As we moved through the 2016 election and it was becoming clear that Donald Trump was going to get the Republican nomination for president, the evangelical movement that had been strong for Ted Cruz began to coalesce around Trump. This amazed and stunned those who were familiar with both the nominee and evangelicals. How could evangelicals support a man such as Trump?
It’s true that Mr. Trump was making promises regarding matters of importance to the evangelicals, namely abortion and religious rights, but it was also clear that Mr. Trump was not an evangelical in the least.
As Trump got the nomination and began his run for the presidency, he said and did things that contradicted everything evangelicals stood for. Yet, the evangelicals stood firmly behind Mr. Trump, giving him strong support.
When asked how this could be, evangelical leaders quickly reminded those who would listen that history is filled with God using non-believers to accomplish His will. While they may not support Mr. Trump’s lifestyle or words or actions, the evangelicals believed God’s hand was in making him president.
Now that President Trump is in his third year as president, the questions are still asked, and the response is always the same. God can use even the most godless person to achieve His will.
And it’s true; God can and does do exactly that. The prophet Habakkuk asked God, “Why then do You tolerate the treacherous? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?” (Habakkuk 1:13).
Why does God use evil men to do His will? A look at the Bible explains not just why but how God worked through evil people.
Why God Uses Evil People
Habakkuk began his questions to God with a question about why bad people seem to prosper, while good people don’t. God’s response was that He was brining judgment through the Babylonians. And, true to His word, God sent the Babylonians, who worshiped another god, to conquer Judah and carry them off to captivity.
That’s the main reason God uses evil people. God had warned Judah and Israel of their need to repent and return to Him. When Israel didn’t repent, God sent the Assyrians to conquer them. The Babylonians took Judah into captivity.
God used Pharaoh to demonstrate to Israel that God was a mighty God who would bring them out of captivity and send them back to the Promised Land. Through Pharaoh’s hard heart, God sent the plagues that resulted in Israel leaving Egypt as a conquering army.
God tends to use the things of our world to teach us His lessons. He used, or at least allowed, evil people throughout history to draw His people to Him. Sometimes, the evil were used to bring punishment, but in the end, the evil were punished, too.
How God Dealt with Evil Leaders
The one thing that God did when He did allow evil people to lead others was that God always had a spokesman to stand before the king and tell him God’s desire and expectations. Even if the king was surrounded by yes men, God always had a voice before the king to warn against the evils that the king wanted to do.
For instance, the Babylonian king that conquered Israel was Nebuchadnezzar. We learn about Nebuchadnezzar through the book of Daniel. Daniel and his three friends, best known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were faithful to God, and God used them to speak truth to the Babylonian king.
Perhaps the most famous of the evil kings of Israel was Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. They worshiped foreign gods and encouraged the same worship throughout Israel. God’s answer was to send the king and queen a prophet named Elijah. Repeatedly in 1 Kings 16-22, Ahab had evil plans and schemes, and God sent Elijah to thwart him in every way. The greatest example of this is when God sent Elijah to challenge the prophets of Baal to a duel. Baal against God, winner take all. 1 Kings 18:16-46 tells of the encounter.
When he was told of the challenge, Ahab commanded all the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel, where Elijah waited alone. Elijah’s challenge was for the Baalites to build an altar and prepare a sacrifice. Elijah would do the same. The kicker was that the fire for the burnt offering would come from either God or Baal. Elijah let the Baalites go first.
All day, the Baal prophets called to Baal to burn the offering and prove himself to Israel. Nothing happened. Then It was Elijah’s turn. He built his altar, slaughtered his bull, then dowsed the altar and the bull with water. Finally, Elijah called on God. “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command” (1 Kings 18:36). Elijah then asked God to answer his prayer. The response was fire that consumed the offering, the water and everything involved in the sacrifice.
Another time, Ahab coveted a vineyard near his palace. He sought to buy it, but the owner, Naboth, refused to sell. Following Jezebel’s advice, Ahab set up a plan that would result in Naboth’s death. When Naboth died, Ahab would take control of the vineyard (cf. 1 Kings 21). Ahab followed Jezebel’s plan. Naboth was falsely accused of blasphemy and was stoned to death. Ahab then took possession of the vineyard.
God told Elijah that Ahab had gone too far and that judgment was imminent. Both he and Jezebel would die violent and horrible deaths and their lineage would be forever cut off.
Ahab repented, and God agreed that the disaster to come upon Ahab’s house would wait until after Ahab had died. Nevertheless, both Ahab and Jezebel did die violent deaths, as per God’s word.
There were other prophets who spoke truth to power. In 1 Kings 22, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, proposed an alliance with Ahab and Israel to go up against the king of Aram. As they prepared for battle, Jehoshaphat and Ahab brought together 400 prophets. They all said the battle would go well for them.
But Jehoshaphat wasn’t convinced. “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?” (1 Kings 22:7).
Ahab responded, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about m, but always bad. He is Macaiah son of Imlah” (v. 8).
They call Macaiah. When asked, Micaiah tells them to go ahead with their battle.
Ahab’s response was, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” (v. 16). Micaiah then tells them that Ahab will die in the coming battle. Ahab then has Micaiah placed in prison for telling him the truth that he requested.
Ahab died in battle. The Bible doesn’t say what happened to Micaiah.
Jeremiah spoke truth to power, and he was thrown into a well where he sunk up to his knees in the muck. Daniel told truth to power, and he was thrown into a lion’s den. Daniel’s three friends spoke to power, and they were tossed into a furnace so hot that the guards who threw them in were killed by the heat. A quick reading of Hebrews 11 lets us know that many a prophet suffered for speaking God’s truth to power, but they remained faithful to their calling and stood firm on what God told them to say.
A review of the books of the prophets shows time and again that, when evil men ascended the throne, God was there with His prophet to speak truth. And, to their credit, the bad kings listened. They may not have liked what they heard, and they may have ignored the prophets, but God did speak to them the truth of His will.
Conclusion
Does God use evil people to accomplish His will? Yes, He does. But God always has His message clearly in the ears of the evil power brokers. Sadly, in today’s world, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Is that what’s happening today? Are God’s people standing firmly with God and demanding God’s will be done in all matters, not just in some? Are God’s people standing up to politicians and saying to them, “Thus sayeth the Lord?” Or are we acquiescing to the evil we see, turning a blind eye and a deaf ear when it conflicts with our politics?
Ezekiel reminded us that the watchman on the tower has a duty to speak out the warning of danger coming. If the watchman calls out the warning but the people ignore him, the fault then lies with the people. But if the watchman remains silent when danger descends upon the town, the fault and liability lies with the watchman (cf. Ezekiel 33:1-20).
The question we have to ask ourselves is what kind of watchmen are the religious right being?
© 2019 Glynn Beaty