Does God allow evil to run its course......or does He stop evil only when it comes to the chosen....

Was it God that hardened Pharoahs heart? Or was it Satan doing his work of evil influence, and God allowed it for the purposes of illustrating what followed?


If you say God doesnt allow evil to do its work, then read the following on how a lying spirit which obviously was a evil angel was allowed to put a false prophecy in the kings prophets to entice him to his doom.....

1 Kings 22
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
1 For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. 2 But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel had said to his officials, "Don't you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?"
4 So he asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?"
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." 5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "First seek the counsel of the LORD."

6 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, "Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?"
"Go," they answered, "for the Lord will give it into the king's hand."

7 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?"

8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah."
"The king should not say that," Jehoshaphat replied.

9 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, "Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once."

10 Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. 11 Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns and he declared, "This is what the LORD says: 'With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.' "

12 All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. "Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious," they said, "for the LORD will give it into the king's hand."

13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably."

14 But Micaiah said, "As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what the LORD tells me."

15 When he arrived, the king asked him, "Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?"
"Attack and be victorious," he answered, "for the LORD will give it into the king's hand."

16 The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD ?"

17 Then Micaiah answered, "I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD said, 'These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.' "

18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Didn't I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?"

19 Micaiah continued, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD : I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20 And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?'
"One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.'

22 " 'By what means?' the LORD asked.
" 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said.
" 'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.'

23 "So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you."

24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. "Which way did the spirit from [a] the LORD go when he went from me to speak to you?" he asked.

25 Micaiah replied, "You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room."

26 The king of Israel then ordered, "Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king's son 27 and say, 'This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.' "

28 Micaiah declared, "If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me." Then he added, "Mark my words, all you people!"

Those are good examples, Richard, of the principle that God is often said to do that which He permits.

But if God knows our hearts desire to love him and we are his chosen, why does he test us and allow evil to fall on us.....

Job 1
Prologue
1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.

Job's First Test
6 One day the angels [a] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan [b] also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

A complex question, which I'll answer simply, albeit inadequately. There is a Great Controversy going on between the forces of good and evil, involving sentient beings with free will. This necessitates "bad things happening to good people." (to rephrase your question).

In the Job example, one can see that larger issues were involved than simply what was happening to Job.

Job is usually thought of as teaching that just because something bad happens to you does not mean that God is displeased. This is, of course, an important lesson, one which is still largely not understood.

Another important lesson, even less understood, is just because something bad happens does not mean that God is behind it, even if the action is attributed to God. You already presented a couple of other examples of this.

"Does God allow evil to run its course?"

No! God is in control. He does not sit back and allow evil to run its course. If that were the case, Lucifer would have died the instant he sinned. A&E would have died have died the instant they sinned.

We manage the choices; but God manages the consequences. Nothing is left to chance or natural law. Neither is anything left to Satan. A thief might choose to pull the trigger, but God's decides what happens afterward. He controls the outcome of all choices.

This sounds like you are saying that everything that happens is God's will. Is this correct? The abuse of children? Genocide? These are examples of God's "managing the consequences"?

Was it God's will for Jesus to die? Yes, death is an enemy; but it isn't the end of the story. There is a resurrection to follow. It isn't God's will for people to choose to sin. But it is His will to manage the consequences of their choices in a way that best suits everyone.

No. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. God Himself was crucified with Christ. God gave Himself in Christ to die for the world. Christ's death was caused by evil men, inspired by evil angels.

God allowed this to happen, so it was His permissive will that Christ should die. God knew Christ's death was the only way that humanity could be rescued.



How does the abuse of a child "best suit everyone"? I can see how it "best suits" the guilty party, but how does this "best suit" the child, or the child's parents?

If it was the only way to rescue penitent sinners, why wasn't it God's will for Jesus to die on the cross? What other choice did He have if He hoped to save penitent sinners?


Allowing sin to take a certain course is necessary. But only God knows which course, which outcome, which consequence, will serve the GC is the best way possible. True, the best outcome is often tragic at best, nevertheless, God is in control, and He makes no mistakes. If we could see things from God's eternal perspective it would be easier for us to understand why this or that outcome is best under the circumstances.

Hindsight is 20/20. Not until we watch the replay of earth's history in heaven will we see as clearly as God does now. At that time we will say, "Now I understand why you had to allow things to play out the way you did. Thank you, Lord, for managing things properly. I know it broke your heart that circumstances forced you to have to make such terrible choices, but you clearly did the right thing." We should be able to take comfort in this now.

If you could save the nation by the sacrifice of your son, would you say it was your will that your son died? In one sense, yes, since you made the decision to allow this to happen. In another sense, no, you would rather not have your son die.



You quoted from me above: "God knew Christ's death was the only way that humanity could be rescued." That addresses your question.



God doesn't make these choices, MM. What happens is not the "best outcome." Having a child be abused is not the "best outcome" and is in no way whatsoever the choice of God.



It's not the best under the circumstances. Sin is an act of rebellion. The "best" choice would be for the sinner not to sin. But that's not a choice which God can make.



This is a good paragraph (especially the sentence starting "I know it broke your heart" -- excellent). "God allowed certain things to play out" is a good way to put it. The reason why is not difficult to understand. The alternative would be to override free will. Why evil beings make the choices they do; *that's* hard to understand!