Inquiry:
Does God tempt man or not? Genesis 22:1 reads, “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham.” However, James 1:13 says, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” Is there a contradiction?
Response:
The questioner must consider the context of passages before attempting to establish a contradiction by setting one against the other. In James 1:13, it is apparent that the context deals with being tempted to sin (James 1:13-15). No one is tempted to sin by God, “…for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man…” (inferred >>> with evil). This is the work of the tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5).
The text in Genesis 12 certainly says that the Lord tempted (KJV) Abraham. Other translations render this word “prove” (ASV), “tested” (NKJV), and “tried” (YLT). The Lord sought proof of Abraham’s faith. He wanted to test the genuineness of Abraham’s devotion to Him. However, the Lord does not tempt Abraham “with evil.” If the questioner can produce a text where the Lord tempted someone with evil, then he has a contradiction.
There is no contradiction.
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