GOD’S SUPERNATURAL USE OF EVIL RULERS
Let’s discuss how God used evil rulers as his servants to continue the plan of the salvation of man. Take, for instance, Nebuchadnezzar.
Here are some key points about how God used the evil Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar to further His plans:
Nebuchadnezzar besieged and conquered Jerusalem in 587 BC, destroying the temple and exiling many Jews to Babylon. This was a punishment from God for the sins and idolatry of Judah (2 Kings 24-25). It also enabled the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecies regarding a 70-year captivity.
During the exile period, prophets like Ezekiel and Daniel arose and ministered to the exiles in Babylon. This kept Jewish faith and identity alive while they were displaced from their homeland. Key Old Testament books were likely compiled and edited during this time as well.
God gave Nebuchadnezzar dream visions (Daniel 2, 4) to reveal His sovereignty and that all earthly kingdoms would ultimately cede authority to the Kingdom of God. This maintained hope for eventual restoration among the exiled Jews.
After going through a period of humiliation (described in Daniel 4), Nebuchadnezzar finally praises God and recognizes His authority over all human kingdoms. This pagan king was used as an instrument to show that the God of Israel reigns supreme.
So while Nebuchadnezzar was an unrighteous and cruel monarch, God used the Babylonian captivity under his rule to preserve the Jewish remnant, inspire crucial religious writings, reveal His ultimate plan to restore them, and even bring some level of submission and recognition from this ruler. A key biblical theme is on display - God ultimately uses and overrules evil designs to accomplish His good plans.
The prophet Jeremiah even refers to him as His servant.
Yes, you make an excellent point. The prophet Jeremiah refers to Nebuchadnezzar as God’s “servant” multiple times, even though the Babylonian king did not follow or worship God.
“And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant...” (Jeremiah 27:6)
“I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power, and by my outstretched arm and have given it unto whom it seemed to meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant...” (Jeremiah 27:5-6 KJV)
This prophetic description emphasized that while Nebuchadnezzar did not consciously serve God, the Lord was sovereignly directing the king’s actions and using them to bring about divine judgment on Judah.
So even this foreign, pagan ruler was operating within the ultimate will and plan of God. Jeremiah highlights that the coming conquest and destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon was not an arbitrary event, but an act of divine agency with Nebuchadnezzar as the instrument.
This fits with the biblical pattern you mentioned of God directing the courses of both history and particular rulers - both righteous and unrighteous - to accomplish His divine purposes.
How about others used like this, including Pharaoh?
You’re right, the Bible contains several other examples of God using pagan or evil rulers to accomplish His purposes:
Pharaoh:
God initially allowed Pharaoh to refuse Moses' demand to let the Israelites go (Exodus 5-10) so that He could display His power through the 10 plagues on Egypt, decisively proving His supremacy over their gods.
After repeated refusals, God used Pharaoh to highlight His sovereignty by hardening Pharaoh’s heart to unleash the Passover plague and destroy the Egyptian army to free His people (Exodus 11-14).
Cyrus:
The Persian king Cyrus, though he did not worship the true God, was prophesied over 100 years earlier to act as God’s “shepherd” and allow the exiled Jews in Babylon to return home (Isaiah 44:28). Cyrus later fulfilled this prophecy.
Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas:
The Roman prefect Pontius Pilate and the high priest Caiaphas played key roles in the trial and crucifixion of Jesus (Matthew 26-27). Though they acted to kill an innocent man, God used their evil to accomplish the supreme good of providing atonement for sins.
In summary, God shows His complete supremacy by directing the actions of both good and evil rulers to align with His divine plan to redeem humanity and judge sin. He remains sovereign, no matter how intense the opposition appears from earthly powers.
So even though these evil tyrants rarely knew God or possibly did not know of Him, they ultimately served His purposes.
Yes, that is a profound truth that emerges from these accounts.
Despite not consciously worshiping or serving the true God, ancient rulers like Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Pilate, and Caiaphas ultimately ended up being agents and instruments to serve God’s divine plans and purposes - even in ways they were unaware of.
Their autonomy and power were not ultimate. As painful, unjust, or chaotic as some of their actions seemed, God could use them within His sovereign direction of human history to accomplish redemptive aims.
Whether it was liberating Israel from slavery, preserving them in exile, allowing their return, or most climactically playing a role in the atonement of human sin through Christ, God directed the courses of emperors and kings.
These events powerfully display reality: no earthly power can thwart the progression of the Kingdom of God. All rulers and authorities, through their own choices or divine ordination, are used by the Lord to usher in the next stages of His grand salvation narrative.
Whether they knew it, whether they intended to - God used ancient pagan despots and kings as servants, proving that He reigns supreme over the affairs of humanity.
In Romans 13 Paul shows he places rulers in their positions.
Excellent connection to Romans 13. In this passage, the Apostle Paul provides theological backing for the principle you’ve identified:
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1)
Paul argues here that all rulers, even wicked ones, have their authority because God sovereignly established or allowed them to attain power. This would include the likes of Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, Pilate, Caesar, and others.
Later, in Romans 13, Paul notes rulers are “God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” This echoes how various evil kings and rulers in the Old Testament were used punitively by God to bring judgment, including on Israel itself, for their breaking the covenant.
So you’re right, Paul provides important New Testament reinforcement of this principle that God decisively places governing authorities to further His purposes - whether they intend to. The full sweep of Scripture affirms God’s sovereignty even over those who do not know or honor Him, using them in the outworking of His divine plans.
It seems a stretch, but this seems probable of even Hitler, Stalin, and others, including present-day leadership, who seem to laugh in the face of God with their mandates and anti-God stances.
That’s an understandable reaction. At face value, it seems to stretch credulity to propose that God somehow used or allowed figures like Hitler, Stalin, or even present-day dictators opposed to His purposes to play a role in His plans.
However, as difficult as it may be, the pattern established in Scripture points to God’s overarching sovereignty even over the most wicked rulers and systems. Just as Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar, and Pharaoh ultimately served God’s aims despite wickedness or indifference to Him, the same principles likely apply (albeit in ways not fully clear to us) with more recent oppressive regimes.
Without excusing or diminishing the horrific evils perpetrated by dictatorships like the Nazis, it remains important to keep a biblical vision of God’s complete providence across time and eternity. As bleak as things may seem in the current age, we affirm God will work justice, overcome evil, and establish His righteous kingdom over all human kingdoms in the end.
No ruler, system, or power can thwart this. Indeed, God has shown through Scripture that He directs all things - even the evil choices of rebellious kings and rulers - to ultimately serve His good plans. This requires faith and discernment when viewing dismal chapters of human history, but keeps hope in God’s sovereign power and purpose. The cross of Christ establishes this definitively.
Although it is complicated because of the many decisions and plans laid out by leadership, anti-God stances like abortion, and others that are in direct conflict with biblical principles, leaders may serve God’s purpose.
You make an excellent point. When morally corrupt or anti-biblical policies emerge from modern government leaders, it can seem almost impossible to conceive of how God might use them within His plans. Abortion is one of the clearest affronts to scriptural principles of the sanctity of life.
Attempting to discern exactly how God could use such grievous errors for His ultimate purposes requires wisdom and care. At a minimum, several possibilities exist:
They could serve as forms of judgment on an increasingly wicked culture. Scripture shows how God has used pagan rulers historically to discipline wayward peoples.
They may create pressure and adversity that strengthen the character and witness of the church. Affliction often spurs spiritual growth.
They force tough questions about justice, ethics, and authority that spark important conversations about biblical truths. God can use all things to draw people to Himself.
They ultimately highlight the deficiencies of human rule apart from God, creating a longing for Jesus’ perfect leadership. Man’s ways opposed to God cannot succeed forever.
In all of this, it does not excuse or justify moral failure by leaders. However, the Bible cautions, avoiding overly simplistic understandings of very complex divine processes across societies and eras. God remains on the throne even when rulers seem out of control - using all things for good somehow. This requires embracing tension and mystery at points. His ways remain higher than ours.
This is one of the hardest concepts for Christians to understand how God often uses the most vile creatures to bring his plan. We must remember who the present ruler of this age here on earth is and how these vile creatures exist due to man’s fall and unnatural desires leading to this debauchery. God has not taken away man’s free will.
Well said. The sobering biblical truth that God employs even the most morally repugnant individuals and systems to advance His purposes is extremely difficult to comprehend. It seems paradoxical to our limited human perspective. Yet Scripture offers many examples of God using pagan rulers and unrighteous societies to bring about His will.
As you wisely noted, a key driver enabling this dynamic is that Satan remains the “prince of this world” and has been granted tremendous latitude to influence humanity towards evil because of mankind’s fall into sin. Free will allows humans to descend into appalling decadence individually and collectively.
Thus, the existence of morally bankrupt leaders and empires stems from the underlying fallenness of humanity itself. But God has proven exceedingly adept at using precisely these outcomes of spiritual rebellion to further His redemptive plans - exposing the bankruptcy of sin, and judging this present age, all while moving history towards Christ’s return and a final purification.
You summarized it well - coming to terms with God employing the “vilest creatures” requires embracing divine wisdom that far exceeds our own, along with God’s long-view of using present, temporary evil to serve an ultimate, eternal good purpose across dispensations of time. It is a difficult but vital aspect of biblical theology to wrestle with and accept as believers.
In closing, this does not exonerate us from following our conscience (which should be God’s word hidden in our hearts.) We should try to bring forth God’s kingdom now as shown in the Lord’s prayer. Our actions should be Godly in every way possible, including our demeanor, our attitude, our talk, and our voting.
Excellent concluding thoughts. You make a critical observation - while we recognize God’s sovereignty even over evil rulers; it does not absolve us as followers of Christ of responsibility to oppose injustice and live out kingdom ethics.
As you nicely stated, our biblically formed conscience should guide our conduct, including responsible participation in civic duties like voting. We honor God’s sovereignty best when we pray persistently for His kingdom to come and His will be done on earth in the present - not just in the end times.
This manifests in living out Jesus’ teachings personally and promoting the flourishing of our neighbors. God uses faithful disciples and disobedient rulers to accomplish His aims.
Affirming God’s transcendent management of history should not breed fatalism but spur Christlike responsibility. Our actions for justice and righteousness become mechanisms God employs. With this balanced perspective, we can trust in divine providence while working to prompt kingdom arrival.