1. Sin.
the treasures of darkness, and hidden treasures of secret places (speaking of Cyrus), that thou mayest know that I the Lord which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel, for Jacob my servant's sake,'
&c. That he might acknowledge him the God of Israel, and lay his wealth out in the service of God, and the service of Jacob his servant.
Thirdly, As bad persons, so bad things are ordered to the good of the church, whether they be sinful evils or afflictive.
1. Sin.
(1.) A man's own sin. Onesimus runs from his master, and finds a spiritual father; his being a runagate is the occasion of his being a convert. By flying from his master he becomes a brother in the Lord,
Philem. 10, 12, 16. What Joseph's brethren sinfully intended for revenge against their brother, and security from their father's checks
(who acquainted Jacob with their miscarriages), God ordered for the preservation of them who were the only visible church in the world.
Their sin against their brother, contrary both to their intentions and expectations, became the means of their safety. God makes the remainder of sin in a good man an occasion to exercise his grace, discover his strength, and shew his loyalty to God.
(2.) Other men's sins. That might be in Sarah but a heady passion, for hearing her son mocked by Ishmael, that made her so desirous to have the bond-woman and her first son thrust out, Gen. 21:10; but God makes use of it to make a separation between Isaac, the heir of the covenant, and Ishmael, that he might not be corrupted by an evil example from him; God orders Abraham to hearken to her voice, because in Isaac his seed should be called, ver. 12. And the revengeful threatening of Esau was the occasion of Jacob's flight, whereby he was hindered from marrying with any of the people of the land, by whom he might have been induced to idolatry, Gen. 27:43, 46. Why should we mistrust that God that can make use of the lusts of men to bring about his own gracious purposes?