Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?

The Lord Jesus first of all directs His disciples to love their enemies. By doing so they would demonstrate that they are sons of their Father in heaven. He then reminds them of the attitude of the Creator towards all men's attitude towards men. "He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." It is true that the love of God to His creatures found its highest expression in giving His beloved Son (John 3:16). But everyone who wants to can recognise His undiscriminating love towards all in that He makes His sun to rise both on the evil and the good every morning and sends the vital rain on both the just and the unjust. He has the right to condemn the evil and the unjust. Instead of doing so He shows them His goodness during their life on earth in the same way that He does to the good and the just. The love of the eternal Creator-God for His enemies could not be manifested more touchingly. The disciples of Jesus ought to follow this example. To prevent any misunderstanding let it be mentioned however that God does not show His love without distinction. God is a Saviour (JND: Preserver) of all men, specially of those that believe (1 Tim. 4:10). Believers too are invited to love one another (to have brotherly love) and to love all men (to have love for their fellow-men) (1 Thess. 3:12; Gal. 6:10). And the moment will come when those who despised the goodness of God which was meant to lead them to repentance, will receive eternal punishment.

But we may well pause to consider the virtue, the beauty, the wonder of that which man despises — that is, “the riches of God's goodness and forbearance and longsuffering.” Here is the secret of the allowance of the awful march of evil through the world today, the present allowance of man's proud will to assert itself. The more deeply the subject inquiring heart considers the enormity and persistency of man's growth in evil, the more profoundly is the exceeding marvel of God's patience seen. But man, so thoroughly corrupt, will take every possible advantage of the patience of God, while the greater his abuse of it, the greater his contempt for it.

All this is well known, if men would but weigh it well. A point however, that they know not, nor consider is that “the goodness of God leads to repentance.” Not the justice or wrath of God here, but the goodness of God. How unspeakably blessed, how altogether above the questions and cavillings of men, yes, how deserving of their deepest, most heartfelt respect and admiration! But repentance is far from the natural heart: fear of punishment there may be indeed, but brokenness and contrition for sin is foreign to the proud will of man. Nothing will, or can lead him to it but the goodness of God — goodness that has melted and subdued many an arrogant, wilful heart, and caused the tears of most hardened sinners to flow in profusion. Hence, truly grievous beyond expression is that folly and wickedness that despises “the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering.”

Zophar had spoken of the wicked being cut off, but Job has questions now that Zophar does not even attempt to answer. Sometimes wicked men are cut off, but some wicked men live and become old and become mighty in power above others (v.7). Why? Their children often get along well with hardly a setback (v.8). They seem to have nothing to fear and the discipline of God's government seems not to apply to them (v.9). "Their bull breeds without failure; their cow calves without miscarriage" (v.10), while often the righteous find just the opposite experience. Their children enjoy life with its music and dancing, spending their days in wealth, "and in a moment go down to the grave" (vv.11-12). In other words, they know nothing of the painful experiences of Job all through their life, then die without suffering. Asaph observed this also, as he records in Psalm 73:3-9, and added in verses 16-17, "It was too painful for me - until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end." He learned that God's accounts are not settled in this life: there is a future to be considered.

Many like the Psalmist are perplexed at the prosperity of the wicked (Psalm 73:3). Everything seems to go well with them in life, and even in death. It was only when the Psalmist entered the “sanctuary of God” that he understood their end (verse 17), and it is the end that matters. God in His wisdom may allow His children prosperity in present things to carry on His work, but He may allow them to know adversity and poverty, giving them a rich compensation, for “Has not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith” (James 2:5).

Job knew that “The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure” (Job. 12:6), though Eliphaz thought that “in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon” the wicked (Job 15:21). What Eliphaz thought was sometimes right, but it was not always right, as the writer of Psalm 73 knew, and as we know from what is all around. When we realise that God has allowed Satan to become the god and prince of this world, and that he has the authority to dispose in some way of the kingdoms of this world (Luke 4:6), we will not be perplexed at the prosperity of the wicked.

All this was pointed at poor Job, but not a particle of it was real. It was nothing but evil surmises. So, he describes his case in very strong terms, which I need not follow — all his inward trouble, and the being forced to give up what he had swallowed down. "He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter." That is, Zophar recognised that God delights in doing good. Yes, He does; and not merely to the righteous, but to the unthankful and evil. Is it that He has any complacency in them? Quite the contrary, but out of His own goodness, as our Lord put it so simply and so grandly, He causes His sun to shine upon the evil as well as upon the good, and He sends His rain upon the just as well as upon the unjust. Well, before all I say now, he is a most wicked man, the greatest enemy of God alive on the earth, who profits by all these benefits, and never thinks of God at all. There he is, so utterly insensible — more insensible possibly than the brute. There is less gratitude than with even the poor irrational brute who owns his master's kindness and care. This is indeed, an awful thing in a man. You might find men of the greatest education and of the highest ability, who are like a stock or a stone before the goodness of God. That you have now. The New Testament has come in and made it all plain. One word accounts for everything — unbelief.

It is undeniable that God in His sovereignty has blessed man unconditionally. On what ground have the many millions of our race from the days of Noah enjoyed seed-time and harvest, summer and winter, day and night? Have these been conditional blessings? John Newton said, "If the most patient man that ever lived had the ruling of the earth, he could not stand it for a single day." What a mercy it is then that these millions have every day to do with God and not with men. It is clear from Gen. 8:20-22 that it is solely on the ground of sacrifice, of Noah's burnt offering, a type of Christ, that we have these blessings. If bestowed on that of the conduct of men, they would have been forfeited long ago. This establishes the principle.

God's government is in contrast to His counsels. This government is associated with man's responsibility and exists from the beginning of his history. It was first manifested in Eden where man, innocent but responsible, disobeyed and was driven from the garden and made subject to death. From that moment on, God's government continues to function toward man who is responsible to conduct himself in this world in a way conformable to the righteousness, holiness, and goodness of his Creator who rewards the good and punishes the wicked. On the other hand, doubtless, He makes His sun shine on the just and on the unjust, for He is a God of goodness who, rather than desiring the death of the sinner, leads him to repentance by His longsuffering and patience. Nonetheless it is true that men's wicked actions bring their own consequences, generally already here on earth for themselves, and often for their children to the third or fourth generation. But should they are not be judged on earth, the final word of God's judgment will be pronounced at the last judgment.

First, it is not because judgment is His delight. Let God be true, but every man a liar. "Say unto them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" If God expostulated thus with Israel of old, we may be sure He is no more willing to execute judgment now on Christendom and on the nations. Nay, where he foretells those judgments in the most solemn terms, He speaks of rising, "that he may do his work his strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act." As to this very period which is passing over our heads, and in which He delays to strike the long threatened blow, it is thus the delay is accounted for: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." No; it is not that God has any pleasure in the destruction of any; but that men despise, alas! the riches of His goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering; after the hardness of their impenitent hearts treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Reader, is this the case with thee? If it be, O that the question may rouse thee from thy slumbers, to consider what thou canst do in the day that God shall deal with thee!

(Vv. 4, 5) This leads to the assertion of the second great principle of God in regard to judgment, namely, God invariably gives space for repentance before He executes judgment. The execution of the judgment of God will most surely come, though, in the goodness of God, it may be long delayed. In His goodness God forbears to judge and suffers long with evil. It was so in the days of Noah, when God lingered for One hundred and twenty years before executing the judgment of the flood: it was so in the history of Israel, with whose evil ways God bore long before destroying Jerusalem and scattering the nation. It is so to-day when God in grace lingers over this judgment doomed world. How then does man treat this longsuffering of God? Alas! men despise the riches of His goodness. Because of this "for-bearance" men think that God will never judge: because of His "longsuffering" men think that God is indifferent to evil. Thus men despise the goodness of God, not seeing that the reason God "forbears" and "suffers long" is to give men space for repentance. The goodness of God thus makes manifest the hardness and impenitence of man's heart. God acts in goodness, and men despise "the riches of His goodness". God gives space to repent, and men are impenitent. Men condemn one another for doing evil, but they refuse to repent of their own evil. The fact that God gives space for repentance, shows that repentance is a necessity for each man in order to be right with God, and escape the judgment of God.

He was the type of a vast multitude of people in these days. They cannot understand why the good things of life should be poured into the lap of the wicked and why trouble should dog the steps of the honest and good. They see unrighteousness ride triumphantly in a gilded coach, or perhaps in a luxurious motor car, while goodness goes afoot on the dusty high way, sometimes shoeless. It is a strange world! And these are great problems; and does God see and know? And if so—!