David

I was thinking about the question of why bad things happen to good people, or more accurately, why does God allow people to do bad things to others.

A passage that I read in II Samuel the other day got me thinking about some things.  And, I think, as a parent, God is showing mercy when we deserve punishment.  

Ezekiel 18:23 says that God definitely doesn't want to have to destroy us.  Yet, the same people who say that God was evil for having the Israelites destroy the other nations in the promised land, lament that He allows people to do evil things to each other.

Back to King David in II Samuel.  When David's son sexually assaulted his own father's daughter, David did not punish him.  Her brother then took vengeance into his own hands, killing his own brother.  David absolved him of the crime of killing David's own son.  Later, the same son led a rebellion against David, and David ordered his men to spare his son's life.

There seems to be no end to a father's mercy, even as the children harm each other.  I'm reminded of the Saints in the Book of Revelation 6:10 asking God how much longer would they have to wait for justice against the evil doers. 

God wants us to repent and be saved.  He does not want to destroy us.

The alternative--if they have free will--is to destroy them.  That's how God stopped the child sacrifices to the demon lords in the promised land.  He wiped out the evil people.  Same with the flood, the evil was purged from the world.

Is that what we're asking for?  Are we asking for justice?  Will we want it when it comes?