Answer: Hello Jonathan,

We often come at issues like this one from our limited human perspective (obviously, that’s the only one available to us!). But, the problem is that our judgment is limited, compared to God’s. We wonder why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, but we forget that he is the creator, and that because he creates life, he is morally justified in taking it, even when humans do not understand all circumstances surrounding his decision.

For some background that helps us humanly we see that 24,000 Israelites died in the plague at Baal-Peor, brought about because Midian corrupted them, leading them into idolatry. Vengeance is God’s – and that is an absolute – even though we don’t always understand. This does not mean that he is not merciful or loving – once again we sometimes add definitions to those words and concepts that he does not inspire.

Hope this helps. May God bless you and be with you.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht