Providence - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Part 2)
In the first installment we considered how the Bible portrays God's providence as governing all his creatures and their actions, which includes both "the Good and the Bad." We saw how both Naomi and Job declare God's providential control even over evil events which they experienced. And we started to ask the question, how do those texts fit with the many declarations of God's holiness and his inability to be tempted by or to tempt anyone to evil. (See previous post here)
Clearly it is God's will that people should not commit murder. This is, after all, one of the 10 Commandments - "You shall not murder" (Ex 20:13).
The difficulty comes because the Bible also teaches that it was God's will for Jesus to be murdered - "for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place" (Acts 4:27-28).
It was God's eternal plan - predestined to take place - that Jesus would be murdered through the evil acts of "Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel..." Jesus clearly acknowledged that it was the Father's will for him to suffer and die on the cross in Luke 22:42.
Do you see the problem - God's will is seen in his declaring murder to be sin, and yet, God also willed the murder of Jesus.
This is where the idea of the Two Wills of God comes in. First, God has a revealed will or a will of command - You shall not murder. Second, God has a secret will or a sovereign will which includes the death of Jesus among other things (see Genesis 50:20 and Isaiah 10:5-19 where God wills evil events done by human beings). Regardless of how "ugly" this definition might be, it will not do to ignore the difficult things that Scripture teaches.
One of the reasons why many people bristle at this "ugly" definition is that they hate unresolved issues; difficulties and perceived contradictions set people on edge. However, if God is infinite and we are finite should we not expect for some things to stretch us beyond our comfort levels? A God who can be easily summarized would seem to be a God of our own making, would He not? Whatever we do we must not try to tame what Scripture teaches because we find it uncomfortable or seemingly impossible to resolve. With Paul we must say, "Let God be true though every one were a liar" (Rom 3:4).
The answer is hinted at in Ruth 4:17-20 when we find that Ruth gives birth to Obed who is the grandfather of David. In this closing section we are given a peek behind the veil of God's providential working. The famine caused Elimelech and Naomi to move to Moab. While in Moab their sons married Moabite women, one of those Moabite women was Ruth. The death of all three men meant that the women were destitute and caused Naomi to return to Bethlehem with Ruth refusing to leave her.
In other words, without the famine there is no move, without the move there is no meeting Ruth, without the deaths there is no return journey, without the return journey with Ruth there is no marriage to Boaz, and without the marriage to Boaz there is no David. Most importantly, humanly speaking, without David there is no line of David and there is no Son of David as Matthew 1:1 calls Jesus, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."
Of course there are many learned tomes which seek to probe far more deeply into this doctrine, but I hope you are beginning to see the beauty of providence - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly parts of it.
Only a robust understanding of God's providence makes sense of Acts 2:22-24, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God (God's eternal plan which included the evil death of Jesus), you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men (man's responsibility for murdering Jesus). God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it" (emphasis added).
God's eternal, definite plan was for evil to be done to his Son. The cross was not an afterthought, it was not plan B, it was not a cosmic accident. If you are a Christian then your salvation is the result of the dark providence of the cross. I hope you see that providence is not a doctrine to be ignored or shied away from but, one to be celebrated and marveled at as many hymn writers through the years have done so well.
And can it be that I should gain
An int'rest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?
- Charles Wesley
The Ugly
Theologians have wrestled with these questions for years and the best explanation, in my opinion, is known as the Two Wills of God. At first glance the idea that God has two wills seems like theologians are accusing God of being bi-polar or something, but let's take a closer look at why this language has been used.Clearly it is God's will that people should not commit murder. This is, after all, one of the 10 Commandments - "You shall not murder" (Ex 20:13).
The difficulty comes because the Bible also teaches that it was God's will for Jesus to be murdered - "for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place" (Acts 4:27-28).
It was God's eternal plan - predestined to take place - that Jesus would be murdered through the evil acts of "Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel..." Jesus clearly acknowledged that it was the Father's will for him to suffer and die on the cross in Luke 22:42.
Do you see the problem - God's will is seen in his declaring murder to be sin, and yet, God also willed the murder of Jesus.
This is where the idea of the Two Wills of God comes in. First, God has a revealed will or a will of command - You shall not murder. Second, God has a secret will or a sovereign will which includes the death of Jesus among other things (see Genesis 50:20 and Isaiah 10:5-19 where God wills evil events done by human beings). Regardless of how "ugly" this definition might be, it will not do to ignore the difficult things that Scripture teaches.
One of the reasons why many people bristle at this "ugly" definition is that they hate unresolved issues; difficulties and perceived contradictions set people on edge. However, if God is infinite and we are finite should we not expect for some things to stretch us beyond our comfort levels? A God who can be easily summarized would seem to be a God of our own making, would He not? Whatever we do we must not try to tame what Scripture teaches because we find it uncomfortable or seemingly impossible to resolve. With Paul we must say, "Let God be true though every one were a liar" (Rom 3:4).
Ruth, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Applying this understanding to the book of Ruth we see that in someway there was a dark providence involved in the famine in Bethlehem and the deaths of the men. Does Scripture provide any insight for us to see why God (somehow, someway) providentially brought about these tragic events?The answer is hinted at in Ruth 4:17-20 when we find that Ruth gives birth to Obed who is the grandfather of David. In this closing section we are given a peek behind the veil of God's providential working. The famine caused Elimelech and Naomi to move to Moab. While in Moab their sons married Moabite women, one of those Moabite women was Ruth. The death of all three men meant that the women were destitute and caused Naomi to return to Bethlehem with Ruth refusing to leave her.
In other words, without the famine there is no move, without the move there is no meeting Ruth, without the deaths there is no return journey, without the return journey with Ruth there is no marriage to Boaz, and without the marriage to Boaz there is no David. Most importantly, humanly speaking, without David there is no line of David and there is no Son of David as Matthew 1:1 calls Jesus, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."
Of course there are many learned tomes which seek to probe far more deeply into this doctrine, but I hope you are beginning to see the beauty of providence - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly parts of it.
Only a robust understanding of God's providence makes sense of Acts 2:22-24, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God (God's eternal plan which included the evil death of Jesus), you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men (man's responsibility for murdering Jesus). God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it" (emphasis added).
God's eternal, definite plan was for evil to be done to his Son. The cross was not an afterthought, it was not plan B, it was not a cosmic accident. If you are a Christian then your salvation is the result of the dark providence of the cross. I hope you see that providence is not a doctrine to be ignored or shied away from but, one to be celebrated and marveled at as many hymn writers through the years have done so well.
And can it be that I should gain
An int'rest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?
- Charles Wesley
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