How God Uses Evil

Genesis 50:18-21
(18) His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants."
(19) But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?
(20) As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
(21) So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones." Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

This is one of the most often-quoted passages of Genesis, at least in the circles I run in. This is at the very end of the book and right after Jacob died. Joseph's brothers are terrified that he will enslave them as retribution for what they did to him. Yet he shows them compassion.

First of all, I think that this is a great example of grace in action. Joseph models forgiveness for us in an incredible way. I don't think too many of us have been wronged to the degree Joseph was and yet we are often not so quick to forgive.

However, I think that this passage also speaks to the nature of God. Many wonder how a good God can allow evil in the universe. It's a fair question. Why doesn't He just clean it up? He will someday, but in the meantime He uses it according to His purposes to further His plan. In this case, He used the sin of Joseph's brothers to save a good bit of the world from a famine.

Why didn't He just stop the famine? That too is a good question. This to me speaks to the ultimate purpose in how God acts. He does things for His glory because that is ultimately the only thing that truly matters in the world. He derived greater glory from the record of this story than He would have from averting the famine. Also, the people would not have a story of the Exodus were it not for this famine bringing them to Egypt.

All of this goes back to the garden. If Adam and Eve had made the right choice none of this would matter. Yet ultimately their sin will bring God glory.