Arc of History

August 5, 2020

We naturally chafe against restrictions, especially if they seem unreasonable or foolish. We like our freedoms and relinquish them reluctantly. Given the propensity of world leaders throughout history to deny, restrict, or destroy the freedoms of ordinary people, this chafing and resistance is not improper. In fact, it is necessary if we are to remain citizens and not become subjects or even worse, slaves. Our former president was enamored with speaking about being “on the right side of the arc of history,” but most people fail to realize that historically, the arc of history has not been our friend.

And yet...

It intrigues me that so much of the Bible is in narrative form. It tells stories; not fanciful tales, but stories of real people encountering real life. Those stories can be beautiful and noble, but often are ugly and tragic. The people we call heroes of the Bible are all-too-human; someone once said that the way we should approach these stories is not, “Oh, I wish I could be like them,” but “Forgive me, I am like them!” The Bible is not a primarily a book of philosophy or ethical teaching, although it includes both. It is the story of God invading human space to deliver us from ourselves. It is this aspect of our faith that captured my attention today.

The latter half of Genesis is devoted to the story of Jacob and his sons. Jacob is a scoundrel—hardly the type anyone would cast as the hero, but nevertheless is God’s chosen man, which should give us hope. If God chose him, there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t choose us.

Jacob’s sons haven’t fallen far from the tree. They are a jealous, vengeful bunch, spiteful and scheming, so when Joseph, the spoiled, favorite child comes prancing into camp, he is seized, thrown into a pit, and finally sold to a caravan of slave traders, ending up in Egypt. He is young, handsome, and catches the eye of his master’s wife, but when her advances are rebuffed, she frames him and has him thrown in jail, where he remains for a number of years. His ability to interpret dreams stands him in good stead however, and he is finally released and ends up second in command to Pharaoh himself. When famine strikes the region, his plan has already been put into play, which not only saves Egypt, but makes them the breadbasket for everyone in the vicinity. 

Enter Joseph’s brothers, who are now begging for food. Joseph has a little fun at their expense, but finally reveals himself to them with these words: “You sold me...God sent me.” I like that. Towards the end of his life when his brothers once again are worried about how their mistreatment of him might rebound on their own miserable heads, he reiterates what he had said earlier, “What you meant for evil, God meant for good.”

Notice, he didn’t say that what happened to him was good, but that God used it for good. There is much in life that in and of itself is not good. We often encounter circumstances that seem designed to take us down, but if all we can see is the evil, we will miss the purposes and plans of God. Admittedly, it took Joseph some 13 years to learn this lesson, and I’m sure an Egyptian dungeon wasn’t exactly cushy digs, but God’s plans are not always observable in the immediate. Because of that, we would do well to be somewhat cautious about fighting circumstances we cannot control. Those very circumstances so filled with evil may actually be the means God uses for a greater good, which is why faith in God is so critical. Without such faith, events are merely that—things that just happen, without purpose or meaning. And without purpose, we are left to make our own morality, which soon inevitably devolves into anarchistic survival of the fittest. 

Thus the theory of evolution proves itself by devouring its proponents. The arc of history strikes again, and it isn’t pretty. But for we who believe, God is at work, and God wastes nothing. Even the evil of this world will someday bow before him, and for that, we can be thankful tonight.