think of evil as some thing (or some deprivation, if you’re following Aquinas) that is applied to the character of God.  It’s as if we have a concept of what is evil (like a list of evil actions and events) and then we are forced to attach those to God, describing God’s character as evil.  We can’t have that, so we alter the verse to fit our theology.  But this kind of metaphysics is totally foreign to the ancient world of Israel.

The ancient Semitic view does not ascribe “good” to God.  “Good” is not a separate category of qualities that are attached to the character of God.  In ancient Hebraic thought, whatever God does is good because good is defined by what God does.  God does not have moral qualities called “good.”  God is good since God Himself is the standard that determines goodness.  There is no outside code of conduct applied to God to see if He measures up.  Good is defined by what God does.  Therefore, when Isaiah speaks God’s words and says, “creating ra,” this also is part of the standard of God’s goodness.  God cannot do what is morally reprehensible because what God does is, by definition, good – no matter what it appears to be from a human perspective.

The next time you experience disaster, calamity, woe or catastrophe, ask yourself if your evaluation of the experience is based on a biblical standard or on a theological concept.  You just might be surprised how Greek your thinking really is.  If all that God does is good, then who are we to decide what fits and what doesn’t fit?  Who are we to question God’s goodness because it doesn’t seem right to us?

Topical Index:  good, evil, ra, God, Isaiah 45:7

 

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Blasphemy Against the Spirit

Monday, January 31st, 2011 | Author:

Woe to those who say to evil, good; and to good, evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20 (KJV)

Evil/Good – What characterizes the ethics of the world more than this?  “Evil is good, good is evil.”  At some level, most of us sense the current reversal of common values. We are aghast at the upside-down ethics of a judicial system that protects the abuser more than the abused.  We are numbed by a political culture that spends more time serving itself than the people it is supposed to represent.  We weep over a morality that believes the only sin is getting caught.  But Isaiah has more than this in mind.  He and Jeremiah are on the same page.  What is good?  It was what the Lord calls tov.  What is evil?  It is what the Lord calls ra.  To mix up these two is to commit the ultimate sin.  To suggest that ra is tov and tov is ra is to assert that God is no longer in charge of His creation.  This is blasphemy against the Spirit.

Yeshua must have reflected on this passage in Isaiah when He delivered His indictment against those Pharisees who claimed that His power to deliver men from demons was fueled by Satan (Matthew 12:31-32). The true character of those accusers came to light with such a claim.  They fulfilled the words of Isaiah by calling what was good evil.  Not only did it take a complete denial of the obvious (men were unchained from the grip of Satan) but it required that these accusers put themselves in the place of judgment over the coming of the Kingdom.  They acted as if they were God, determining what was good and what was evil.

From Yeshua back to Isaiah, from Isaiah back to Havvah, the story of our world is found in this reversal of values.  What does it mean to obtain the “knowledge of good and evil”? What Mankind discovered is that it ultimately means the loss of distinction, the collapse of ethical decision.  Once we partake of this tree, all of our choices are clouded with self-interest.  Thinking we would become wise, we became morally corrupt fools.  We could no longer tell the difference between good and evil.  Color blinded, the world became gray.

That tragic condition of the unforgiveable sin (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) peeks out from behind the Tree.  Given enough time and enough rejection of grace, men become animated corpses of denial, existing in a self-made hell where good and evil no longer reflect the Creator’s priorities.  That road is wide and many travel it in ignorance and deceit.  Thank God for His grace.  He has shown us what is good.  Now we have only to do it.

Topical Index:  blasphemy, evil, good, ra, tov, Isaiah 5:20, Matthew 12:31-32

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Biblical Antonyms

Sunday, December 19th, 2010 | Author:

I YHWH and none else, forming light and creating darkness; making peace and creating evil – I YHWH do all these things. Isaiah 45:6-7

Peace – What is an antonym?  Answer: the opposite.  The antonym of black is white.  The antonym of fast is slow.  The antonym of leader is follower.  But when it comes to the Bible, our usual expectations about antonyms are often misplaced.  What is the opposite of love?  In common culture, the answer is “hate,” but in the Bible the answer is “apathy.”  What is the antonym of sin?  We might say, “holiness,” but the Bible suggests the answer is “obedience.”  What is the antonym of “grace?”  It’s not “law,” that’s for sure.  And what is the antonym of evil?  If you thought, “good,” you might be leaning on the tree trunk of the Genesis story.  Isaiah suggests something else.  The opposite of evil is not “good;” it is “peace.”  Why?

In order to understand why the opposite of ra is shalom, not tov, we need to go back to Genesis.  God created order.  Order in God’s creation is an expression of harmony, balance and integration.  In God’s creation, this order leads directly to the well-being of everything created and the fullest possible relationship with the Creator.  In the Bible, this is called shalom, peace.  The introduction of evil into this harmonious existence brings about chaos, the disruption of shalom.  Our culture considers good and evil to be ethical opposites, but the Bible views peace and evil as ontological opposites.  The antonym “peace and evil” describes the existence of the world, not the potential of ethical choices.  Peace and evil precede the ethical choices of good and evil.  Even in the Genesis account, good and evil stand as possible but not actual antonyms.  They only become actual ethical descriptions of human choices after the choice is made.  But shalom exists as an actual (ontological) fact from the moment of creation.

You might say, “All this is interesting philosophical discussion, but what difference does it make to me today?”  Ah, it makes all the difference.  The Bible tells us that evil is not a part of creation, a fact of existence.  It is the disintegration of creation, the collapse of what was originally and essentially at peace.  Furthermore, this implies that the end of the game is not the Good, the True and the Beautiful (as the Greeks thought), but rather shalom, the state of the world where the lion lays down with the lamb.  Our direction is toward the past, a return to the Garden of delight in peaceful harmony with itself and with its Creator.  God is restoring peace on earth because everything started in peace.  When I apply this fact of creation to my world today, I am directed to pursue peace.  I am called to be the peacemaker, the one who brings the world into harmony with its Creator.  I am challenged to stand against all the forces of chaos, disintegration, separation and dissention.  I am exhorted to seek unity.  Where I find brokenness, I am asked to heal.  Where I find heartache, I am asked to comfort.  Where I find schism, I am asked to repair.  Peace is my project.  It begins with peace with God and extends itself toward every aspect of His creation.

Of course, God’s peace does not mean peaceful co-existence with what brings evil (chaos).  It means peaceful harmony with what He planned and desires.  And that comes with a price.  But you already knew that, didn’t you?

Topical Index:  peace, evil, shalom, ra, good, tov, Isaiah 45:6-7

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Ultimate Evil

Thursday, August 06th, 2009 | Author:

Depart from evil, and do good. Psalm 34:15

Evil – What can we do about all these terrible things in the world? We live in the age of the worst genocides in history. We are exposed daily to man’s inhumanity. We see corruption all around us. We can hardly go through a single day without being touched by evil. Is there any answer? Is there any hope?

The world recognizes the problem of evil, but its solution is woefully inadequate. Why? Because the world’s solution is the attempt to lift moral consciousness, to make us better by appealing to our inner goodness. The world’s solution to evil is education in good thinking. It claims that all we really need is more training, more enlightenment, more sensitivity. This is not the biblical solution.

“Evil is not man’s ultimate problem. Man’s ultimate problem is his relation to God. . . . The Biblical answer to evil is not the good but the holy. It is not an attempt to raise man to a higher level of existence, where man is not alone when confronted with evil. Living in “the light of the face of God” bestows upon man a power of love that enables him to overcome the power of evil.”

As long as we act on the basis that evil is reduced through human solutions, we will make no substantial difference. Evil confronts holiness, not goodness. To combat evil we must do righteousness. Why? Because doing righteousness is redemptive. Every righteous act implants God’s character in the world. Every righteous act is the fulfillment of His will on earth. Every righteous act, not just the big deal charity choices. God invades this evil world in the smallest moments of righteousness.

Wait! Doesn’t this psalm tell us to do good? It most certainly does. But the difference is who decides what is good. Doing good is not doing what I think is good. Doing good is doing what God says is good. Only the goodness that God gives really counts. My versions of doing good mean nothing in the battle against evil because my versions are not aligned with His holiness, no matter how altruistic they might seem to be. What counts in the fight against evil is only what God counts.

So, what does that mean? How do I do righteousness? You don’t have to guess. God actually tells us how to do righteousness in the smallest details. It’s simple. Just do a mitzvah. What? Mitzvah is essentially an act of kindness. Does that mean that all acts of kindness are evil-combating righteousness. Yes, they are, but God has given us a special insight into His mitzvot (plural). He actually lists them in the Torah. Every time you and I follow one of His commandments, we perform a mitzvah and we bring His character to bear on the world. Every time! Not just when we offer the hungry food or the thirsty drink. Combating evil occurs when we honor the Sabbath, loan to the poor, guard our tongues or act as stewards of another’s property. In fact, God has given us 613 specific ways to bring holiness into this world.

Here’s the bottom line. It’s very easy to think that our definitions of human kindness are the critical weapons in fighting evil. So, we think that diet has nothing to do with combating evil. But the evil is not the opposite of good. God doesn’t see it that way. The opposite of evil is holiness and holiness is acting according to God’s character and instructions. So, if I decide not to eat clams, I bring holiness into the world. I might not understand how that happens, but I know what God asks and when I do it, He is glorified and evil is defeated. I participate in God’s victory over evil. God is the victor, not me. I’m just following His lead.

Today you and I can do mitzvah – one tiny act of obedience at a time. Each act is victory over evil, even if it’s as simple as saying a blessing after the meal (Deuteronomy 8:10). J

Topical Index: mitzvah, evil, good, holy, Psalm 34:15, ra

Abraham Heschel, Between Man and God, p. 195.

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Último Mal

Thursday, August 06th, 2009 | Author:

Agosto 6 Apártate del mal, y haz el bien. Salmos 34:15

Último Mal

Mal- ¿Qué podemos hacer acerca de todas estas cosas terribles en el mundo? Vivimos en la era de los peores genocidios de la historia. Somos expuestos a diario a la humanidad del hombre. Vemos la corrupción que nos rodea. Casi que no podemos pasar un día sin ser tocados por el mal. ¿Hay alguna respuesta? ¿Hay esperanza?

El mundo reconoce el problema con el mal, pero su solución es alarmantemente inadecuada. ¿Por qué? Porque la solución del mundo es el intento para elevar la conciencia moral, para hacernos sentir mejor al apelar a nuestra bondad interna. La solución para el mal del mundo es educación y buenos pensamientos. Esto nos dice que lo único que necesitamos es más entrenamiento, más iluminación, más sensibilidad. Esta no es la solución bíblica.

“El mal no es el último problema del hombre. El último problema es su relación con Dios…la respuesta Bíblica al mal no es lo bueno sino lo santo. No es un intento de tratar de elevar al hombre a un nivel más lato de existencia, donde el hombre no está sólo cuando se confronta con el mal. Vivir a “la luz del rostro de Dios” nos conceded un poder de amor que nos capacita para poder vencer el poder del mal.” 8

Siempre y cuando que actuemos en base a que el mal se reduce a través de soluciones humanas, no haremos ninguna diferencia substancial. El mal confronta la santidad, no la bondad. Para combatir el mal debemos de hacer justicia. ¿Por qué? Porque el actuar con justicia trae redención. Cada acto justo siembra el carácter de Dios en el mundo. Cada acto justo es el cumplimiento de Su voluntad en la tierra. Cada acto de justicia, no sólo los eventos grandes de caridad de elección. Dios invade este mundo maligno en los pequeños momentos de justicia.

¡Espera! ¿Acaso este Salmo no nos dice que hagamos el bien? Ciertamente así es. Pero la diferencia es quién decide lo que es bueno. El hacer bien no es hacer lo que yo pienso que está bien. El hacer el bien es hacer lo que Dios dice que está bien. Sólo la bondad que Dios da es la que en realidad cuenta. Mis versiones de hacer el bien no significan nada en la batalla en contra del mal porque mis versiones no están alineadas con Su santidad, sin importar cuán altruistas puedan ser. Lo que cuenta en la lucha en contra del mal es sólo lo que Dios cuenta.

¿Qué significa esto? ¿Cómo obro justicia? No tiene que adivinar. Dios en realidad nos dice cómo obrar justicia en los detalles más pequeños. Es sencillo. Sólo haga un mitzvah. ¿Qué? Mitzvah es en realidad un acto de bondad. ¿Significa esto que todas las obras bondadosas son justicia que combate el mal? Sí lo son, pero Dios nos ha dado un conocimiento especial a Su mitzvot (plural). En realidad hace un listado de ellas en el Torah. Cada vez que usted y yo seguimos uno de Sus mandamientos, obramos un mitzvah y hacemos que Su carácter se implante en este mundo. ¡Cada vez! No solo cuando le ofrecemos comida al hambriento y bebida al sediento. El combatir el mal ocurre cuando honramos el Sábado, le prestamos al pobre, guardamos nuestra lengua ó actuamos cómo mayordomos de la propiedad de otro. De hecho, Dios nos ha dado 613 maneras específicas para traer la santidad al mundo.

Aquí está el punto. Es bien fácil pensar que nuestras definiciones de la bondad humana son las armas críticas al combatir el mal. De manera que, pensamos que la dieta no tiene nada que ver con combatir el mal. Pero eso es asumir que el mal es lo opuesto de lo bueno. Dios no lo ve de esa manera. Lo opuesto de lo malo es la santidad y la santidad es actuar de acuerdo al carácter y las instrucciones de Dios. De manera que, si usted decide no comer almejas, yo traigo la santidad al mundo. Talvés yo no entienda cómo eso sucede, pero sé lo que Dios requiere de mí y cuando lo hago, Él es glorificado y el mal es derrotado. Yo participo en la victoria de Dios sobre el mal. Dios es el victorioso, no yo. Sólo estoy siguiendo su instrucción.

Hoy en día, usted y yo podemos hacer mitzvah- un acto de obediencia pequeño a la vez. Cada acto es victoria sobre el mal, aún si es tan sencillo cómo dar gracias después de una comida (Deuteronomio 8:10). J

Índice de Tema: mitzvah, mal, bien, santo, Salmos 34:15, ra

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A Look at Jeremiah 29:11

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 | Author:

“I know the plans I have for you.”

Most of us are quite familiar with this verse, perhaps too much so.  We skip over it, thinking that there isn’t a lot to mine here.  We’re wrong.  A close examination of the verse reveals a very different and complex understanding.

It all starts with “know”.  The Hebrew word is yada.  This word occurs nearly 1000 times.  It signifies the many contexts of gaining information through the senses.  It is used of God’s understanding of men as well as our understanding of God.  It describes the context of being acquainted with other persons, of distinguishing between good and evil, of moral insight and judgment and of the prophetic revelation directly to men of God’s will.  It is also used euphemistically to describe sexual intercourse and sexual perversions.

The Bible uses this word to proclaim God’s complete knowledge of creation.  Nothing can be hidden from His understanding.  God’s perception and recognition extend to every act and circumstance.  God’s knowledge extends to our relationships, tendencies, behavior, talents and emotions.  God talks about knowing us before we are even born.  Someone with that kind of knowledge would certainly know what is best for us and exactly how we should fit into His world.

The word “plans” is from the Hebrew root hashav.  In this case it is the noun mahashavah.  The verb form “make plans, reckon, account or think” is used 121 times.  There are several different meanings but they are all within the context of creating something new.  The most interesting use of this word is found in Genesis 15:6 where the meaning is “impute” or “account”.  In that verse, God counts Abraham righteous – He imputes righteousness to Abraham as something new and unanticipated.

In the noun form mahashavah, the word means “thought, plan or invention”.  It is used in Genesis 6:5 about the evil thoughts of all mankind, in Jeremiah about the plans that men follow and in 2 Chronicles about creating an invention.  Again, the context is about new things.

“I know the new ideas I have for you.”  God’s plans are never cast in concrete.  They are flexible, adjusting to our lives as our circumstances change.  It is easy to think that God has only one perfect plan for your life and that if you make a mistake or sin, the plan will be forever destroyed.  Then you will have to live with second best, then third best and so on each time you fail to meet expectations.  But God does not have one perfect plan for you.  He has one purpose – one goal – that you become all that you were meant to be through conformity to the image of the Messiah.  The goal never changes.  But the plans are new ideas every day.  God is full of surprises.  An eternal inventor.

I know the new plans I have for you

This word is really not “have”.  We translate it this way because it makes sense in English, but in Hebrew the verse really says “I know the plans that I plan for you” or “I know the purposes that I purpose for you”.  So, the word for “plans” that we looked at is really used twice, first as a noun and then as a verb.  In the second case, the verb has a little different sense.  The noun is mahashaba.  It means “new ideas”.  The verb is hashab.  The verb means ““make plans, reckon, account or think”.  We already saw that it is the verb used to describe God’s decision to see Abraham as righteous.  Perhaps there is more to this verse than simply that God has purposes for our lives.  Could it be that God’s purpose includes being counted as righteous?  That sense of the verb is certainly in God’s purpose for each of us.  In fact, without that sense of the verse, none of God’s plans will ever meet His purpose.

I know the plans I have for you.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.

Prosper is the word shalom.  It primarily means “peace”.  But it also has the meanings “perfect, whole, complete, prosperity, well, health and safety”.  It is far more than just the absence of conflict and strife.  It encompasses the entire range of well-being.  Therefore, it includes spiritual and physical completeness, harmony and fulfillment.  But shalom comes from a Hebrew culture, not a Greek culture.  The word is couched in relationship, not possessions.  Ultimately, shalom is about our relationship to the One who can provide all of the other aspects of completeness.  Without the primary relationship as the fundamental purpose of life, all of the other aspects of living are unsteady.  They will lack a solid foundation.  In this verse, the active agent is God.  We do not find prosperity, peace and wholeness on our own.  God’s direct activity in our lives is the basis of shalom.  The intention of God’s purposes for us is shalom.

I know the plans I have for you.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.

Literally, this should say “and not for evil”.  First, it means that God’s new ideas for you are for your good.  His purposes are to bring you shalom, not evil.  He is not a vengeful or malicious God.  He is a God of holy grace, compassion and care.  God has no plan to do you evil.  In fact, His plan is just the opposite.

The word for “evil” is ra.  The root behind ra is a noun that means “rotten, spoiled or good for nothing”. It is most often used in conjunction with the word tob which means “good”.  The first instance of this word is in the Garden of Eden in the expression “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”.  The Bible recognizes that men often have varying idea about what is evil.  We acknowledge this fact about cultural differences every day.  Sometimes it surprises us when we see what other cultures consider morally correct.  However, even though the Bible recognizes this fact, the final verdict on good and evil is always in God’s hands.  Since He is the Judge of the world, His determination about what is evil is the last word on the subject.  If God says that some act or event is evil, there is no negotiation on the matter.  The essence of evil is disobedience to God’s will.  It is progressive.  Evil begins with a lack of acknowledgement – we do not recognize God as God, we refuse to give Him honor as the Creator.  From this lack of acknowledgement, we proceed to an attitude of ingratitude.  We are not thankful for what God has done.  Refusal and ingratitude become ingrained as habit, then compulsion.  The result is that we do injury to others and to ourselves.

In this verse, God tells us not only that He has no plans to harm us, but His plans and purposes will keep us from self-inflicted harm.  God’s plan is for harmony, unity, peace and life.  Ignoring His plans for us will lead to strife, hostility, injury and death.

I know the plans I have for you.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you a future with hope.

The last part of the verse reiterates the intention of God’s plans.  God has two goals in mind.  The first is “a future”.  The word is aharit.   What is unusual about this word is that it literally means “afterward, backwards or after part”.  So, how can it be about the future?  H. W. Wolff says that the Hebrew concept of time is like a man rowing a boat.  He sees where he has been, but the future is toward his back.  He backs into the future.  It is entirely unknown to him because it is behind him!

This picture has some very powerful theology in it.  First, God must set our course since only He can see “behind” us.  But secondly, we have as our guide what we see, the course we have been following.  We see the past because we are facing it.  The past is in “front” of us.  No wonder our history with God is so important.  It is not just about where we came from.  It is the visible guide for our course into the future.  Finally, there is a great connection with the idea that we must trust God’s direction and not fear.  If we are “backing” into the future, we must trust the guide.  We cannot see where we are going, but He can.

There is a tremendous example of this word in a story from Genesis.  When Lot and his wife ran from the destruction of Sodom, they were told not to look back.  Lot’s wife did look back and she saw her future.  She died there.  Looking back was a choice not to obey the guide who was taking her out of harm’s way.

So much of our lives seems to be consumed with plans for our future.  We all want to “look ahead” as though we will be able to guide and protect ourselves from what may come.  But God says that the real direction of our life should be to the past.  The course of our life was set in the past.  The victory over the future happened in the past.  It is our history with God that gives us peace and confidence.

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