Does God Do Evil?

Does God Do Evil?

Dear Bro. John:
In Ex 32:14 the Lord turns away from the "evil" he was to do. The word used there in Hebrew carries a bad connotation, so it is not merely "harm" or "leaving them to their own ends." Many translations avoid the issue by saying he "had compassion" or something similar, but such translations don't seem accurate. How then is it that He was prepared to do evil?
-Jimmy

Dear Bro. Jimmy:
The answer to your question is found in the context of this scripture. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments the Hebrew people corrupted themselves by making and worshiping a golden calf. They attributed to the calf their deliverance from Egypt (32:6-8). This sacrilege incensed God and he said to Moses l, "That my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them..." (32:10). Moses pleaded with God begging that He would "turn from (his) fierce wrath and repent of this evil against (his) people" (32:12).God heard and accepted Moses intercessory petition and "repented of the evil which he said he would do unto his people." (32:14). The "evil" was his intention to utterly destroy the whole nation and start over again with Moses (32:10, 14). This was not a matter of moral evil, but an act of judgement which would impose harsh consequences on the people. Webster lists this as one of the definitions of "evil" "something that brings sorrow, distress or calamity."

Other translations reflect this:

"And the Lord felt grieved regarding the punishment He had thought to apply to His people" (The New Berkeley Version).
"So the Lord relented, and spared his people the evil with which he had threatened them" (New English Bible).
"Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened" (New International Version).
This is clearly reflected in Ps 106:19-23. "They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image...There fore he said that he would destroy them, Had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them..."

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