“The LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you.”
Deuteronomy 23:5 ESV
I am interested in thinking upon various instances where God turned what men thought (or could have thought) to be a curse into a blessing. There are many more like these.
1. Crying to Crowning: Joseph’s circumstances were terrible, and he could have thought his situation to be a terrible curse. First hated by his brothers, then sold into Egypt, wrongly thrown into prison, and forgotten by those he sought to help, his situation seemed only to be one of defeat after defeat. Yet God had not forgotten him, and had a wondrous future prepared for him. Eventually God brought Joseph to be the head over all the land of Egypt, giving him the privilege of being the instrument to save many people (including his family) from death in a great famine. Through his trials his brethren are brought to repentance and his family is united without the previous hostility. Through Joseph’s experiences we have a wondrous Old Testament picture of the person of Christ.
2. Hiring to Helping: In Numbers 23 Balaam was hired to curse Israel, but God turned his desired curse into a blessing. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
3. Division to Distinction: In Genesis 49:7 the tribe of Levi is cursed; “Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.” God turned this curse into a blessing, for though they were scattered throughout Israel, they became the priestly tribe because they stood for God in a day of departure (Exodus 32:26). As such they were provided for by the other tribes, and received the best Israel had to offer since a portion of certain offerings was theirs. Furthermore, they were chosen to bless others, Deut. 21:5.
4. Plotting to Protecting: The book of Esther tells of wicked Haman’s plot to kill the Jews, and an edict was proclaimed to destroy them. This potential curse was turned into a great blessing: a second edict was made leading to the destruction of those who hated God’s people, and Haman was hanged upon his own gallows. “Those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1 Sam. 2:30
5. Suffering to Shining: In Philippians 1:12 we read of Paul’s difficulties and persecutions leading to the furtherance of the gospel. His light affliction which was “but for a moment” prepared for him an eternal weight of glory without comparison.
6. Crucified to Conquering: Ours was a curse too great for us to bear, but Christ was made a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). Because of Calvary, for those who He redeems, death has lost its sting (1Cor. 15:55), sin has lost its dominion (Rom. 6:14), the second death has lost its power (Rev. 20:6), and the wicked one has lost his hold (1John 5:18).
I also enjoyed a recent article in Truth and Tidings which spoke of how a friend of Tyndale was ordered to collect all the Bibles he could get his hands on and send them to be burned, and in return he would receive a sum of money. He carried out the request, but sent the money to help print more Bibles. For every Bible burned, four more were made possible! God makes even His enemies to aid in the fulfillment of His good purpose.
Each of us has experiences where God brought good from what seemed to be a sad turn of events. How good is our God!
~NB
Readers’ Additional Thoughts:
1-17-08 This meditation makes me think of the verse, “all things work together for good to them that love God” Rom. 8:28. Jeremiah 18:4 also comes to mind, where the clay was ruined in the hands of the potter. A useful, good vessel was from that clay. “BROKEN TO BENEFICIAL” :)