Does God will evil?

Judges 14:1-4 Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.  So he came back and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.”  Then his father and his mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she looks good to me.” However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.

This passage opens the door to a truth of Scripture that causes many a great struggle in their faith. The fact that God knows everything about the future and that He also will use the actions of people, whether good or bad, to accomplish His plans. Some come to the conclusion that we are nothing more then pawns in a game. That is not true. 

As we have already said, Samson allowed his physical eyes to guide him too much. God knew this about Samson, yet chose to use him to help free Israel from the bondage that the Philistines had placed them in. So from verse 4 we see that although Samson's mother and father had encouraged him to seek a wife from his own people, that God was using Samson's weakness to accomplish what God intended.

This causes many believers a deep struggle within themselves, and it is important that we address this issue.

First, and foremost we must lay the groundwork of Who God is. The Scriptures are clear that there is no evil or wrong in God's character. God does not sin. It would be impossible for me to show you all the Scriptures that speak to this issue on the character of God. However, I will share just some so we can understand that the Scripture states clearly that our God does no wrong, is holy and righteous in all that He does:

Matt 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Ps 99:9 Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the Lord our God is holy.

Is 5:16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.

Deut 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.

Understanding that, we now move to the stress that this passage brings forth. Why in Scripture does it appear that God will use what is wrong or even evil to accomplish His will? Here is where we enter into the understanding of the Providence of our God. The reason so many find this so uncomfortable is because, though we do not like to admit it, we humans want to be in 100% control of our own lives. This is what makes agnosticism such an attractive belief. An agnostic believes in God, but not a personal or interactive one. In other words, God created the heavens and the earth and then closed the door and leaves it alone. Conversely, and happily I admit, Scriptures teach a very different picture of our Creator. Not only does He sustain the entire workings of the universe, but He is very interactive and intimately involved with His creation. Again, I cannot share all the Scriptures that communicate God's involvement with His creation, but I will share some of what the Scriptures state:

Neh 9:6 You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.

Matt 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.

Ps 104:27–28 These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good.

Matt 6:26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

1 Sam 2:7–8 The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, And He has set the world upon them.

Prov 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

Acts 17:26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

Gen 8:22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”

God is always working behind-the-scenes to accomplish what He knows is best for all. The problem arises with our attributing motive to God's actions. God knows the beginning from the end, He is omniscient, and therefore He knows exactly what each person will do. This however, does not lead to the conclusion that some mistakenly make, that just because God knows what a person will do and then allows them to be used in His plan, that He is accountable for their actions.

For example, if you and I are in a plane flying at 35,000 feet and you tell me you want to step out the door for a walk, and I tell you the truth of gravity, but you still insist to go for the walk, just because I knew that if you stepped out of the plane you would fall to your death due to the law of gravity, does not make me accountable for your actions. So it is with the providential involvement of God in our lives. God has a plan, and if in that plan He foresees individuals that will do actions that will accomplish His plan, God will allow them to flex their free choice and He will use their actions to accomplish His plan. Judas Iscariot is one of many examples of that. In the same way, God knows that Samson has a weakness and uses it to bring the Philistines to fight against Samson, who God is going to use to deliver Israel.

The most important thing that we need to remember about God's providential interaction with His creation is that it is always motivated by love. God always desires what is best for us, while keeping the balance of His decision to allow us free choices, even if those choices lead us in the wrong direction. God chose to pursue a relationship with His creation based on their free choice decision to obey or disobey him.

Is important here to remember that our God is a God of love that seeks the best for his creation.

1 John 4:7–8 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

The big question we must ask ourselves is how do we see God's involvement in our life? This includes the good, the bad and the ugly. Can we be like Joseph who suffered terribly at the hands of his brothers’ choices, yet saw the bigger picture of the hand of God in his life?

Gen 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Or as Paul, who looked at his circumstances from the perspective of God's desire to help all know the offer of His salvation, even the Roman soldiers that held Paul prisoner?

Phil 1:12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,

Is our faith strong enough to really believe what Romans states?

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

The man who endured the most intense testing in the entire Bible next to Jesus Christ, Job understood this reality.

Job 1:21 And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

As you contemplate the involvement God has in your life, may I please leave you with a great truth communicated by Scripture?

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.

Do you live your life in such a way that at the end of all you do, when it stands before the judgment of your Creator, will it endure or pass away as all temporal things do? Have you decided to “partner” with God, or go it alone?