Question:   In the Old Testament reading for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Oct. 16; three-year reading series), Isaiah reports that God said: “I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and I create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity…” (Is. 45:6b-7). How can that be, since God isn’t the author of evil? And, does this give people the right to blame God for catastrophes that they encounter in life?

Answer:   A good question, and one that—on its surface—becomes even more confusing when considering other viable translations for the Hebrew word in question, ra—here translated “calamity” (English Standard Version) but elsewhere translated “evil” (e.g., King James Version). Is God the author/creator of evil? No.

While even the translation “evil” would be appropriate for the word ra, God is not saying that He’s the author/creator/generator of moral bad (e.g., immorality, hatred). Holy Scripture is clear that evil—as we understand that term today—is the product of human sin and the devil (Rom. 5:12; Jms. 1:13-15; Jn. 8:44). Moses tells us that “God saw all that He had made and it was very good” (Gen. 1:31).

So what’s the LORD saying in this verse? In the surrounding context the LORD is making plain that He, and He alone, is God (He says three times in two verses: there is none other, Is. 45:5-6). Polytheism (the belief that there are many gods) was commonly held among the ancient peoples. Also, there was a widely-held view that good and evil are brought forth from two dueling and rather equal opposing forces—metaphorically characterized by “light” and “darkness.” The LORD (with all capital letters, a translation of the Hebrew YHWH—God’s proper/covenant name) here makes plain that such is not the case! “I am the LORD (YHWH), and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being (shalom) and create calamity (ra), I am the LORD (YHWH), who does all these things.” In other words, there is no dueling force equal to Me; in My hand I hold the power over all that is “light” (good), and over all that is “darkness” (bad). Martin Luther, in his commentary on Isaiah, includes this helpful explanation of the verse: God is saying: “When I bestow peace, no one can take it away. On the contrary, when I take it away, no one shall restore it. So you must acknowledge Me as the only God to whom you can flee for refuge” (Luther’s Works: American Edition, vol. 17, p. 125).

So, does this give us the right to blame God when catastrophes befall us? Is God punishing people by sending upon them tornados or tsunamis? While God will often work through the fallout of human sin/wrongdoing to bring about the good that He purposes (cf. Rom. 8:28), it can often be very difficult from the human vantage point to draw direct lines between what befalls a person and particular sin, or a “personal degree” of sin. Of the eighteen persons upon whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them (Lk. 13:4), Jesus said: “Do you think that these were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Our Lord—who by His almighty power subdues all things to Himself—uses such events for good (even the plagues on Pharaoh’s Egypt, or the serpents in the wilderness!).  By them He leads us to repent of our sin (no matter who we may be) and, as Luther said, with the report of salvation in Jesus Christ to acknowledge our Lord God as the only God to whom you can flee for refuge–promised for Jesus’ sake.

“Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!”