BUT the wolf never came, and, though the cry was repeated again and again, still the object of terror did not make its expected attack, and gradually, on that account, people became so accustomed to the warning that it fell on dull and unsuspecting ears, and the idea of the "Wolf," and its depredations, ceased to frighten anyone.
In fact it might have been supposed that the "wolf" had been chased out of the country, or possibly exterminated. No one had seen it!
The question is—has the wolf been finally driven away? Does the fact that he has not been seen, or heard, prove his extinction?
No, not necessarily!
But what can this mean?
Simply that "the wolf"—the judgment of God—has been declared, but not executed, for so long that people try to persuade themselves that there can be no such thing. They say:—"Where is the promise of His coming? For... all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." (2 Peter 3:44And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2 Peter 3:4)). So say the last day scoffers, but they say wrongly, and are willingly ignorant of facts. Things have not continued as they ever were; nor shall they continue always as they are.
Hardly had sin begun, like leaven, to permeate the race, before Enoch, "the seventh from Adam" cried out:—"Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment" (Jude 1414And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, (Jude 14)), and unintermittently, from his day to our own, the same cry has been raised. The "wolf"—judgment—is sure to come!
But why then does it not come? Why do things continue as they were? Why is evil allowed to pollute the very air we breathe, to stain with blood of men and beasts these fields of battle, to invent horrors of cruelty, to make the life of mankind, which should be a dream of contentment, peace, joy and felicity, a veritable nightmare of suspicion and dread? Well, the reason is very wonderful. It is that "the Lord ... is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance"! (2 Peter 3:99The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)).
Noah was warned. He hearkened and obeyed. Thousands have followed his wise example, and, by grace, have taken their place in the ark of safety—the Christ who suffered for sins the Just for the unjust.
In Him they are safe—in Him they escape the coming judgment. To them the cry of "a wolf," though most correctly sounded, carries no sort of alarm. There is no condemnation for them. Wise and happy people Reader, see that you are one of them.