PreachingHelp.org Whether it is a tsunami, earthquake, tornado, or pandemic, people invariably ask the question, “Who’s to blame for all this destruction and loss of life?”
Generally, the answers fall into two extremes:
- There are those who confidently affirm that God would never be responsible for such events. After all, God is a God of love (1 John 4:8).
- There are those who confidently affirm that God is responsible for such events and uses them as “wake-up calls” to discipline people for their sins.
I am convinced that Scripture teaches that both positions are incorrect, and here’s why.
Position #1 – God would never be responsible for catastrophic events, for God is a God of love.
Reply – A superficial survey of the biblical narrative debunks this theory. The Bible is replete with plagues, illnesses, and natural disasters which were instigated by God. Remember the ten plagues God brought upon the Egyptians (Exodus 7-11)? Or how about a natural disaster that claimed the entire population of the earth, saving eight people (Genesis 6-7)? No, the fact that God is love does not prevent him from using catastrophes to fulfill his purposes.
Position #2 – God is behind all these catastrophic events in an effort as a means of disciplining sinners.
Reply – The problem with this position is that it affirms what one cannot know. While it is true that God can use calamities to fulfill his purposes, there is no way for us to know that present-day calamities are his handiwork. I know that God brought the plagues on Egypt and brought a flood on the entire world because the Bible tells me so. But where there is no revelation, I am unable to discern between a random act of nature and a divinely appointed use of nature. Because of our inability to know for certain, we must be very careful not to attribute to God what he may not have done and inaccurately represent him (Job 42:7).
According to the Bible, God has employed catastrophes to fulfill his purposes, but the only way we know that is true is that he has revealed it to us in the Bible. Since we have no revelation about modern-day catastrophes, we must learn to refrain from affirming what we do not know.
Whether a calamity is the result of nature or a purposeful act of God, let us allow such disasters to remind us of the brevity of life and our purpose while we’re here.
Excellent article. Thank you.
both of thee analysis are true and we should not fear but continue to look to and trust the Jehovah God who made and controls all the world, and give us the freedom to choose or not choose to serve and obey his will
Good article, Steve.
The pre-Noahic world was quite different. Since the flood, we now live on a planet of constantly changing weather and climate that adversely affects nearly every human, some fatally. Children of God and sinners both live on this orb. The master teacher said the “rain” falls on both.