Proverbs 16:4
The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.
John Calvin: “Solomon also teaches us that not only was the destruction of the ungodly foreknown, but the ungodly themselves have been created for the specific purpose of perishing (Prov. 16:4).” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Romans and Thessalonians, pp.207-208, emphasis mine)
John Calvin: “...the wicked were created for the day of evil simply because God willed to illustrate His own glory in them; just as elsewhere He declares that Pharaoh was raised up by Him that He might show forth His name among the Gentiles (Ex 9:16).” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.97, emphasis mine)
Question: What is the “day of evil”?
Answer: There is the “day of vengeance” (Proverbs 6:34), the “day of wrath” (Proverbs 11:4), the “day of battle” (Proverbs 21:31), the “day of distress” (Proverbs 24:10), and the “day of your calamity.” (Proverbs 27:10) Each of these days represents an event in a person’s life.
Question: What does it mean that God has “made” everything for its own purpose?
Answer: Rather than meaning “created,” as Calvin suggests, such as by an eternal decree of doom, a more accurate understanding may be in the sense of Pharaoh having been raised up. For instance, according to Judges 2:16, God “raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them.” Also, according to 1st Kings 11:14, God “raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal line in Edom.” In this sense, you see the unfolding of Jeremiah 18:1-13 where God molds the unrepentant wicked, like King Sennacherib of Assyria (2nd Kings 19:25-28), for a useful purpose in testing Israel because they chose evil over the good.
John Calvin: “Hence Augustine, having treated of the elect, and taught that their salvation reposes in the faithful custody of God so that none perishes, continues: The rest of mortal men who are not of this number, but rather taken out of the common mass and made vessels of wrath, are born for the use of the elect.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.107, emphasis mine)
Calvinist, James White: “Men may not like the truth that God is the potter, we are the clay, and that He has a purpose for all He has done, but it is surely the testimony of Scripture itself.” (Debating Calvinism, p.58, emphasis mine)
There is no debating that point. Clearly, Jeremiah 18:1-13 reveals God as The Potter who molds people for useful purposes. God would have it that you repent, since He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11), so that He might relent in judgment, and instead, bless. But for those who do not, He nevertheless molds for a useful purpose. Everyone gets molded into a useful vessel. For some, God makes useful to serve as a warning to others. In terms of Goliath, for instance, God did not desire for him to be wicked, by an alleged eternal decree of Unconditional Reprobation, but since he chose to be wicked, God molded him and raised him up, so that on the day of evil when he taunted both God and Israel, he might nevertheless be given to serve a useful purpose, such as the testing of David’s faith.
Calvinist, Erwin Lutzer: “Though we can see that believers will display the manifold wisdom of God, it is not clear to us how unbelievers will do so. We are told only that the wrath of man will praise God, and in Proverbs we read, ‘The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil’ (16:4).” (The Doctrines That Divide, p.222, emphasis mine)
J. Vernon McGee: “I don’t care who you are or where you are, God created you for His glory. Somebody says, ‘What about the drunkard in the street? What about that crooked man? That lost man--what about him? You mean he’s for the glory of God?’ My friend, this is a strong pill--are you read to swallow it? All of that is for the glory of God. ‘Oh,’ you may say, ‘I don’t like that.’ I don’t remember that God ever asked anyone where or not he liked it. He has never asked me that.” (Thru the Bible: Proverbs Through Malachi, p.56, emphasis mine)
I find it amazing that Calvinists deny the charge that Calvinism makes God out to be the Author of Sin, and yet teach that very thing. God doesn’t make a man crooked. Rather, God makes use of the crooked man in order to make other men straight. God doesn’t make a man into a drunkard, but God will make use of the drunkard in order to make other men sober. God sometimes takes wicked men, and uses them to make other men righteous.
Laurence Vance: “This verse is discussing the use God makes of his creation, not the decisions he makes for them. The Calvinist would lead us to believe that God made certain men wicked to fulfill the ‘counsel of his own will’ (Eph. 1:11). To the contrary, man was made upright (Ecc. 7:29), and is corrupt because Adam fell. Even Satan was once perfect until he sinned (Eze. 28:15-17). Since God does all his pleasure (Isa. 46:10), and yet has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze. 33:11), then he couldn’t have created a man wicked to damn him in order to demonstrate his power.” (The Other Side of Calvinism, p.309, emphasis mine)
The basis for the Arminian understanding of God’s providence, involves Foreknowledge and Middle Knowledge. God uses the free choices of men, and uses them to bring about His own will. (Acts 2:23)
One member of The Society of Evangelical Arminians: “I believe Solomon here is referencing what God said concerning Pharaoh, and is an extension to what he would later say about there being a time and a season for everything. However, it should be noted that in every example of where God overrides a natural ordinance or forces a person’s hand, He issues a prophecy giving fair warning. The Calvinist presumption is that God does this all the time, without always giving a warning, while Arminians recognize these times as grave exceptions to how God normally acts, and should take comfort that God recognizes these exceptional times and issues prophecies to give fair warning.”
