And that my dear is the whole purpose of why God permits evil, and when you understand that, you'll understand why God has a Plan.
I believe that you misunderstand God’s purpose in permitting evil.....you see, he never
planned for it to happen. The one thing he wanted to withhold from his children was "a knowledge of good and evil"...he would decide what was good and only allow good things to enter their lives, but they had to choose not to know it because of free will......and because free will is
free for all of us to use or misuse, God used the abuse of it to teach us about consequences, which all the rebels knew in advance.
Allowing it is not the same as
planning it. If God planned for the devil and humans to sin...then that’s some God
you have there....
Genesis 6:6 says that “Jehovah regretted that he had made men on the earth, and his heart was saddened.” (NWT) And, in response, God determined to destroy all life on the earth. Now, it would be easy to read this and see a God who was caught off guard by how sinful humanity had become. A God who became so angry that he decided to wipe out the whole mess and start over again. But it is hard to reconcile that with a God who is omniscient, who knows the future
Again you can’t see past the obvious....as these things that transpired on earth involved the outworking of God’s purpose, that did not include the fact that demons were now interfering in a large way to show how quickly man would descend into a level of wickedness that would alter things drastically. Jehovah didn’t just “wipe out the whole mess and start again” because he was “caught off guard”......the flood did not alter God’s purpose at all....but allowing mankind to be influenced by the Nephilim and their demonic fathers would have ruined everything. In dealing with that situation as he did, precedents were again created. And those demons were sent back to the spirit realm where God dealt with them......but he hadn’t finished with them just yet.
The situation in Noah’s day and other judgment periods, formed a pictorial pattern of things to come. (Matt 24:37-39; 2 Peter 32:4-6)
All that transpired in connection with God’s purpose was carefully maintained, but also allowing free will to go where it needed to, in order for that purpose to be carried out.
A God who had chosen Christ as our atoning sacrifice before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20).
The “foundation of the world” was of course, not the creation of the earth, but the founding of sinful mankind descended from Adam and his wife. There was no need for a savior before they chose to disobey.
Jesus being sent as redeemer was a solution to a problem created by the rebels......not something planned from the time of creation.
The word translated as “regretted” in Genesis 6:6 could also be translated as “be grieved.” And that seems to be to better fit here. This is an emotional response from the creator over what his creation has become. Even though he knew it would come to this, it was still destressing to him. God is not an impersonal force or entity with no feelings for his creation. Rather, he is intimately involved with his creation. We see him expressing delight in what he has done. And disappointment in what we have done with his creation.
And where have I ever stated otherwise? How could he not be disappointed when he had determined in advance that an idyllic life in paradise forever was there within their reach.....obedience to one small command that imposed no hardship whatsoever, was all that was needed to show their Creator that they respected his property and appreciated all he had given them....we were robbed of that life (but only temporarily). The detour created by their decisions, would bring us back to the beginning. (Isaiah 55:11)
Israel's rebellion is a result of sin, just as Adam and Eve rebelled and they were perfect, how much so from imperfect beings?
What was the devil’s rebellion the result of? He too was a once perfect angel. Ezekiel tells us that he was magnificent, and was carried away by his own beauty, which then fostered a vanity which caused him to want to be “like God” and gain the worship from lower creatures who were new on the scene.
Ezekiel 28:11-19, in a thinly disguised dirge concerning the king of Tyre, (who was emulating the traits of the devil) God addressed his adversary in very specific terms that could only apply to satan. The king of Tyre was not a “covering cherub” in the garden of Eden.
This also tells us why he was there in the garden, as cherubs have a guardianship role. So the position of trust he was given was abused as a result of the wrong use of free will. We saw where that led....we are living in the results of that change of rulership. God handed the now defective human race over to the god they had chosen. (Luke 4:5-7)
Why did Eve sin, and why did satan target her specifically?
He was actually using her as bait to influence her husband, (emotional blackmail is part of the devil’s armoury). If he can get to us emotionally, he’s got fertile ground to play with. God’s emotions are controlled by his vast knowledge and wisdom, and they are expressed in his actions. Justice has no emotions, but it can be tempered with mercy if it is merited.
Jehovah showed no compassion for the reasons
why they broke his law even though excuses were offered, each blamed someone else.....IOW there were no grounds upon which to forgive either of them for their sin. Each sinned in a different way and for a different reason....the devil played his hand...and won. (for now)
Perfect beings do not make mistakes...only imperfect ones do. So in accord with their actions, (not what caused them) God acted immediately to evict the pair from their paradise home to the harsh and untamed world outside. Not only that, but he also cursed the ground upon which they would now toil for their food. What a contrast ! From an orchard of delicious fruit....to cultivating cursed ground to grow enough grain to make “bread”.