There are plenty of examples in the Bible where God took something that was intended for evil and used it for good. This is one of my favorite things about God. He, being God, sees the bigger picture, and unswervingly keeps everything in accordance with His perfect will. By accordance, I mean that even though the world is devoted to sinning with vigor, He in His wisdom and in His power will not let the world derail His beautiful plan and 'expected end' for those who choose to follow Him instead of sin.
Jacob was the kind of guy when I first read about him as a young believer, whom I 'knew' was somebody that God must not use. He stole his brother's blessing through trickery. He seemed to be a real schemer to me, like a little monkey, going around trying to get into everybody else's bananas. Well, it's a good thing I kept reading, and that it isn't up to me to see the bigger picture. If I had been made God for that day, I would have probably flicked Jacob off the planet for a tour around the sun. Like I'm perfect.
Jacob wasn't all bad. He had some pretty cool things about him. He loved Rachel enough that he was willing to take her as wife instead of Laban's oldest daughter, which meant he would end up with a lot less stuff, right? Well, if you've read the account you know that even though he himself was tricked as he had tricked in the past, he ended up with tremendous blessing, even though he was pretty adept at sinning. His life really changed though, when in Genesis Chapter 32, he wrestled with the mysterious man by the south bank of the Jabbok river, and refused to let Him go without receiving a blessing, which indicates that this man still had power over him. He was in fact blessed. A name change in the Bible usually marks a significant change in the life of a person. In Jacob, or "Israel's" case, he showed a change in character. The chapters of Genesis which deal with Jacob after this wrestling match showed him to be a person dedicated to the Lord. Jacob spoke of his experience when he named the site of his encounter:
Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." NKJV
Jacob began at that place, to cling to God for a blessing. His life was changed forever, and his descendents became 'the children of Israel' through whom the Savior of all mankind was to come.
A couple of thousand years after Jacob, Peter and John were in Jerusalem. They had spoken to the a large group of people and shared Jesus with them. About five thousand people repented, and were added to the body of Christ that day. Some of those listening had them grabbed and put into jail that evening. The next day, Peter addressed the people and leaders of the Jews, including the high priest and his family. The Holy Spirit spoke through Peter, saying;
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12 NKJV
Now, a couple of thousand years after that, men still trust in, rely on and cling to the Lord for a blessing, which has not just personal, but eternal significance in the change it brings about in us. In my church congregation, we have people from all sorts of different former lifestyles. We have thieves, even a former bank robber. We have liars, drunkards, adulterers, homosexuals, drug abusers, fornicators as well as people who led quiet moral lives, but rejected Jesus in favor of the approval of their family and friends. The list goes on and sounds a lot like the world, not the church. However, these people chose to repent, to turn from those lifestyles of sin and cling to the One Who sees beyond their sin, beyond their past and their present, to the One Who sees the bigger picture.