6 During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
When God’s judgment finally arrives, people who are not in proper relationship with Him will be in trouble. Their fate is so painful that they will long for death. The previous verse describes one of the judgments coming on them. It is described as being like the sting of a scorpion lasting five months. Ouch! It is so painful people will want to die, but God will not allow them to die. God will be the One calling “clear” as He revives them. People will be looking for ways to escape the pain of the judgment. They will use all their energy in attempts to wiggle out of the path of what they deserve. If they had just used some of that energy earlier they would have missed the judgment. But people are stubborn. Or should I say, we are stubborn. We put off the small tasks of daily obedience hoping that our Sunday ritual will make up for our lack of obedience. But it is exactly those small daily obedient acts that demonstrate that our faith truly is in God. Any person who is married for any period longer than a few months knows that it is the small things that matter most. A marriage cannot be sustained on yearly vacation cruises. There have to be daily and weekly small acts that say “I am committed to you” or the marriage will end. It was those small kindnesses that turned the hearts toward marriage in the first place. And it is those small acts that show where your heart is today. The people who are seeking death at this judgment period in the future were not willing to begin and sustain that trail of obedience, one small act at a time. They had “better things to do” than surrendering to Jesus, turning from their sins and walking in obedience. And they will pay for that spiritual laziness with a longing for death that goes unfulfilled.
The Arnold Journey 