God Who Made All Things According to His Purpose

[Proverbs 16:4-9]

In Ecclesiastes 3:1, the Bible says, "To everything there is a season, a time for every matter under heaven." What does this mean? It means that there is a time for every purpose to be fulfilled. God works in each of our lives, and ultimately, His purpose and will are accomplished (Wiersbe). The writer of Proverbs, King Solomon, speaks of various times in Ecclesiastes 3:2-8, and I have divided them into five categories. One of them is that there is a time to be born and a time to die. Look at verse 2: "There is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted." We are born, but we will certainly die. If we think of birth and death as a tree, there is a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. The important thing here is God's sovereignty. That is, within God's sovereignty, people are born, and within God's sovereignty, people also die. Not only human life, but even the life of trees is within God's sovereignty. What is crucial is that through life and death, only the Lord's will must be accomplished. In other words, through our life and death, only the glory of the Lord must be revealed. When this happens, our life and death become beautiful. God makes all things beautiful as He fulfills His sovereign will through our life and death.

Looking at today's passage, Proverbs 16:4, the Bible says: "The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble." In the modern version of the Bible, this verse reads: "The Lord has made everything according to His purpose, so even the wicked exist for the day of disaster." Based on this verse, under the title "God Who Made All Things According to His Purpose," I would like to ask three questions and find the answers in the Bible:

First, why does God not judge the arrogant wicked, but instead let them be?

Look at Proverbs 16:4: "The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble." Here, the Bible is saying that God created everything with a purpose and that even "the wicked for the day of trouble." Does this mean that the Creator God also created evil? No, it is impossible to say that a good God created evil. In Psalm 5:4, the Bible says, "For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you." This means that God hates evil (Park Yun-sun). Furthermore, evil cannot coexist with the holy Lord. Therefore, saying that God created evil is a serious misunderstanding.

So, the inevitable question arises: "The origin of evil." When we say that God created everything but did not create evil, then who is responsible for the creation of evil? Clearly, in Genesis 1:31, the Bible says that when God created the heavens and the earth, "God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good." However, in Genesis 3:1, suddenly, an evil creature, the serpent, appears in a world that God had seen as very good. As a result, the serpent tempts Adam and Eve, leading them into sin. How did the forces of sin appear in this good world that God created, and even accelerate, as seen in the tragic story of Cain killing Abel? In other words, the question is: where did the devil, who appears as the serpent, come from, and what is his true nature? What is the origin of this evil? In other words, if God is the source of good, how did evil come about?

This is a question beyond our understanding. We know through the Bible that a certain angel became proud and, desiring to take God's place, was cast out and became Satan (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6). But we do not know exactly how that fallen angel became proud. This means we cannot fully understand the origin of evil. However, what we do know for certain is that evil does not come from God. So, another inevitable question is: why did God not remove this evil from the spiritual realm? In other words, why did God not judge Satan, the fallen angel, and instead allowed the serpent to tempt Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden after the creation of the world? This is a question that we cannot fully comprehend with our limited knowledge. Clearly, God hates evil and the wicked, but why does He not judge evil and the wicked, and instead allow them to remain?

Especially in Proverbs 16:5, the Bible says, "The Lord detests all the proud of heart," yet, why does God, who hates the proud and wicked, not judge them and instead allow them to remain?

The fact is that, as Proverbs 16:4 tells us, the Bible states that God's purpose exists. But what is that purpose? Dr. Park Yun-sun said: "God does not create evil. He hates evil (Psalm 5:4). The wicked have become evil by their own responsibility. However, it is certain that God has allowed their incline towards evil. His holy purpose is in this, that He patiently waits for the wicked to repent, and finally, He will show His justice in punishing the wicked" (Romans 2:4-5, 9:17). What do you think of this statement?

Thinking of Ezekiel 33:11

I am reminded of Ezekiel 33:11: "Say to them, 'As I live,' declares the Sovereign Lord, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?'" The primary purpose for God not immediately judging the arrogant wicked, but allowing them to remain, is that He desires for all of them to repent and return to Him. However, the secondary purpose is that if these arrogant wicked people do not repent, God will judge them, thus revealing His justice, and in doing so, He will also save His people. A good example of this is the arrogant Pharaoh of Egypt during the time of Moses. In Exodus 14:4 it says, "I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." God used the wicked and arrogant Pharaoh to display His glory at the Red Sea, and this glory of God consisted of both His judgment and His salvation. That is, God demonstrated His justice by annihilating the arrogant Pharaoh and his army, but He also showed His covenantal love, great grace, and faithfulness toward Israel by rescuing them from Pharaoh’s hand. This is why God does not immediately judge the arrogant wicked, but rather allows them to remain.

Dear ones, God hates the proud (Proverbs 16:5). And as stated in today’s passage, Proverbs 16:5, "The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: they will not go unpunished." What does this mean? It means that God is a just God, and He will punish not only the arrogant but also those who unite with them (Park Yun-seon). The reason that this righteous God does not immediately judge the arrogant wicked but allows them to remain is because He is "gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love, and relenting from sending calamity" (Jonah 4:2). He desires that even the proud and wicked repent and return to Him. Why? Because "God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). Therefore, as stated in Proverbs 16:6, God forgives "wickedness through love and faithfulness." That is, through His merciful nature, God has compassion on people and allows them to benefit from the system of atonement through the sacrifice of blood (the blood of the Redeemer) (truth) (Park Yun-seon). As a result, in judging the arrogant wicked for their sin, God, through the atoning death of His only Son Jesus and His shed blood, forgives all of our sins for the redemption of those He has chosen.

So, how should we, who have received this grace of salvation, live? In the second half of Proverbs 16:6 and in verse 7, we are given two lessons:

(1) We must live a life that departs from evil because we fear God.

Let’s look at the latter half of Proverbs 16:6: “…by the fear of the Lord, one departs from evil.” We were sinners deserving of eternal death and judgment, but God, out of love, forgave all our sins through the death of His only Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross and by His atoning blood. As recipients of this grace from God, we should fear God. And when we live in the fear of God, we cannot help but depart from evil. In Proverbs 8:13, which we’ve already meditated on, it says: "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth." We must hate pride, arrogance, evil deeds, and a perverse mouth. We must hate evil. We must hate what God hates.

(2) We must live a life that pleases God.

Let’s look at Proverbs 16:7: "When a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him." How can we, you and I, please God? We can please God when we live according to His good, pleasing, and perfect will (Romans 12:2). In other words, we can please God when we live in obedience to His commandments. Especially in Proverbs 16:5-6, the commandments (will) we must obey are: "Be humble" (v. 5), "Love" (v. 6), "Dwell in truth" (v. 6), and "Depart from evil" (v. 6). When we do so, God will make even our enemies be at peace with us (v. 7).

Secondly, why does God allow righteous people to have little income, while allowing unrighteous people to have much?

Let’s look at Proverbs 16:8: "Better is a little with righteousness than great revenue with injustice." This second question also puzzles us. Why does God allow righteous people, who sincerely believe in Jesus, to have little income, while letting unrighteous people, who don’t believe in Jesus and live in evil, have abundant wealth? It can be hard to understand. Personally, when I ask this question, I think of Psalm 73. The reason is that Asaph, the psalmist, saw the prosperity of the wicked and was envious of the arrogant (v. 3), almost causing his steps to slip (v. 2). The prosperity of the wicked refers to the fact that they do not suffer like others (v. 5), they are proud and violent (v. 6), and particularly they have more income than their hearts desire (v. 7). When we see the lives of the wicked, always at ease and increasing in wealth (v. 12), we too, like Asaph, could easily be envious and stumble. Why don’t the righteous who believe in Jesus have abundant income? Of course, we know that not all of them are poor. Some Christians do have a lot of income. However, generally speaking, Christians who believe in Jesus do not have as much wealth. Why is this? Dr. Park Yun-seon said: “If a person possesses righteousness, they are not materially rich. The reason is that they fear God (Proverbs 15:16) and use their income to help others rather than accumulate it. They do not seek to live luxuriously. However, they find satisfaction and happiness in such a lifestyle. The reason is that God is with them” (Park Yun-seon). What do you think of these words? Now, King Solomon, in Proverbs 16:8, contrasts not only "little income" with "great income" but also "righteousness" with "unrighteousness." What he emphasizes here is not whether income is little or much, but whether there is "righteousness" or "unrighteousness." How contrary is this to our human nature! Typically, what we care about most is the amount of income. We are more sensitive and interested in that. But the lesson the Bible teaches us today is that instead of focusing on whether we have much or little material wealth (money), we should focus on whether we have "righteousness" or "unrighteousness." Therefore, King Solomon says that having little income with righteousness is better than having much income with unrighteousness.

Friends, we do not need to envy the prosperity of the wicked. We do not need to envy the great income of the unrighteous. Why?

The reason is because “…the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the righteous” (Proverbs 13:22). What does this mean? It means that the wealth accumulated by sinners will eventually be given to the righteous. Isn't it fascinating how God works? It is interesting that God allows the wicked, who love wealth more than Him, to gather material wealth with greed, but in the end, He gives all their wealth to the righteous. A similar verse is found in Ecclesiastes 6:2: “A man to whom God has given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them; this is vanity and a grievous evil.”

King Solomon observed a malady in this world (Ecclesiastes 6:1), and he says it is a heavy burden to men (8:6). The heavy burden is that although a person receives wealth, riches, and honor from God, and lacks nothing of what he desires, he does not have the ability to enjoy it. Instead, God allows someone else to enjoy it. Who does God allow to enjoy all of the wealth, riches, and honor? Look at Ecclesiastes 2:26: “For to the man who pleases Him, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who pleases God...”

God allows sinners to labor and accumulate wealth, but in the end, He gives all that wealth to those He approves. The Bible teaches us this. Friends, we have been forgiven of all our sins by the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross. And through the resurrection of Jesus, we have been justified (Romans 4:25). So, how should we, who have been justified by the merit of the cross of Christ, live?

(1) We should not envy the great income of the wicked.

Proverbs 15:6 tells us that the great income of the wicked leads to suffering. One of those sufferings is the anguish it brings to the wicked (v. 16). Additionally, the wealth of the wicked can cause constant distress in their conscience (1 Timothy 6:10), and their souls are in darkness, which inevitably leads to suffering (Matthew 6:23-24) (Park Yun-seon). The great income of the wicked causes them to say, “Who is the LORD?” (Proverbs 30:9). Therefore, we do not need to envy the great income of the wicked.

(2) We should hate injustice and love righteousness.

We should walk the path of righteousness. It is better to walk the path of the righteous, obeying God’s commandments with little income, than to walk the path of the wicked, committing sin despite having great wealth. We should hate lying (Proverbs 13:5) and rejoice in the truth. Our lips should be truthful. The Bible says, "Truthful lips endure forever" (Proverbs 12:19). Our lips should also be like medicine (12:18), making others happy with good words (v. 25), saving our neighbors (v. 6), and guiding them on the right path (v. 26). Additionally, we should be diligent (13:4). We must act with honesty (v. 6). We should fear and honor God’s commandments (v. 13) and obey His word. We should act wisely. We must show grace to others (v. 15).

Thirdly, why does God sovereignly guide us while also instructing us to make plans?

Let’s look at today’s passage, Proverbs 16:9: “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Last week, based on Proverbs 16:1-3, we reflected under the title “Commit your works to the Lord”, considering three points: (1) We need to make plans in our hearts, (2) We must examine whether the motivation of our hearts is right in God’s eyes, and (3) We must commit our works to the Lord. The “preparation of the heart” mentioned by King Solomon in Proverbs 16:1 refers to the many plans that people have in their hearts (19:21). However, what we must remember is that no matter how many plans we have in our hearts, “The Lord’s purpose will prevail” (21:30). In other words, no matter how many plans we make, only God’s sovereign will will stand fully. That’s why King Solomon says in Proverbs 16:9: “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Only God’s sovereign will can stand fully. With faith in this word of God, we should make the plans that are our human responsibility in our hearts. When I think of God’s sovereignty and our human responsibility, I remember Ezekiel 36:37: “Thus says the Lord God: I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them…” This means that while God gives us promises and fulfills them within His sovereignty, we still need to pray and ask God to fulfill those promises. This does not mean that we should just sit back and do nothing because God will sovereignly fulfill His promises. Our responsibility is to hold onto God’s word and, in faith, ask God to bring His word to pass. In short, we must fulfill our human responsibility.

So how should we make the plans that are our responsibility? We can think of it in three ways:

(1) We must make plans with faith.

This means that when we make plans, we must trust in God with all our heart (3:5). We must never rely on our own understanding (3:5). In everything, we must acknowledge God (3:6). We must acknowledge that the sovereign God even uses the wicked who oppose us and cause us trouble to fulfill His sovereign will (4:16). Therefore, we must commit all our works to God (16:3), and He will establish the work we are planning (16:3). In short, when we are making plans, we must have a believing heart that completely trusts in God. In other words, the desirable mindset for Christian planners is trust.

(2) We Christians must bring our plans before God in prayer (16:1).

In prayer, we must lay our plans before God and pray that only His sovereign will be done. The desirable mindset for a Christian praying this way is humility. In other words, we must have a humble heart when planning. We must also act humbly because God hates the proud (16:5). Therefore, the humble among us not only commit ourselves to God in prayer but also seek counsel from many “advisors” (15:22). In other words, the humble Christian does not just pray to Jesus, our true Counselor, but also consults with spiritual mentors, asking for their guidance. Additionally, the humble Christian listens humbly to their advice and correction.

(3) The desirable mindset for a Christian is wisdom.

In other words, the Christian who plans must have a wise heart. The Christian with a wise heart looks back on themselves not from their own perspective (2:2) or others' perspectives (25:2), but from God’s perspective. The wise Christian knows that God is examining their heart (2:2). Even if they think their actions are completely clean in their own eyes (2:2), the wise Christian knows that their sin is covered by God’s mercy and truth (6:6). Therefore, the wise Christian, out of fear of God, departs from evil (6:6). In other words, the Christian, with the desirable mindset of wisdom, will act wisely. As a result, the wise Christian can please God by acting wisely (7:7).

Quiero concluir con una meditación sobre la palabra. Hermanos, Dios ha hecho todas las cosas de acuerdo a Su propósito. El propósito por el cual Dios no juzga a los malvados orgullosos y los deja seguir su camino es porque Él desea que todos se arrepientan y regresen a Él. Sin embargo, si esos malvados orgullosos no se arrepienten, Dios los juzgará, no solo para mostrar Su justicia, sino también para salvar a Su pueblo, juzgando a esos malvados. Además, el propósito de que Dios permita que los justos tengan pocos ingresos y los injustos muchos, es porque Dios quiere que los justos vivan una vida recta con pocos bienes, para que, al final, Él les dé los muchos bienes de los malvados. Y el propósito por el cual Dios nos guía soberanamente y nos dice que hagamos planes es para que asumamos nuestra responsabilidad con fe, confiando plenamente en Él, humildemente y con sabiduría, para que a través de nosotros Él cumpla Su voluntad soberana.

Por lo tanto, cantemos al Señor con el himno 431: "Que se haga Tu voluntad, oh Señor":

(Verso 1)
Señor, que se haga Tu voluntad,
Te doy todo mi cuerpo y alma,
En las alegrías y tristezas de este mundo,
Guíame, Señor, haz conforme a Tu voluntad.

(Verso 2)
Señor, que se haga Tu voluntad,
No me dejes desanimado en medio de la aflicción,
Tú también lloraste alguna vez,
Guíame, Señor, haz conforme a Tu voluntad.

(Verso 3)
Señor, que se haga Tu voluntad,
Te entrego todos mis asuntos,
Con tranquilidad me dirijo hacia la patria celestial,
Ya sea que viva o muera, haz conforme a Tu voluntad.
Amén.