God Meant It For Good: A Chance Meeting, Thorin, Gandalf and The Hobbit

For consideration in this post:  a brief story told in the Lord of the Rings Appendix A, provides a background “link” story that connects The Hobbit to Tolkien’s full legendarium.  In addition to the obvious connection point of Bilbo’s magic ring leading to the later adventures, this story tells about Gandalf’s meeting with Thorin at Bree, just prior to the beginning of The Hobbit.

The back-story to that meeting, in the Appendix, tells us the fuller history of the Dwarves to that point, and Thorin’s great ambition – contrasted with Gandalf’s deepening concern for the greater world affairs.  For even before An Unexpected Party (chapter 1 in The Hobbit), Thorin had anger in his thoughts:  The embers in the heart of Thorin grew hot again, as he brooded on the wrongs of his House and the vengeance upon the Dragon that he had inherited.   He thought of weapons and armies and alliances, as his great hammer rang in his forge; anger without hope burned him as he smote the red iron on the anvil.

Meanwhile, as Gandalf saw it, for the defense of the northern lands against Sauron, and any attempt of Sauron to regain the lands of Angmar and the northern passes in the mountains only the Dwarves were in that area.  And beyond them lay the desolation of the Dragon. The Dragon Sauron might use with terrible effect. How then could the end of Smaug be achieved?

I recently read Appendix A, soon after listening to the Amon Sul podcast, episode 11 “Oft Hope is Born When All is Forlorn” — which specifically addressed this topic.  Indeed, here in this simple, seemingly minor plot connector, J.R.R. Tolkien provided another illustration of a biblical principle.  With reference to Thorin, as described in Genesis 50:20, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, to the saving of many lives.

Thus, through the Providence of a “chance” meeting in Bree, Iluvatar’s purposes were accomplished.  For though Thorin went on the journey with evil purposes, and then turned to evil selfishness and hoarding of the treasure, the Dragon Smaug was killed by the men of Dale.  The kingdom under the Mountain was restored, even as Gandalf had desired.  Thorin later repented, but he along with his two nephews Fili and Kili perished, as casualties of the Battle of Five Armies near the end of The Hobbit.

As Tolkien tells us in Appendix A:

In the late summer of that same year (2941) Gandalf had at last prevailed upon Saruman and the White Council to attack Dol Guldur, and Sauron retreated and went to Mordor, there to be secure, as he thought, from all his enemies. So it was that when the War came at last the main assault was turned southwards; yet even so with his far-stretched right hand Sauron might have done great evil in the North, if King Dáin and King Brand had not stood in his path.

‘I grieved at the fall of Thorin,’ said Gandalf; ‘and now we hear that Dáin has fallen, fighting in Dale again, even while we fought here. I should call that a heavy loss, if it was not a wonder rather that in his great age he could still wield his axe as mightily as they say that he did, standing over the body of King Brand before the Gate of Erebor until the darkness fell.

So we can find so many types and illustrations of biblical precepts, throughout Tolkien’s epic saga of Middle Earth.

Any further thoughts, readers, on this story?  Can you think of any other similar plots in Tolkien’s work, that illustrate the idea that “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good”?

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