The Problem of Evil

Lesson 7

The Problem of Evil

(Genesis 1-4, Job 1 & 23, Romans 8)

Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: In American law we call it “negligent supervision.” It means the person or company in charge of an area failed to adequately protect those within from harm. The issue arises in the workplace, in shopping centers, or wherever someone else is in charge of your surroundings. Is God guilty of negligent supervision? We have terrible evil in the world and God is the powerhouse of the universe. Does responsibility end with Him? Are we in a position to judge? What does God say about His supervision of the world and the problem of evil? Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and find out! Note that we are not going to explore the origin of evil in the universe, but only the evil infecting our world.

1. The Disaster in Eden
   
   1. Read Genesis 1:31. What was the state of the world when God first created it? (“It was very good.”)
   2. Read Genesis 3:1-3. Who made this serpent? Who made Eve? Who made the forbidden tree? (God made all three.)
   3. Read Genesis 3:4-7. You Bible students, what has happened here? (Sin has entered the world of humans. This is the beginning of evil for humans.)
   4. Read Genesis 4:3-8. What is Cain’s motive to kill his brother Abel?
      1. These are the first children of Adam and Eve. The evil of murder shows up in one generation after perfection!
2. How Disaster Arose
   
   1. We just read a thumbnail sketch of how humans sinned and thus invited evil into the world. This evil manifested itself in the first born killing the second born of the original perfect couple! How do you explain this?
   2. Read Genesis 2:9. Where were these two trees located? (In the middle of the Garden of Eden.)
      1. What was the purpose of the tree of life?
      2. What was the purpose of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?
         
         1. Why were they together?
         2. Why would you be compelled to go near the forbidden tree every time you wanted to eat of the tree of life?
         3. Why didn’t God put the forbidden tree outside the garden? Or at least in a remote part of the garden?
      3. If you just looked at this logically, what answer would you give to the positioning of these two trees? (This was no accident. God deliberately put them together.)
         
         1. Does this mean God designed Eden so humans would fail?
3. Job
   
   1. Job gives us a lot of information about how God created the world. Let’s look at what else Job teaches us about the beginning. Read Job 1:6-8. Why did God ask Satan this question? (Because Satan asserted that He ruled the earth.)
   2. Read Job 1:9-12. What does Satan argue is the reason for Job’s allegiance to God? (God is protecting and blessing Job.)
      1. What is Satan really saying? (Job does not love God, Job loves success.)
   3. What do these verses tell us about the attitudes of God and Satan regarding the world? (They are in competition. They are in competition for the allegiance of humans.)
      1. What is the relative timing of the book of Job? (It was written after Adam and Eve sinned for that is the reason Satan claims rulership of the world. At the same time it appears to be early in Satan’s reign, for it seems to be after the Revelation 12:7-9 report that Satan was tossed out of heaven, but while he was still allowed to visit.)
      2. Are the attitudes of God and Satan a revelation of the attitudes of God and Satan during the creation of the Garden of Eden?
         
         1. Is the positioning of the two trees in Eden an agreed-upon contest, just like the attacks upon Job?
4. Getting to Why
   
   1. Look again at Job 1:9. How important to God is that the basis for the relationship between God and Job be “love” and not “things?”
      1. Assume that challenge was raised with regard to the attitude of your children towards you?
      2. Assume that challenge was raised with regard to the attitude of your much younger spouse towards you? How important is the answer?
   2. Read Romans 8:38-39. God’s love is stronger than what? (Everything that might separate us from Him.)
   3. Read Romans 8:31-34. What has God done to be able to have a love relationship with us? (Jesus was tortured and killed so that we might have a relationship with Him.)
   4. Read Genesis 1:26-28. What is the original pattern for humans? (God!)
      1. If we were not given freewill, would we be like God? (A robot is not “like” us if it is under our control.)
      2. Go back to our discussion of the agreed-upon contest in Eden. Think about the agreed-upon contest for Job. What was God looking for in each one of these? (That Adam, Eve, and Job would choose Him as a matter of love, and not because God had given them things.)
      3. Is free choice essential for true love?
5. The Impossible Why?
   
   1. Read Job 23:3-4 and Job 31:35-37. What does Job want? (Job says he wants God to give him a hearing. Later he says he wants to sue God. The problem is that Job has no one above God who can make God explain why Job is suffering and then render a verdict. Job says that his suffering is unjust.)
   2. Read Job 38:1-3 and then scan the rest of the chapter and chapter 39. What answer does God give to the charges raised by Job? Does God explain why Job is suffering? (God essentially says, “I’m God and you are not.” The verses that follow Job 38:2 are an extended explanation of why Job is such an ignorant fellow.)
   3. Read Job 40:1-5. How does Job reply? (Job agrees that he is not God and he will be silent about bringing charges against God. God then spends the balance of chapter 40 and chapter 41 continuing with His assertion that humans do not begin to understand what God understands.)
      1. What do you think about God’s answer? Does it sound like what your parents said, “Do it because I told you so.” No explanation was needed. (God never explains anything to Job other than Job’s relative ignorance.)
   4. Let’s step back a minute and discuss this. Did God have a simple answer that He could have given Job? (Yes. This was an agree-upon contest.)
      1. Could Job have ever reasoned out this answer? (I cannot imagine he could.)
      2. The book of Job is part of the Bible because God wants us to know the true answer as to why Job suffered. Why give us the answer and not Job who suffered so much?
   5. We started this lesson with the promise to try to determine the reason why evil exists in this world and whether God is responsible for it. Then we read a number of texts which suggested answers to us. What is the best and most direct answer? (Sit down and shut up. God is God and we are not. While God explains the Job situation to us (which in my opinion also explains the Eden situation), the best answer is that we do not have God’s understanding and we need to simply know that He loves us. We must trust Him whether it makes sense to us or not.)
   6. Friend, God died for you. God created you and your universe. Will you trust Him?
6. Next week: Free Will, Love, and Divine Providence.