Question: Isaiah 45:7 seems to state that God creates evil. How can this be possible if God is only ...

Question: Isaiah:45:7I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
See All... seems to state that God creates evil. How can this be possible if God is only and totally good? And if He does create evil, what and why would it be?

Answer: Let us look at the entire verse: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” How does God create darkness? Darkness is really nothing. It is not a “thing” that God created; it is simply the absence of light. No one would know he was in the dark if he had never seen light. Thus by creating light God exposes the absence of it as darkness.

In the same way, God’s perfection exposes all else as evil. By Himself being perfect in goodness, righteousness and holiness, God exposes the lack or opposite of what He is as evil. Thus sin is defined as falling “short of the glory of God” (Rom:3:23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
See All...). In His presence the angels cry continually, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord” (Is 6:3; Rv 4:8). Although God dwells “in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Tm 6:16), He has written His law in the consciences of all mankind and in this way we recognize evil in ourselves and in others.

Why should there be evil at all? Created beings, being less than God, must, if they have the power of choice, inevitably think thoughts and do deeds unworthy of God and thus evil. Evil is simply the inevitable result of less than perfect choice. Why did God give mankind this power? So that man could receive His love and love Him in return. Without the ability to choose not to love there could be no such thing as love, for it must come from the heart. Nor could there be praise and worship.

It is hardly glorifying to God for robots, who cannot choose to say or do otherwise, to continually sing His praises. And for such beings to be programmed to say repeatedly, “I love you,” would be equally meaningless. Yes,”the heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps:19:1(To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
See All...), but that “glory” pertains only to His great power and wisdom and eternal being (Rom:1:20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
See All...). There is no way that inanimate things can either love or be loved. Only personal beings could do so.

So God gave the power of choice to Adam and Eve and all mankind. Why? So that we might know and love and worship and glorify Him in the highest way. It is by our choice that we think evil thoughts and do evil deeds. God did not cause Lucifer or any angels or any of us to do evil.

How wonderful, then, that in His love and wisdom God was able to pay the penalty for our sins and thus to forgive us and make it possible for us to be in His presence, loving and praising Him eternally! And surely His love has captured our hearts and created in us a love that is real and eternal. As 1 John:4:19We love him, because he first loved us.
See All... says, “We love him because he first loved us.” That can only be said by beings who are also capable of choosing not to love.