Hail Stones and Coals of Fire, October 12, 2005

This has been a year of remarkably devastating “natural” disasters. Most notable were the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean, two substantial hurricanes in the southern Gulf States of the U. S., and now a major earthquake in Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or had their lives turned upside down.People tend to ponder or seek for some meaning of such calamities in the aftermath. The question is most frequently, “Why”? As Christians, we should be positioned well to answer these questions because the Bible deals with such issues in a number of places. However, and sadly, even those who profess that they believe the Word of God seem unable to answer clearly.It seems that the tendency of many is to fall back into a default mode of sorts, and maintain that such cataclysms are more or less just the luck of the draw. These are those who relapse into a practical deism. Like old Ben Franklin, they believe that God sort of just wound the whole thing up, and pretty much lets things follow their natural course. Time and chance happens to all men, don’t you know? So if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, it’s just too bad for you. Of course, this whole system is tenable only if God is distant and disinterested.But this is not the God revealed in the pages of Scripture. The God of the Bible is interested in sparrows and the number of hairs on your head. He moves the hearts of even heartless kings, and promises comfort to those in the most abject of difficulties. He holds the rebellious tyrant in derision, and promises to bring even the most rebellious into subjection to His King of kings, Jesus.God’s presence in violent weather and other “natural” disasters is something that is advocated in a number of places in the Bible. And it is not necessarily a friendly presence. Psalm 18 proclaims that “then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken because he was wroth.” Jeremiah maintains that “when he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures” (Jeremiah 10:13). Jeremiah in particular makes a connection between such things as earthquakes and tempestuous storms with a visit from the Lord. This kind of visit is called for because of the idolatries, moral and judicial corruptions, and oppressions practiced by those being visited.So, is it legitimate to maintain that God Himself is bringing these judgments and afflictions on the inhabitants of Indonesia, New Orleans, and Pakistan? Listen to what Jeremiah says. “Who is the wise man, that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through? (Jeremiah 9:12). In other words, who can claim to reckon that those seemingly hapless people in these places have been destroyed by the hand of God’s wrath? In the verses following this quote, a divine indictment is brought against those who violate His law. To miss this connection is to turn a morally blind eye to what is being said. God promises to judge and destroy societies that refuse to submit to Him. Are the Muslims of Indonesia and Pakistan in submission to the law of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are the inhabitants of New Orleans, well known for their licentiousness and other corruptions, in compliance with the Word of God? In places such a these, where the open rebelliousness of idolatry, covetousness, political corruptions, and sexual perversions of all sorts are well know, is it unthinkable to contend that God has smitten them in His holy wrath?When questioned about some Galileans who had been slain by Pilate, and commenting on those who had been killed by a collapsing tower in Siloam, Jesus asked whether the deceased were worse sinners than others. His answer should be carefully pondered. “I tell you, nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:5).