On Friday, March 11, 2011, a 9.0M earthquake struck Tohoku, Japan followed by over 900 aftershocks, 60 of which were at least a 6.0M and 3 of which were at least a 7.0M. The Japanese National Police Agency has confirmed 15,188 deaths, 5,337 injured, 8,742 people missing, as well as over 125,000 buildings damaged or destroyed.
A few weeks ago, an extremely large and violent tornado outbreak affected the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern U.S. leaving catastrophic destruction throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. There were at total of 327 tornadoes confirmed in 21 states from Texas to New York. At least 344 people were killed as a result of the outbreak, 238 deaths in Alabama alone, and at least 325 of those deaths have been confirmed to be as a result of tornadoes.
Last Sunday, a massive tornado struck Joplin, Missouri. The Missouri State Emergency Management Agency confirmed that at least 125 people were killed, more than 1,150 were injured, and about 1,500 people listed as missing.
These are only a few disasters that happened this year. There were far more devastating disasters that have happened in the past with much more casualties.
So why would God allow this to happen?
First of all, we know that not every tragedy is a result of a particular sin. For example, Job 1: 1-2 says, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” Even after his wealth and children were taken from him, Job 1: 22 says that “in all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” Another example can be found in John 9 when Jesus heals the blind man who was born blind not because of particular sins but for the glory of God.
So we see that not every tragedy is always a result of a specific sin. But at the same time, the Bible is filled with instances where tragedies can be traced back to one specific sin. For example, an entire generation of people did not see the promise land because 10 men did not trust God, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their wickedness, etc…
So how do we answer the question?
Jesus answers a similar question in Luke 13.
“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (v1-3).”
The closet thing that I could think of that would illustrate what happened to the Galileans would be if a terrorist comes into our church while we are having communion, slaughtering everybody, and sprinkling our blood on our Bibles. There are many examples for what happened to the second group of people. The people who woke up that morning probably did not think that the tower in Siloam is going to fall and kill them. Much like the people who woke up the morning of these disasters probably did not know that an earthquake or a tornado was going to kill them. Death snuck up on them, most people don’t wake up in the morning prepared to die. In a culture where morality was measure in terms of prosperity or the lack of it, look at how Jesus answered their questions.
First he rejected the notion that the Galileans who suffered were worse than all the other Galileans and likewise for the eighteen who died in Siloam. Jesus completely destroys the people’s mentality that circumstances are a measurement of an individual’s righteousness. We do this all the time! We judge other people based on the events that happened in their lives (much more so in prosperity than in tragedy). For example, if we see a person being immensely blessed, we immediately equate that with righteousness and faithfulness. Or maybe this is why we have such a difficult time understanding why when godly parents lose their kids in an accident because the tragedy doesn’t seem to fit their righteousness or faithfulness. Jesus said no; nobody is worse and nobody is better, nobody deserves more and nobody deserves less.
Next we see Jesus redirecting the focus of the question to the people. He issues a command to repent or perish. Not only did Jesus not explain his answer, he addresses a problem that the people seem to ignore; their sin.
Listen to this quote:
“Sin is the ruin and misery of the soul; it is destructive in its nature; and if God should leave it without restraint, there would need nothing else to make the soul perfectly miserable. The corruption of the heart of man is immoderate and boundless in its fury; and while wicked men live here, it is like fire pent up by God’s restraints, whereas if it were let loose, it would set on fire the course of nature; and as the heart is now a sink of sin, so if sin was not restrained, it would immediately turn the soul into a fiery oven, or a furnace of fire and brimstone.” – Jonathans Edwards, Sinners in the hands of an angry God
You see, death is the result of sin (Romans 6: 23, James 1: 14-15, Romans 5: 12-14). We see this is Genesis. The law wasn’t given to the people until Moses, so the people who lived before that weren’t obligated to obey the law because there was none. There was no transgression because there was no law, yet people were still dying. Nobody broke the law because there wasn’t any, but death was still a reality. Why? Because death came into the world through one man, Adam. Even though there wasn’t a law, there was still sin because there was death. Were it not for the hand of God holding back his wrath, we would all have died by now. Does this mean that every time something terrible happens, it is because God is angry? Absolutely not, but it does mean that we are sinful. Death cannot exist where there is no sin.
Listen to this quote:
“Were it not for the sovereign pleasure of God, the earth would not bear you for one moment; for you are a burden to it: the creation groans with you; the animal is made subject to the bondage of your corruption, not willingly; the sun does not willingly shine upon you to give you light to serve sin and Satan; the earth does not willingly yield her fruits to satisfy your lusts; nor is it willingly a stage for your wickedness to be acted upon; the air does not willingly serve you for breath to maintain the flame of life in your vitals, while you spend your life in the service of God's enemies. God's animals are good, and were made for men to serve God with and do not willingly serve any other purpose, and groan when they are abused to purposes so directly contrary to their nature and end. And the world would spit you out, were it not for the sovereign hand of Him who has subjected it in hope. There are the black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder; and were it not for the restraining hand of God, it would immediately burst forth upon you. The sovereign pleasure of God, for the present, halts His destroying wind; otherwise it would come with fury, and your destruction would come like a whirlwind, and you would be like the chaff of the summer.” - Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the hands of an angry God.
We don’t always know why God would allow terrible things to happen and when we ask questions like that, we must to careful because there tends to be an implication that we did not deserve it when in reality we all deserve to spend an eternity in hell.
We are wicked creatures and “The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when it is once let loose. It is true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed before; the floods of God's vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the meantime is constantly increasing, and you are every day storing up more wrath; the waters are constantly rising, and growing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God that holds the waters back, that are unwilling to be stopped, and press hard to go forward. If God should only withdraw His hand from the floodgate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power; and if your strength were ten thousand times greater than it is, yes, ten thousand times greater than the strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in hell, it would never be able to withstand or endure it (Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the hands of an angry God).” This is what we deserve. There may be “good” people in this world, but there is “none righteous, not even one (Romans 3: 10-12, Psalm 14: 1-3, Psalm 53: 1-3).”
In conclusion, here is the application. When we run to our sins, whether is it gossip, lust, pride, envy, or hate, when you scream at your kids because you had a bad day, when you disobey your parents, when you cheat on your tests, when you use other people for your own benefit, when you are irresponsible with the resources that God gave you, every discouraging word, every evil deed, every time you just stand there and not do anything when you know you sure do something, every lie, or any other petty sins that you commit, you are just diving head first into the very thing that ruins all of us.
“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” - James 1: 14-15
So let’s stop running towards sin, turn and run to the One who will make all things right. Run to the one who came to “destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3: 8).” Join the God-man, Jesus Christ, “the rightful King who has landed into enemy territory and who is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.”
The better question is not “why would God allow this to happen?” but rather, “Why did God not kill me in my sleep last night? Why did God not destroy me on my way here today? Why am I still alive today?”
The answer is grace. To remove death is to remove sin; to remove sin is to remove the sinner. The reason why death is still a reality is because of God’s mercy and patience towards unrepentant sinners. That is the good news to wicked sinners like us, it is the gospel. It is a free gift and the invitation is open. Believe in Christ, look to him, and be saved.
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