? Why Does God
Allow Tragedy ?
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Aft
er the school shootings at Colombine High School in Colorado years ago, there was one question
that
kept surfacing: "Why does God allow such things to happen?"
The
re were TV interviews with such religious leaders as Billy Graham, Robert Schuler, and others.
When
asked the question, "Why does God allow such things to happen?" They went into a tirade that
didn't even come
close to answering the question. It was obvious that they did not know the answer to the question,
"Why does God
allow tragedy?"
As
an observer, it's frustrating, to say the least, to hear very young people ask this question and
then realize
that their elders and religious leaders are as much in the dark as they are. What are God's
instructions to us, if and
when we find ourselves in the position of
being asked such questions? The Apostle Peter says. "But sanctify the
Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a
reason of the hope
that is in you with meekness and fear" (I Peter 3: 15).
We
have to be able to answer these questions that their parents, teachers and religious leaders
cannot
answer. "It shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, 'What mean ye by this
service?'" (Exodus
12:26). Now of course, we should be able to answer the question in this particular context, but we
should also
be able to answer the question if it were "Why does God allow tragedy?" God expects us as adults
and future
world leaders
and teachers to be able to give the
answers.
Now
is a good time for us to ask ourselves if we remember why
God allows tragedy. Do we go to the scriptures to refresh our memories as
to why God allows all sorts of calamities to occur? Speaking for myself,
I know that if I didn't go back to refresh my memory from time to time, I
would probably forget. Knowing human nature, I suspect most of us are
the same way.
Let
s look at the past for some answers. "Then all the elders of
Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And
said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways:
now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing
displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And
Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel,
Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they
have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I
should not reign
over them" (1 Sam. 8:4-7). The people said to Samuel, "Look you are old
and your sons do not walk in your ways:" It sounds as if even Samuel had
a bit" of a problem with child rearing! It wasn't enough for the stubborn,
hardheaded Israelites to be governed by the Creator of the universe. They
wanted to be ruled over by incompetent man! Let's hope all of us today in
spiritual Israel look forward to just the opposite: to be ruled by God, not
man!
As
we read on through the 8th Chapter, we see how our ancestors
were warned of the
Hos 4:6
“My people are destroyed
for
lack of knowledge: because
thou hast rejected knowledge,
I will also reject thee, that
thou shalt be no priest to me:
seeing thou hast forgotten the
law of thy God, I will also
forget thy
children.”
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downside of being ruled over by a human
king. Verse
18, "And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall
have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day."
"Nevertheless the-people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have
a king over
us" (1 Sam:8:19). Why does tragedy happen? "And the Lord .said to Samuel, they have not rejected
you, they
have rejected Me!" (1 Sam 8:7)
The
Old Testament is full of instances where mankind rejected their Creator and God. The same is true
in the New Testament. One example is found in Matthew 8:34, "And, behold, the whole city came out
to meet
Jesus: and when they saw, Him, they besought Him that He would depart out of their coasts." They
wanted
nothing to do with the God of all creation. They wanted to be left alone with their idols and
Jewish traditions.
Ano
ther example is found in Matt 11:20: "Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His
mighty
works were done, because they repented not." Now we see the most disrespectful and insulting
statement made
by intellectuals and religious leaders of that day. "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said,
This fellow doth not
cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils" (Matt. 12:24). This statement suggests
that the
Pharisees did not want to be ruled over by God!
Chr
ist was rejected by His own countrymen and family. "And when He was come into His own country,
He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this
man this
wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary?
And His
brethren, James, and Joses, and. Simon, and Judas? And His Sisters, are they
not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were
offended in Him; But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour,
save in His own country, and in His own house" (Matt. 13:54-57). These
people were well aware of His wisdom and mighty works, but they were still
offended in Him and wanted nothing to do with Him or His teaching.
The
most sobering scriptures we see are when Jesus is talking to
Peter. "Jesus said unto him, - Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the
cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice.
Peter said unto Him, Though I should die
with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee.
Likewise also said all the disciples" (Matt.26:34-35). Was that the end of the
story? Continuing, we see in verse 56, "Then all the disciples. forsook Him
and fled." Now we see Christ's prophecy fulfilled. "Now Peter sat without in
the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus
of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou
sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and
said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while
came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one
of them; for thy speech betrayeth thee, Then began he to curse and to swear,
saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew" (Matt.
26:69-74). Peter, at this point, not only denied and rejected Christ but he even
reverted back to the cursing, carnal fisherman that he was before Christ called
him.
Wha
t is sobering and frightening about this account of Peter and the
other disciples is how readily they forsook Jesus. They had been with Him
constantly and were eyewitnesses to such things as changing water into wine,
healing the sick, raising the dead, and feeding thousands with 7 loaves of
bread and a few small fish! If, after seeing first hand all these miracles, they
could still deny Christ, what about us, when we are called before authorities
to answer for the what is in us?
It
totally amazes and stuns me to hear people whining and
whimpering, "Oh, why does God allow such terrible things?"
1
Sam 8:19
“Nevertheless the people
refused to obey the voice
of Samuel; and they said,
Nay; but we will have a
king over us.”
KJV
1 Sam 8:7
“And the LORD said unto
Samuel, Hearken unto the
voice of the people in all
that they say unto thee: for
they have not rejected
thee, but they have
rejected Me, that I should
not reign over them.”
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Just stop and think about it for a minute.
The
y are asking why God allows this or that terrible thing to happen in a nation that allows any and
every
heathen religion to be honored. You had better not, however, mention the God of all creation or
have the Ten
Commandments hanging on the wall of a courtroom or a classroom!! We cannot have school prayers
because they
might offend some pupil or any one of a dozen or more pagan religions in this country.
Aft
er considering these few points, how dare we complain and whine about how unfair is the Living God
when we have over and over again through history demanded that God keep His nose out of our
business. Well,
that is exactly what God is doing. We asked for it and we got it. God says, "Your country is
desolate, your cities
are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as
overthrown by
strangers" (Isa. 1:7).
ALL BECAUSE
ISRAEL REJECTED GOD RULING OVER THEM!! ☜
Reprint by Dr. Robert Abernathy
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[GOD’S LAWS] Exo 20:1
-17
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1 “And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of
any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the
LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the
LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it
thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy
gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all
that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD
blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon
the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet
thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor
his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's”.☜
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