with that few (very notable) exceptions, the God of the Old Testament does not extrinsically destroy a wicked civilization. Rather, he is saying, “If you act like this, the natural outcome is for your civilization to fall–just warning you!”
When David sinned with Bath-Sheba, it is true that it was prophesied that his kingdom would be taken away, but there is also the issue of how he raised his sons, partly out of that same sense of entitlement that led to the sin with Bath-Sheba and her husband (which sense of entitlement may be almost unavoidable in a royal court).
So one son, Absalom, naturally rose up against David to wrest the kingdom from him. It was a natural consequence of both David’s and Absalom’s way of being.
Still, David has immense grief at the death of Absalom (2 Samuel 18:33)
1 Sam 18:33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
And THAT is the issue with Conservatism. Yeah, sadness at the all-too-predictable general outcome.
But Conservatism is saying that we need to conserve morality and basic goodness, because beyond a certain point, reckless libertine behavior will destroy society. It’s NOT arbitrary destruction from an offended God. It is a natural consequence. It follows as surely as the sun rises in the East after a dark night…
Or, in modern parlance, Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.