Eccl 7:14
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover
anything about his future.
NIV
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover
anything about his future.
NIV
Ecc. 7:14 KJV "In the day of prosperity be joyful: but in the day of adversity consider. God has set the one over against the other to the end that man should find nothing after him."
The hebrew word fpr day in masculine. The Hebrew word for prosperity is feminine. The Hebrew word for adversity is feminine. The hebrew word for the one is masculine. The Hebrew word for the other is masculine. The word for has set is 'ashah., to shape what already exists.
So, the text does not say that God brings evil into existence. He manipulates the evil already existing to produce some benefit (blessing or learning) to those involved. In the day of prosperity remember that God has had a hand in coordination things to rein in evil, and you happen to have benefitted from God's intervention. And in the day of adversity, remember that God has been working to rein in evil, and you happen to have come out badly nevertheless. God sometimes puts us on the winning side and sometimes He allows us to end up on the losing end, so that we will not presume we have the power to manipulate God or events to always get the outcomes we desire.
Or...how about this for added comfort:
Isa 45:7
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things?
NIV
Isa 45:7
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things?
NIV
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