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The God Who Is
The Kingdoms of Men
In Daniel chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, exclaimed, "`Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?' While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, `O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times [i.e. seven years] shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most high ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.'" Men may talk of democracy, or rule by the people, but there is only one Ruler, and that is God. He puts down one king and sets up another. He rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomsoever He will (verse 32).
The Judgment of Sinners
Predestination also relates to the judgment of sinners, for although God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, men are nevertheless responsible for their actions. In Proverbs chapter 16, note the solemn words in verse 4: "The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil," i.e. for the day of judgment. Note the verse well.
Question: "Where do all things comes from?" "The LORD hath made all things." Whatsoever is, God is the Maker of it. The apostle John tells us, "All things were made by him: and without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3). Solomon says, "The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all" (Proverbs 22:2). Job states, "The deceived and the deceiver are his" (Job 12:16). The Lord asked Moses, "Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?" (Exodus 4:11).
Question: "Why did the Lord make all things?" "The LORD hath made all things for himself." The apostle John says that the Lord has created all things for His pleasure (Revelation 4:11b).
Question: "What about the wicked? Where do they come from?" "The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked." Question: "For what purpose did the Lord make the wicked?" "The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil," i.e. for the day of judgment. This is the doctrine of Reprobation; and it ought to cause us to humble ourselves, and to worship the Lord.
The Problem of Evil
In Isaiah chapter 45, in verse 7 the Lord said to the prophet, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." Evil is as much a part of the creation as is good. Some well-meaning people believe that whatever they judge to be good, the Lord is the creator of it, and whatever they judge to be evil, the Devil is the creator of it. They are dualists like the heathen of old. There are not two Creators; there is only one, and that is God.
The prophet Amos asked, "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?" (Amos 3:6).
Question: "Does not the word `evil' used here mean `war?'" The word here translated "evil" can mean "moral evil" as easily as it can mean "war," as the context indicates. War, although it is justifiable, is nevertheless termed "evil;" so "the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them" (Judges 20:41).
There are two kinds of evil. Natural evil involves disasters brought about by natural means such as by storms, fire and death. Moral evil concerns sin, both original sin which is the polluted nature men inherit from their sinful parents, as well as the actual commission of sin.
Question: "Do the Scriptures teach that God created evil?" Indeed they do. Consider first natural evil, and how that Nahum declares, "The LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm" (Nahum 1:3). The psalmist concurs by saying the stormy wind fulfils His word (Psalm 148:8b).
Consider moral evil. The Lord told the prophet Isaiah, "Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy" (Isaiah 54:16). And, when God would destroy king Ahab, the prophet Micaiah told the king how a lying spirit had been sent by God into the mouths of Ahab's prophets. "Now therefore, behold the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these thy prophets" (I Kings 22:23).
The apostle Paul agrees saying of them who received not the love of the truth that they might be saved: "for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they might believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (II Thessalonians 2:11,12).
When He would punish David, God moved the king to number Israel which thing was sin for the king, and his heart smote him. Then God punished David for doing it (II Samuel 24:1-4,l0-14).