Did God Take Vengeance On Him?

Q

This question arose because recently, a young man in his mid twenties died from a drug overdose. About 6 months prior to this he was instrumental in helping a troubled young woman accuse another young man in his early twenties of being “inappropriate” with this woman’s 5 year old girl. This resulted in legal action against the 2nd man because he was on parole for drugs himself. Unfortunately he was only 1 week from being totally off parole and being free from the law. The 2nd man is a christian. The 1st man was a pretender christian, at least it appeared so from his actions. No fruits evident. Anyway, here is the question. Do you think the Lord avenges His children when someone tries to cause them harm in some way?

A

In Deut 32:35 the Lord said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.” He was speaking specifically of those who claimed to be His but by their actions demonstrated that they weren’t.

From your description I gather you believe the one young man was falsely accused of molesting a 5 year old and are asking if the sudden death of his accuser was the work of God. No one can know this for sure, least of all someone like me who has no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding this chain of events. But one thing I can say is that tragic situations like this are not uncommon among those who by their actions disqualify themselves from the benefits of the Lord’s protective power.

Psalm 91 says in part: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. If you make the Most High your dwelling– even the Lord, who is my refuge– then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.

In order to be qualified for this protection we have to be walking in righteousness with the Lord, meaning there’s no unconfessed sin standing between us (1 John 1:9).