(originally written in the summer of 1995)
Just after the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, it seems there were many questions we asked of ourselves and even of God Himself. I would like to address our perplexity with some answers from God’s Word.
The two most asked questions since the bombing are most certainly these: Would God have allowed these children to suffer, and why would He allow it? I believe the answer to the first question is painfully obvious. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever present, unlike the God mentioned in the popular song of a few years back, the God who watches “from a distance.” No, the Word of God indicates that “the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). And Zechariah 4:10 says this, “…they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” God sees everything that happens on this planet, and knows everything that will happen even before it happens. As hard as it may be for us to comprehend, He even knows about things that will happen that He does not want to happen. For example, He knew Adam and Eve would sin and need redemption. This fact is made clear by the statement that Jesus was effectively “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). In other words, God knew what would happen, and have providentially made a plan accordingly. Children have died at the hands of the wicked before, and God certainly knew about it and even told one of His prophets about it before it ever took place. Remember the story in Matthew 2:16-18? Herod commanded His army to kill all male children two years old and under in an effort to kill the baby Jesus. But God told Joseph to flee to Egypt because He knew what was going to happen. And, surely enough, Herod slew all those male children “in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof” (Matthew 2:16). This fulfilled a prophecy spoken in Jeremiah 31:15. God knew, and yet allowed it to happen. No, it wasn’t His perfect will that this happen, but He won’t allow this wickedness to go unpunished. Matthew 18:6, “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Some one asked the question the other day, “If His eye is on the sparrow, why did He let these little ones fall?” Good question. In Matthew 10:29, Jesus said, “one of them (the sparrows) shall not fall to the ground without your Father.” Yes, God watches the sparrow, but He allows them to fall. He does not intervene to stop pain and suffering, but rather uses the hardships of life to teach us and draw us to Himself. Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” And those who do not love God, who are not saved? It can work to their good if they open their eyes and see how short life is, and that we will all stand before God in judgment, and then repent of their sins, call on Jesus, and get saved. Many times in the scriptures, God allowed children to suffer, even commanded it in some instances, as part of punishment on a nation who had turned their backs on Him, worshipped idols, or harmed His chosen people. In 1 Samuel 15:2-3, God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites, and kill “both man and woman, infant and suckling…” In the book of Joshua, the Israelites were told to kill all the inhabitants of Ai and Jericho. In Egypt, all the firstborn males died at the hand of the Lord Himself. Exodus 12:29, “And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt…” Would God punish children for the sins of their parents? He said He would in Exodus 20:5, “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” You ask, “Is that fair? It doesn’t seem fair.” Well, is it fair for people to hate the God who made them and gave them life? There is something we all need to understand: God is not accountable to any of us for one thing He has ever done or ever will do. He determines by His own wisdom what is right and wrong. God does not owe us an answer for how He punishes sin or how He works in our lives. Am I saying that this happened because of the sins of America? We certainly cannot rule that out. Anyone who tells you America loves and honors God is pulling your leg. We’ve wandered so far from His ways that we are fast becoming comparable to Sodom and Gomorrah, to the people of Noah’s day, to the Egyptians of Moses’ day, and mostly to the self-righteous, religious-but-lost people of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time. And is it any marvel that God would allow this, since He has been allowing us to murder unborn children for over 20 years? I ask you, what’s the difference? One is legalized and one is not. But both are premeditated and both cause the suffering of innocent little children. But then, it could’ve happened if we were very close to God. Case in point: Job. Although he had problems in his life that he was finally willing to admit (“I was at ease,” Job 16:12), he was as righteous a man as there was. And Job demanded an answer of God, who gave him an answer that humbled him. It boiled down to this: God is God, and He has all power and knows all things; we have no right to question Him. What amazed Job, I believe, was that God showed that He loved him, and was still a God of mercy. But what if happened to me? Don’t think that I wouldn’t long for an answer. But I would have to come to the same conclusion, though bitter it may be. And the only accurate conclusion can be this: we may not know in this life why God allowed these children to die so horrible a death. But we do know that God is in control, and nothing escapes Him. If the FBI never catches and prosecutes those guilty of this murder, God certainly will. I remind you of Matthew 18:6-7, “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh.” And also verse 10, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” God Himself will require this blood. And let me leave you with this. If you find no comfort in any other thing, take comfort in this. All those children who never reached the point of accountability are now in the presence of God Himself. They will suffer no more. They will never be abused, divorced, cursed, robbed, and will never have to worry about AIDS, being misunderstood, failing school, or losing a job. They are in the hands of the best baby-sitter in the entire universe. No, they may not ever enjoy growing up, being a kid, and all those experiences we cherish so much from our own childhood, but they are in a place where the enjoyment is so great that they will never miss what they couldn’t experience. And best of all, they are in a place where they understand.
