". . . in the third year . . . did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead. And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the Lord . . . In the third year . . . began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah. . . . And he did evil in the sight of the Lord . . ." (I Kings 15:28-29,33-34).

Christians today are perplexed when they see evil thriving. They believe God is able to intervene but wonder why He does not (according to their preconceived notions). Like Habakkuk, they wonder how God could use evil (like Babylon) to punish "good" Christians.

We can gain some wisdom by considering today's obscure passage. Baasha acted sinfully; nevertheless the Lord caused even his evil to serve His purpose (to bring judgment on Jeroboam and his house). What is evil from man's (and even God's) perspective may also be God's sovereign judgment.

Some Americans, for example, flaunt their liberties, scorn life in the womb, and mock the God of creation, but the Bible says that "the wrath of man shall praise" Him (Psalm 76:10). God resists pride. As He can send a famine into the life of a prodigal, so He can also send judgment into the lives of the arrogant (even using arrogant others).

Among the greatest examples of interplay between men's sin and God's sovereignty came from Peter: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain" (Acts 2:22-23). PGH