ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף קהלת 5:7

After explaining all of this, God goes on to deliver a second lecture to Job, in which He replies to the question he had asked concerning the prosperity of the wicked, namely, why God does not wipe out the wicked who ravage civilization like beasts of prey. In His response, God points out that a similar question can also be asked concerning the animal world: why He created both weak and strong animals that live alongside one another, the strong preying on the weak. According to Job, He should only have created weak and powerless creepy-things! But that would not have befitted the greatness of the Creator. His stature requires that He create awesome and terrifying creatures whilst providing, through His Providence, for the weaker species to survive, thereby demonstrating that from on most high, a guardian, (Ecclesiastes 5:7) a Single One, rules over all of them. Likewise, there are fierce, tyrannical and powerful individuals amongst mankind, but He has nevertheless provided, through His Providence, for the survival of humanity by making it societal by nature, endowing it with the power to do justice and act with probity (Proverbs 1:3, 2:9) as Elihu has already clarified in Chapter 35.³It might well be asked why God did not take the opportunity of revealing to Job the simple truth, that we the readers have known all along, namely, that his suffering and the loss of his family and all his possessions occurred within the setting of a contest between God and Satan as to whose evaluation of his integrity was correct. That God does not do so is perhaps of no lesser significance; there are some things that a person just does not have to know.

But this is all wrong, for God is neither impressed by man’s deeds nor has He any need for his work; nor does his rebelliousness bring about any change in Him. He is like a doctor who prescribes treatment for a patient. Whether the patient listens to what the doctor says or refuses to do so, the reward or punishment is inherent in the very act upon which his health and life, or his sickness and death, depend.¹³This was the solution put forward by Hasdai Crescas, the 14th century philosopher, theologian and statesman. Hasdai was a severe critic of Maimonides, and his major work Or Adonai is a critique of the Guide of the Perplexed. Hasdai's resolution saves God's omniscience by limiting human freedom and the justice of reward and punishment by asserting that it is inherent in the way things are. Just as death follows from the swallowing of poison, so suffering ensues from wrongdoing. Whether Malbim was familiar with Hasdai's writings at first hand is uncertain. This is the way in which the reward and punishment for human acts is linked with the acts themselves. A man who controls his appetites and instincts will enjoy good health (Psalms 73:4), whereas he who pursues the pleasures of the flesh will become sick and be sorely chastised (Job 33:19).
Similarly, a commonwealth which endeavors to act properly and humanely, to do justice to the oppressed and to remove evil-doers from the land, will enjoy quiet and security free of any evil threat (1Kings 5:18) or destroyer. But when right and justice are usurped in the state (Ecclesiastes 5:7) murderers and gangsters multiply.

If you see oppression of the poor and deprivation of justice, etc., do not wonder, since certainly it has already been decreed on the wicked to get what they deserve, only that G-d will bring their retribution through chains of many causes (which are coordinated with everyone affected). Therefore, their retribution is delayed. But when the causes are finished, they will also be finished. This is what is meant by "for the Highest over the high watches over them, and there are higher ones", to teach that thus Divine wisdom decided to implement the divine decrees through many causes.