You Intended it for Evil...

Passage: Genesis 50:15-21

In its treatment of the Doctrine of Providence, the Belgic Confession says this:
We believe that this good God, after he created all things, did not abandon them to chance or fortune but leads and governs them according to his holy will, in such a way that nothing happens in this world without his orderly arrangement.
Yet God is not the author of, nor can he be charged with, the sin that occurs. For his power and goodness are so great and incomprehensible that he arranges and does his work very well and justly even when the devils and wicked men act unjustly. [From Art. 13]

When we are the victims of injustice – when we suffer the effects of human evil – we are quick to conclude that God is simply out of the picture. The only agents at work in the situation are the human evildoers. The problem with this conclusion is that it assumes that there are situations that are beyond God’s control. Circumstances in which God leaves us to face the forces of evil alone. We would have to further deduce that God could again leave us alone at any time.

Isn’t it more comforting to trust that God is at work co-opting the ill-intentioned acts of evildoers (or even the well-intentioned errors of flawed people) to serve his good purposes? Joseph catches a glimpse of God’s hand at work when he looks back on his life. He’s given the gift of seeing the good things God did with the devastating betrayal, humiliating enslavement, and false accusation he endured at the hands of other people. What Joseph never sees is the greater contribution these events make to God’s unfolding redemption of all humanity. Joseph’s story makes this abundantly clear: God is relentless in the execution of his good plans, and no evil deed can stop him. To the contrary, God incorporates the acts of even his greatest adversaries into the greatest triumphs of his grace. Joseph's story is part of the bigger story of God's chosen people. This, in turn, is part of the bigger story of God's promise of a Savior. And this bigger story culminates at the cross.