I certainly respect your belief, GN. I think you and I have crossed swords before, always amicably, I also think and hope. Thus I won’t belabor the point but to say that as a Noachide, I’ve long felt Satan more a symbol - at least in Torah - of the evil in Man than as the “adversary” which I feel would tend to undermine monotheism. The “serpent” that tested Adam and Eve in The Garden seems more logical to me as God, even Himself “learning” the earliest human resolve of good and evil.
Insofar as God “telling” us of this, recall that in Isaiah 45:7 He also says, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things”.
The mind of Man is capable of some awfully heinous things, none of which existed before him, at least in the universe we thus far know, given the possibility of some other intelligent beings out there, but which I feel would face the same essential problems.
But enough of my shtick...at least for now.
God’s grace be with You and Yours, always.
snip
"Thus, a simple word Hebrew word search is inadequate to help us arrive at the proper meaning of ra in Isaiah 45:7. Fortunately, two tried and true principles are available to us that remove any and all doubt about what Isaiah meant, not in accordance with our pet theories or interpretations of what he meant, but pursuant to an objective standard that would compel any and all rational observers to arrive at the same conclusion."
"The first is context. Isaiah begins chapter 45 with these words: “This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him…For the sake of my servant Jacob, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.” It’s evident, then, that the “evil” God is creating in verse seven is better understood as calamity or disaster. It’s a description of the judgment of God on his people achieved through Cyrus."
"This should be enough to convince both skeptic and believer alike that what Isaiah means in verse 7 is best understood by us as calamity or disaster. For the stubborn, however, there’s further, undeniable proof that God does not create evil according to Isaiah 45:7. In addition to context, it is important to recognize literary features of a text when they are present. Failure to do so leads to error in interpretation. Applicable to Isaiah 45:7 is a particular Hebrew construction known as parallelism."
"There are several types of parallelism employed by Old Testament authors: synonymous, antithetical, synthetical, stairstep, and emblematic. Isaiah 45:7 is as clear an example of antithetical parallelism as can be found in the OT; without recognizing this fact, it is easy to make the basic error of claiming Isaiah states that God creates evil. Antithetical parallelism describes a relationship between opposites or contrasts. For instance, consider Proverbs 10:16, or any of several other proverbs in chapter 10: “The labour of the righteous tendeth to life; the fruit of the wicked to sin.”"
"This is precisely what occurs in Isaiah 45:7: “I make peace, and create evil.” What is the opposite of peace? Calamity, turmoil, disaster, war–similar to what might be delivered by Cyrus–but certainly not evil proper. Hence, the verse is properly translated in modern language as “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.” Note the antithetical structure: light/darkness, prosperity/disaster."
"To claim, then, that God creates evil on the basis of Isaiah 45:7 is simply the result of improper Biblical handling, and the equivocation that results from conflation of modern English with 400 year-old KJV English. Despite rumors to the contrary, Biblical interpretation is really not all that nebulous in the overwhelming majorty of cases."
Proper Biblical Interpretation: Episode 1–Isaiah 45:7
So as we see when we put the verse in context, and with the proper translation of the Hebrew word ra that is used in this passage, God does not create evil. God gives certain of His created beings (angels, men) free will, and makes them aware of the consequences of choosing to rebel against Him, but He does not create the condition that man finds himself in when he chooses to rebel against God.
The “serpent” that tested Adam and Eve in The Garden seems more logical to me as God, even Himself “learning” the earliest human resolve of good and evil.
We know from Job 37:16, Psalm 147:5, Isaiah 46:9-10, and 1 John 3:19-20 that God is omniscient and can learn nothing. God knew before He began to create everything that man would choose the darkness over Him. Nothing is a surprise to God; He is all-knowing and nothing is a shock to Him and nothing happens outside His omniscient wisdom. Therefore, He did not "learn" about human resolve, He foreknew what would happen millennia before it did happen.
And we know that God put a curse on Satan for what he had done:
So the LORD God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:14)
Did God put a curse on Himself?
God bless you, onedoug.