God Using Evil for Good
best example
How does God use evil for his own good purposes?
This is the genius of God. "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out." (Prv 25:2)
Exs:
senseless feuding (Jdgs 13:5, 14:2-4, 15:1-8) (see also The Ripple Effect)
How could God be justified in using Samson as a judge using Samson's temper, anger and constant desire for revenge? (Jdgs 14:19, 15:3-5, 7-8, 15, 18-20, 16:28-30)
At the time I wrote this question, I saw it more from a theodicean viewpoint; now that I've grown in faith and wisdom, I wonder that I ever thought of God in these terms. I don't blame him for somehow becoming implicated in the sins of Samson, as if it tainted him to at all get involved in his sins, but as his orchestration of his divine plan, using human actions, in and even despite their evil, while he himself remains blameless.
Levi was indeed spread out among the tribes, but this is seen as a good thing, since the very Lord was their inheritance, while in Gn 49:7 it's made out to be a curse. How can something be a blessing and curse at the same time?
"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." (Ps 116:15) On one hand, death is a curse, which Christ had to overcome and did overcome; on the other, the entrance to being in the presence of the Lord. However, this dual truth is hard to fathom when you're staring down into the casket of your loved one -- I've never seen anything so serious in my life as death.
closely related to the above question: the strange case of Solomon -- God had said that the kings of Israel were not to accumulate for themselves too many horses, wives, or silver (Dt 17:16-17), but that's exactly what Solomon did (I Kgs 10:26-28, 11:3). Now these, to God, were bad things, but in the bible, these are recorded as good things, as blessings, and indeed, they were, since they were a sign of Solomon's great wealth, prestige and the glory of his kingdom. Besides this, all blessings come from God. So we have 2 problems here: first, how can something be both good and bad, both disobedience and a blessing, and second, if God was against these things, why did he bless Solomon with these? Didn't God say, "I give you ... both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days"? (1 Kings 3:13)
Other examples:
1)basic truism that prosperity generally leads to dissipation (Dt 32:15, Mt 13:22, 19:24), which is pretty sad, and also ironic, in that in themselves, the blessings we receive from God are good, but they often lead us instead to evil. This is very similar to the above question involving Solomon. The key to the irony, I think, lies in the dichotomy between the physical and spiritual. Because people don't have true faith, they can take the good things God gives us and turn them into idols, worshiping the material and giving it greater importance than the spiritual. (Hos 2:8) This is one of the major temptations of mankind. Men choosing women based on physical appearance alone, envying the rich without considering their morals, chasing after recognition and worldly success while neglecting your role as a spouse/parent -- these are all examples of the same theme. Similar to what I said on the previous page (Good & Evil/Pain & Suffering), one of the greatest difficulties of living the Christian life is the balancing act of having a healthy appreciation and enjoyment of the good things in life on one hand (Sir 14:14,16, I Tm 4:4), and yet being able to forsake it all for the sake of Christ -- "associating with the lowly" (Rom 12:16) and "weeping with those who weep" (same verse). "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." (Ezk 16:49) So it seems there's always a tendency to "[worship and serve] the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Rom 1:25)
It would be of profound interest if we could see how everything we've received has played out for our salvation or damnation, and this we will see at the Last Judgment, but, until then, I have to remark that it's a wonder that the things we humans praise and desire are too often the cause of our downfall. As Jesus said, "Many who are first will be last, and the last first." (Mt 19:30)
2)Israel wanting a king, thus rejecting God (I Sm 8:4-20) I'm supposed to discuss this under The Ripple Effect, so I'll leave it for then, but thought it'd be good to list it here for the sake of completeness.
This is the genius of God. "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out." (Prv 25:2)
Exs:
senseless feuding (Jdgs 13:5, 14:2-4, 15:1-8) (see also The Ripple Effect)
How could God be justified in using Samson as a judge using Samson's temper, anger and constant desire for revenge? (Jdgs 14:19, 15:3-5, 7-8, 15, 18-20, 16:28-30)
At the time I wrote this question, I saw it more from a theodicean viewpoint; now that I've grown in faith and wisdom, I wonder that I ever thought of God in these terms. I don't blame him for somehow becoming implicated in the sins of Samson, as if it tainted him to at all get involved in his sins, but as his orchestration of his divine plan, using human actions, in and even despite their evil, while he himself remains blameless.
Levi was indeed spread out among the tribes, but this is seen as a good thing, since the very Lord was their inheritance, while in Gn 49:7 it's made out to be a curse. How can something be a blessing and curse at the same time?
"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." (Ps 116:15) On one hand, death is a curse, which Christ had to overcome and did overcome; on the other, the entrance to being in the presence of the Lord. However, this dual truth is hard to fathom when you're staring down into the casket of your loved one -- I've never seen anything so serious in my life as death.
closely related to the above question: the strange case of Solomon -- God had said that the kings of Israel were not to accumulate for themselves too many horses, wives, or silver (Dt 17:16-17), but that's exactly what Solomon did (I Kgs 10:26-28, 11:3). Now these, to God, were bad things, but in the bible, these are recorded as good things, as blessings, and indeed, they were, since they were a sign of Solomon's great wealth, prestige and the glory of his kingdom. Besides this, all blessings come from God. So we have 2 problems here: first, how can something be both good and bad, both disobedience and a blessing, and second, if God was against these things, why did he bless Solomon with these? Didn't God say, "I give you ... both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days"? (1 Kings 3:13)
Other examples:
1)basic truism that prosperity generally leads to dissipation (Dt 32:15, Mt 13:22, 19:24), which is pretty sad, and also ironic, in that in themselves, the blessings we receive from God are good, but they often lead us instead to evil. This is very similar to the above question involving Solomon. The key to the irony, I think, lies in the dichotomy between the physical and spiritual. Because people don't have true faith, they can take the good things God gives us and turn them into idols, worshiping the material and giving it greater importance than the spiritual. (Hos 2:8) This is one of the major temptations of mankind. Men choosing women based on physical appearance alone, envying the rich without considering their morals, chasing after recognition and worldly success while neglecting your role as a spouse/parent -- these are all examples of the same theme. Similar to what I said on the previous page (Good & Evil/Pain & Suffering), one of the greatest difficulties of living the Christian life is the balancing act of having a healthy appreciation and enjoyment of the good things in life on one hand (Sir 14:14,16, I Tm 4:4), and yet being able to forsake it all for the sake of Christ -- "associating with the lowly" (Rom 12:16) and "weeping with those who weep" (same verse). "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." (Ezk 16:49) So it seems there's always a tendency to "[worship and serve] the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Rom 1:25)
It would be of profound interest if we could see how everything we've received has played out for our salvation or damnation, and this we will see at the Last Judgment, but, until then, I have to remark that it's a wonder that the things we humans praise and desire are too often the cause of our downfall. As Jesus said, "Many who are first will be last, and the last first." (Mt 19:30)
2)Israel wanting a king, thus rejecting God (I Sm 8:4-20) I'm supposed to discuss this under The Ripple Effect, so I'll leave it for then, but thought it'd be good to list it here for the sake of completeness.
