Necessary Evil?

Necessary Evil?

The idea of redemptive suffering begs the question of necessary evil.  God redeems the suffering of Joseph whose brothers unjustly sell him into Egyptian slavery.  Is this betrayal an act of necessary evil?  It is the catalyst of the dramatic salvation of the Israelite people during an unparalleled famine.  Second, Job eventually receives twice the amount of children and material possessions that he loses initially.  That recompense eliminates the bleak period of questioning, destitution, and misery.  Similar to Joseph, is Job’s suffering an act of necessary evil to depict the goodness and faithfulness of Almighty God? 

Yet, we wonder whether the “bargain” between Satan and God was a necessary evil to enable Job’s ultimate bounteous reward.  Third, was Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Christ necessary evil to accomplish humankind’s salvation through Jesus’ redemptive suffering?  If you agree that necessary evil facilitates redemptive suffering, then how do you explain God’s goodness and His permission of evil?

For centuries, theologians attempt to reconcile evil’s existence with the character of an all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present and all-kind God.  How could He allow evil?  Moreover, what leads Him to utilize evil as a necessary condition in the salvation of Israel through Joseph and the redemption of humankind via Christ?  How could an infinite Being who cannot be tempted by evil periodically use evil to accomplish His predetermined purposes? 

Logically, the presence of evil eliminates one of the four non-negotiable attributes of God.  If God is all kind and evil flourishes, perhaps God is not actually all-powerful.  Contrarily, if He is all-powerful and evil exists, then perhaps He is not really all kind.  If God is all knowing, He fails to stop the emergence of evil.  Does His permission of evil means He is really not all kind? 

Furthermore, could not one conclude a seamless line exists between God’s direct and permissive wills?  Is there any appreciable difference between God’s foreknowledge and His predetermination of events, including evil, if God directly intervenes in the affairs of humankind?  Lastly, if He is ever-present, how do we explain His inability to stop evil?  Yet, the question remains whether He predetermines and utilizes “necessary evil” to accomplish His purposes?

The preceding questions are more age-old academic inquiries.  We fight for reasonable answers within our own experiences.  When tragedy occurs, we immediately ask “Where is God in this crisis?”  Why is He allowing this to happen to me?  Since He could have prevented this situation, why did He not?  Essentially, it is difficult to praise and worship God when He permits evil in our lives. 

Praise the Lord!  He redeems pain and suffering.  He utilizes every harmful experience to mature us spiritually.  Mysteriously, God uses tribulations as tests to magnify our spiritual being.  Yet, the question remains whether evil is necessary to fulfill His predetermined plans.

The Bible reveals a sovereign God who determines Israel to be His chosen people.  A drastic famine in Egypt possibly annihilates His people.  Through Joseph God saves Israel.  In Egypt, they multiply greatly and threaten the native people.  Nonetheless, Joseph pays a very costly price to be God’s anointed vessel.  Was the evil of his brothers’ betrayal and Joseph’s unjust imprisonment necessary to save Israel? Did God preordain this evil?