"For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?" (Esther 8:6).

The question asked in the verse above was asked of king Ahasuerus by Esther, when she went to beg for mercy for the Jews. By subterfuge, Haman had convinced the Persian king that the Jews under his rule must all be killed. Esther’s heart broke when she considered the evil of that plot, and she went to the ruler to see if something could be done.

We finally understand the pain that Esther felt. We understand it because we have felt it, too, for the last week and a half.

The question invariably arises: "Why? How could God let this happen?" There have been many attempts to answer that question, and none of those answers will ever assuage our sorrow.

Some have suggested that somehow God was behind the terrorist attacks. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell on national television said that the attacks occurred, or were allowed by God, because of the moral decadence of our society. Because we have allowed abortion, because we have given in to the homosexual agenda, and because of the materialistic attitude that we have about nearly everything, God is punishing us.

Their statement is not altogether without scriptural foundation. Paul said of God in his speech in Athens, "And he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation" (Acts 17:26). God surely has a hand in what happens in history. I do not believe that he intervenes today in miraculous measures, where laws of nature and society are abrogated, but there is no question that he exercises some control through his law over the nations.

David wrote in the 2^nd Psalm, "Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Now therefore be wise, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (Psa. 2:8-11). The Psalm attributes to the Messiah to come the power to judge the nations as God did in the Old Testament times. "They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces; Against them will he thunder in heaven: Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth; And he will give strength unto his king, And exalt the horn of his anointed" (1 Sam 2:10). "Thou hast rebuked the nations, thou hast destroyed the wicked; Thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever" (Psa. 9:5). In Revelation, John writes of the Christ, "And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty" (Rev. 19:15). The point is clear that as always, "Righteousness exalteth a nation; But sin is a reproach to any people" (Prov. 14:34). If others have fallen because of their sinful ways, why not America?

I do not believe that is the answer specifically to the question, "Why did this happen to those at the World Trade Center?" But it should certainly serve as a wakeup call for those who have not been sincere in their service to God, and to a nation that is sold to the excesses of the flesh.

Others have suggested that God allowed all those people to die "Because it was their time." There is nothing in the scriptures that indicates that "When your time comes, there is nothing you can do about it." The Bible does teach that we are going to die, and that we cannot put off the day of death. But it also teaches that we have some choices to make that influence the when and the where. For instance, suicide is contrary to the will of God. The body belongs to God, and we cannot abuse it or do away with it at our whim (1 Cor. 6:19-20). When a man commits suicide, it was not his "time" to go. It was not God’s will for him to die right then. It is contrary to God’s will that a man take his own life.

This notion arises out of a false perception of God’s sovereignty. The Calvinist teaching on God’s sovereignty is that every movement of every molecule ever in existence was determined by God before heaven and earth were created. Everything you have ever done, every thought you have ever had, including the one you are thinking right now, was determined from eternity by God, so we are merely acting out a script that we cannot change. If that is the case, then the exact moment of death cannot be altered, when it is your time, there is nothing you can do. But if that is the case, then you time to obey cannot be altered. Your time to sin cannot be altered. You are a puppet of the imaginings of God, and your eternal destiny, heaven or hell, is a matter of his sovereignty, not your choice. The Bible teaches against this doctrine. We have choice (Josh. 24:15; Rev. 22:17). And if for some unknown reason, it was those people’s time to die, was it the terrorists time to kill? Where is God’s will in that?

Does God use the misfortune of sin to teach us? Does he use it sometimes to chasten? Absolutely, yes. But this act was not of God. This was the act of evil men. All of this happened simply because of the evil motives of evil men. That’s all that we can know for sure about the why.

Often evil men do evil things that God does not want them to do. Someone asks, "Why did God allow such a horrible thing to happen?" What could God do short of taking away the freedom to choose to prevent it? God could have stopped the tragedy, but to do so, he would have to scratch creation. He would have to destroy all of us and make us fundamentally different. He would have to take away our ability to choose.

Does God regard what happened? Of course. One sparrow cannot fall to the ground without God’s notice (Matt. 10:29). And a day of reckoning will come. Don’t despair, those who have done this have someone more determined and capable than an American president to worry about. And if they do not repent, a devil’s hell where the fire never stops burning them and where the maggots don’t die is where they will spend eternity. Men forget. God doesn’t, unless the sinner repents.

We have been called to prayer so many times this past two weeks. I am sure one more prayer will not be out of place. It is the pray of Paul for our rulers. "I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men; for kings and all that are in high place; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity" (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Pray this prayer every day and night. Certainly God will hear, and it will make a difference (James 5:16). Hopefully the time for our judgment is not come.

Evil is in the world, and so are evil men. Pray this, also: "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified, even as also it is with you; and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men; for all have not faith" (2 Thess. 3:1-2).