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In search of the answer to this question, let us begin by examining the context of the statement in question. In reading Ezekiel, chapter 20, the following may be noted…

· Yahweh commanded Israel to rid herself of her abominations; however, she rebelled (vv. 5-8.).

· Yahweh brought Israel out of Egypt and gave her His statutes and judgments, “…Which if a man do, he shall even live in them.” Moreover, He also gave them His sabbaths to be a sign. Yet Israel rebelled and walked not in Yahweh’s statutes, and they polluted His sabbaths (vv. 9-22).

· Because of her rebellion, Yahweh pledged that he would scatter Israel among the heathen and disperse her through the countries (vv. 23-24).

· This brings us to verse 25, and the statement in question:

Verse 25 (KJV)
“Wherefore I game them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;”

· Verse 26 is a continuation of verse 25 [in fact, many (and probably most) translations do not even put a period at the end of verse 25, but show it to be the middle of the sentence, with verse 26 continuing the same sentence]:

Verse 26 (KJV)
“And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am Yahweh.”

We will come back to verse 26 momentarily, but for now, let us examine some additional verses--

· Verses 27-32: Israel was exceedingly wicked, turning to pagan worship and even burning their children in the fire.

· Verses 33-44: Yet Yahweh pledges to gather Israel and to purge the rebels from among her.

Now, let us return to verse 26 and notice the context:

Verse 26 reveals…

· That Israel was polluted in their own gifts (not gifts that pertain to Yahweh or that were prescribed in His Law).

· They even sacrificed their children by burning them in the fire! Obviously, this is not a statute given by Yahweh and is in unmistakable contrast with the statutes and judgments given to Israel by Yahweh.

· For those who would attempt to have us believe that Yahweh’s sacrificial system is being referred to here, let it be noted that the topic, according to the context, is not animal sacrifices, but human sacrifices!


In addition, the several verses, before and after verses 25-26, show that:

· Yahweh commanded Israel to rid herself of her abominations.

· Yahweh gave Israel His statutes and judgments, and gave His sabbaths to be a sign.

· But Israel rebelled and was exceedingly wicked – they did things that are not prescribed by the statutes of Yahweh; in fact, deeds that are directly against the statutes of Yahweh.

The context indicates that, because of Israel’s rebellion, Yahweh gave them over to their own wickedness.


Supporting Evidence from Scripture

The fact that Yahweh gave Israel over to their own wickedness is a concept that is not foreign to Scripture. Consider the following…

Psa 81:11-12
11 But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me.
12 So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.

Psa 125:4-5
4 Do good, O Yahweh, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, Yahweh shall lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel!

Isa 66:4
So will I choose their delusions, and bring their fears on them; because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear; but they did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight.

Acts 7:41-43
41 And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
42 Then Yahweh turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets: Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your mighty one Remphan, Images which you made to worship; and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

Rom 1:28
And even as they did not like to retain Yahweh in their knowledge, Yahweh gave them over to a debased [KJV: “reprobate”] mind, to do those things which are not fitting.

2 Th 2:9-12
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason Yahweh will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.


Conclusion
The “statutes that were not good” does not refer to any of Yahweh’s statutes. Instead, it refers to the fact that Yahweh gave them over to statutes that were not good (i.e., to do wicked things which are against the true statues and judgments of Yahweh).

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(Amos 3:6)--"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?"
Is God really the one who created evil? To answer the question we must first look at how the word for evil, rah, is used in the Bible, examine the context of the Isaiah 45:7 passage, and look at other passages on the same subject.

First of all, the Hebrew word for evil, rah, is used in many different ways in the Bible. In the KJV Bible it occurs 663 times. 431 times it is translated as evil. The other 232 times it is translated as wicked, bad, hurt, harm, ill, sorrow, mischief, displeased, adversity, affliction, trouble, calamity, grievous, misery, and trouble. So we can see that the word does not require that it be translated as evil. This is why different Bibles translate this verse differently. It is translated as calamity by the NASB and NKJV; disaster by the NIV; and woe by the RSV.

Second, the context of the verse is speaking of natural phenomena.

"I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, 7The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these," (Isaiah 45:5-7).

Notice that the context of the verse is dealing with who God is, that it is God who speaks of natural phenomena (sun, light, dark), and it is God who is able to cause "well-being" as well as "calamity." Contextually, this verse is dealing with natural disasters and human comfort issues. It is not speaking of moral evil; rather, it is dealing with calamity, distress, etc. This is consistent with other scriptures. For example,

"And the Lord said to him, "Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" (Exodus 4:11)
"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)
Also, take note that Isaiah is presenting contrasts. He speaks of "light" and "darkness," "well being" and "calamity." The word "well-being" in the Hebrew is the word for 'peace,' "Shalome." So, in the context, we are seeing two sets of opposites: Light and dark, peace and non-peace, or well being and calamity. The "evil" that is spoken of is not ontological evil, but the evil experienced by people in the form of calamity.

From the above two verses (Exodus 4:11; Amos 3:6) we can see that the Lord is involved in calamity and problems in the earthly realm. Exodus 4:11 is speaking of human frailty and Amos 3:6 is speaking of woes in a city. It is not a moral evil that God brings, but calamity and distress upon people.
Of course, this raises other questions of why God would do such a thing, which I won't cover here. But, we can trust that whatever God does is just and is used for teaching, guiding, and disciplining His people.

Third, there are other verses that clearly show that God is pure and that He cannot approve of evil.

“The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He," (Deut. 32:4).
"Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, and Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor," (Hab. 1:13).

We can see that the Bible teaches that God is pure and does not approve of evil, that the word rah (evil) in Hebrew can mean many things, and that contextually the verse is speaking of calamity and distress. Therefore, God does not create evil in the moral sense, but in the sense of disaster or calamity.

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