Hi yab Yum,
Here are a couple of excerpts that will help you understand how God uses evil for good.
http://bible-truths.com/kennedy2.htm ----------
GOD CREATES AND USES EVIL FOR GOOD
Far too many theologians misrepresent the Word of God, and therefore pervert it to suit their unscriptural biases. I have heard of theologians who graduated from seminary and still did not know that God says in Isaiah 45:7: "I ... create EVIL." And most who have read it, don't believe it.
Evil has no moral bias. God does not sin when He uses evil for His good purposes. Men sin when they do evil to other men. Evil [Heb. ha' = TO SMASH] is only a "sin" when it is used wrongly. God uses evil for good. The glorious culmination of God's plan will justify His use of evil a trillion times to the power of infinity! Notice how often God uses evil in the Scriptures:
"I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace [good], and create evil: I the Lord do all these things" (Isa. 45:7).
"Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?" (Lam 3:38).
" ... an experience of evil hath God given to the sons of man to humble him thereby" (Ecc. 1:13).
" ... I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives..." (II Sam. 12:11).
"That which is molded will not protest to the molder, 'Why do you make me thus?' Or has not the potter the right over the clay, out of the same kneading to make one vessel, indeed, for honor, yet, one for dishonor?" (Rom. 9:19-25).
" ... I have created the waster to destroy." (Isa. 54:16).
"The LORD hath made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." (Prov. 16:4).
" ... I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction." (Jer. 4:6).
" ... Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people ... " (Jer. 6:19).
"And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets." " ... And He [God] said, ... go forth, and do so." (I Kg. 22:22).
"He [God] turned their heart to hate his people ... " (Psa. 105:25).
" ... Thus said the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you ... " (Jer. 18:11).
" ... For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all." (Rom. 11:32).
"O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear?" (Isa. 63:17).
" ... so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until He have destroyed you from off this good land ... " (Josh. 23:15).
" ... shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord has not done it?" (Am. 3:6).
"For whom the Lord is loving He is disciplining, Yet He is scourging ever son to whom He is assenting" (Heb. 12:5).
"By His spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His hand hath formed the Crooked serpent" (Job 26:14). "And the great dragon was cast out, the Ancient serpent called Adversary and Satan ... " (Rev. 12:9).
"Yet he who is doing sin is of the Adversary, for from the beginning is the Adversary sinning." (I Jn 3:08).
"What? shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips." (Job 2:10, see 42:7).
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts ... go and smite Amalek ... destroy ... slay both man and woman, infant and suckling ... " (I Sam. 15:2-3).
" ... God will be sending them an operation of deception for them to believe the falsehood ... " (II The. 2:11-12).
Scripture proves that God not only created evil, but that He, Himself, is responsible for it.
Maybe these aren't Sunday School verses, but they are Scripture. These are strong verses. At times it is hard to emotionally deal with the evils of this world. But I thank God that it is HE and not Satan or man who controls evil. It is important to understand that God puts limitations on evil. He doesn't use it indiscriminately. Jeremiah 18:11 says: " ... I frame evil against you ... " This verse alone shows the boundaries and limitations that God Himself puts on evil.
GOD IS NOT EVIL
We can accomplish no good of ourselves. What we are to learn is contained in the next passage: "Be not deceived [but of course, most people are deceived], my beloved brethren! ALL GOOD giving and EVERY perfect gratuity is from above, descending from the FATHER of lights ... " (Jas. 1:16). That is the lesson we, not God, are to learn and our trials are a great aid in understanding God's goodness.
http://bible-truths.com/lake15-B.html ------------
LEMONS TO LEMONADE?
Many Christian teachers and theologians like to look at examples such as this one with Joseph and conclude that God merely turns the lemons of Joseph’s brothers into lemonade. That is totally untrue and unscriptural. Was the selling of Joseph into Egypt as a slave (their lemons), that God then used to preserve life (His lemonade)? Is that what took place here? God used their lemons to make His lemonade? Absolutely not.
It was GOD who made these "lemons" in the first place—"GOD DID SEND ME…," and it was also God Who turned those lemons into lemonade, "…TO PRESERVE LIFE" (Gen. 45:5b). Or as Gen. 50:20 states:
"But as for you, ye thought evil [lemons] against me: but God meant it for good [LEMONADE], to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."
Joseph and his brothers is a parable for the whole plan of God, to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear:
God made the lemons and God changed the lemons into lemonade.
God is the Potter and we are the clay. God first made the clay in His hands "marred/ruined"—LEMONS, before "…He made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the Potter to make it"—LEMONADE (Jer. 18:4).
Therefore, "For as in Adam ALL DIE [the marred, ruined clay—lemons] even so in Christ shall ALL [it’s the same ‘all’ as ‘in Adam’—it’s the SAME CLAY {Adam means ‘clay’}--lemons] BE MADE ALIVE [‘another vessel, as seemed good to the Potter to make it’—LEMONADE]."
It is God Who makes both the lemons and the lemonade. God is in control of His creation from beginning to end:
"Having made known unto us the mystery of His will [God’s will is still a mystery to the world of Christendom], according to His good pleasure [‘For it is GOD which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure’—Phil. 2:13] which He has purposed in Himself [not in man’s fabled ‘free will’]: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in ONE, ALL things in Christ, both which are IN HEAVEN, and which are ON EARTH [that’s ALL the heavenly host and ALL humanity that has ever lived]; even in Him: In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance [in this age and this lifetime, ahead of the rest which must go through judgment first], being predestined according to the purpose of Him [not by the ‘maybe yes/maybe no’ uncertain shaky possibility of man’s supposed free will] Who works ALL THINGS after the counsel of HIS OWN WILL" (Eph. 1:9-11).
It is GOD Who does the working of the clay. The clay does not determine its own destiny, that is the POTTER’S job:
"Nay but, O man, who are you that replies against God? Shall the thing formed [we, the clay] say to Him that formed it [God, the Potter], Why have You made me thus? Has not the Potter power over the clay [and the clay’s powerless imagined ‘free will’], of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour [lemonade], and another unto dishonour [lemons]" (Rom. 9:20-21).
If the evil deed of selling Joseph into slavery was the "lemons," then it was GOD who made them lemons. Well doesn’t that then make God the evil One? No, no it doesn’t. Here is why. It all has to do with the intent of the heart.
From the intentions of the heart of Joseph’s brothers, the deed to sell Joseph into slavery down in Egypt was EVIL. But from the intention of the heart of GOD, the deed was one of great benevolence and righteousness! And the Scriptures actually say so in just so many words, when Joseph’s brothers did indeed bow down to him:
"And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought EVIL AGAINST ME; but GOD MEANT IT UNTO GOOD, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Gen. 50:18-20).
You won’t find many statements in Scripture more profound than this one. "…you thought EVIL AGAINST ME; but GOD MEANT IT UNTO GOOD…" This is absolutely not a case of turning the lemons of men into the lemonade of God. It was GOD who made both the lemons and the lemonade. Why was this act a sin and an evil on the part of Joseph’s brothers? Because they "thought EVIL" against Joseph. And why was it NOT a sin or an evil when God takes credit for this act? Because "GOD MEANT IT UNTO GOOD." No, contrary to those who hate God’s ways, God is not evil, nor does He ever sin through all His dealings with evil on behalf of mankind’s good and eternal welfare.
One final point, just in case you didn’t catch it: Nowhere in any of these statements of Scripture do we see God "changing" the original evil of men into something good. No, not at all: for it was God, Himself Who is responsible for both the original act of evil and the final consummation of blessing.
Joseph plainly states that "God meant it unto good." The "it" was the evil act of Joseph’s brothers. God did not change "it" unto good. No, God meant for the "it" to take place—"it" was His doing. But God’s motivation for the "it" was for good and not evil as Joseph’s brothers intended. So God brought about the "it" by the dream that He caused Joseph to have. And it was God’s intention from the very conception of the "it" (the dirty deed) to be used for good!
And this IS how God operates. Not just with Joseph and his brothers, but with all humanity in all ages. "God is no respecter of persons," and "God changes not."
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mercy, peace and love
Kat