Natural disasters dominate the news cycle, especially when human lives are lost or are at risk. Breaking news comes across TV screens or our social feed. Fires in California. A hurricane devastates Florida or the Bahamas. We get numbers of how many died in the crisis.
There used to be a popular phrase regarding these natural disasters, particularly in legal terms. “An act of God.” Perhaps some contracts still contain the idea. One or both parties claim they bear no responsibility for an “act of God.” These “acts of God” include tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, and other similar events.
The old phrase refers to biblical accounts where God would instigate or use a natural disaster for various reasons. The Bible clearly teaches that God remains in control of all nature. Whether he allows a disaster or initiates it, he is sovereign, and therefore, we can learn something about him through these traumatic events.
Here are six biblical natural disasters and their relevance for today.
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The Flood in Genesis 6-9 teaches us profound lessons about God’s justice and mercy. When human sin became prevalent, their every thought on violence, God declared his judgment upon the whole earth with a flood. However, Noah found favor with the Lord due to his faith and righteousness. God spoke to Noah and gave him a way to save himself and his family through building an ark.
Through the Flood, we learn how God judges sin and wickedness. We also see how such rampant sin brings consequences on the very earth itself, a theme throughout the Old Testament beginning with Cain’s murder of Abel (Genesis 4:10). Violence and perversion make the very land unclean, and the victims’ blood cry out to God for justice. God sent a worldwide flood to cleanse the land.
However, his judgment wasn’t without redemption and provision for the righteous, another theme throughout the Bible. Noah’s faithful life afforded him the opportunity to participate in deliverance with the hard work of building a huge boat. After the flood, God established a covenant with Noah, promising to never destroy the earth with water again. God sent the rainbow as a symbol of this covenant.
This story helps us realize the seriousness of sin, convicting us to repent and live right to avoid our own destruction. We turn from sin, realizing God’s love and the good he promises for people, offering grace for anyone who seeks him.
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God called Moses back to Egypt to lead the Israelite slaves to deliverance, freedom, and a purpose. Since Pharoah resisted allowing the Israelites the free and unhindered worship of God. Egypt had numerous gods, most based on nature, so each of the ten plagues demonstrated God’s victory over their idols. After every plague, progressively worse, Pharoah pridefully refused to allow the Israelites to worship God with their families and possessions. Ultimately, the last plague killed the firstborn of Egypt, and Pharoah kicked the Israelites out for good.
Through this account, God heard the cries of the Israelites, suffering under slavery, and personally got involved to deliver his people. God gave Pharoah the opportunity to repent after each plague, an act of mercy, which the king refused, leading to harsher consequences for his people. God didn’t just bring justice to Egypt but also preached his heavenly authority with the dominance over Egyptian gods.
As modern believers, we take several lessons from this story. First, God hears and sees the suffering of his people, including us today. And he will fight for his children. Second, a nation should allow free and unhindered worship of God. Third, God will bring justice to oppressive nations, so we should be sure to show dignity and compassion to the people made in God’s image. Fourth, no other gods have the power of the Lord. Any idolatry or worship of anything above God leads to destruction and death. All this leads us back to worshipping God alone.
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Once the Israelites left Egypt, God led them to the Red Sea. Pharaoh realized he had released hundreds of thousands of slaves, a serious blow to his nation, and he pursued the Israelites with his army. In Exodus 14, the Israelites find themselves trapped between the Red Sea and the most powerful army on earth. They cry out in fear. God instructs Moses to stretch out his staff over the sea. Then God divided the waters, and a dry path opened up for his people to cross. When the Egyptian army tried to follow, the waters rushed back in and drowned Pharaoh’s army.
This event shows how God can and will deliver his people from impossible situations. To begin with, he led them into the circumstance. He could have led them further north to avoid the Red Sea altogether. But Moses and the Israelites followed God into this crisis. While the Israelites complained about how they had it better in slavery, God acted on their behalf. Initially, he raised a pillar of fire between Israel and Egypt, and then he parted the waters.
First, we should learn not to complain when we find ourselves in difficult situations. God remains sovereign and completely aware of each circumstance, even when it seems impassable. We can always trust him. Second, we must hear from God and follow his leading, even through potentially dangerous circumstances. We obey his word and guidance, and he will fight on our behalf. Finally, we worship God for his salvation and constant protection.
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The Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness due to unbelief before Joshua led them into the Promised Land. In Joshua 10, when the Gibeonites called for help against an enemy, Joshua marched the Israelite army to help their ally. While the battle went on, God sent a miraculous hailstorm. The hailstorm killed more enemy soldiers than the Israelites did with their sword. Again, God responded to their obedience and character to fight on their behalf.
God controls all nature, either allowing storms or using it for his redemptive purposes. For the Israelites, he revealed the battle always belongs to him, and he did more in a moment than their hours or days of fighting. God’s strength is enough to achieve his plans.
Christians today can draw important truths from this account. First, we should have the character to fulfill our word, especially when it will cost us something. Joshua and Israel had made a treaty with Gibeon, and they acted with integrity to help their ally. So should we. Second, as we act with integrity, we trust God to fight on our behalf, to protect us and fight with us through the resulting challenges. He controls the wind and waves, and he will deliver us, often in creative ways.
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Ahab and Jezebel had led the kingdom of Israel into idolatry, and God spoke judgment through Elijah. He would bring drought and famine as discipline. There would be no more rain until the Lord instructed Elijah to declare it. The drought lasted three years, a direct and symbolic rejection of Baal, supposedly the god over storms. Yet despite the Israelite worship of that deity, God had power over the rain.
The drought affected righteous people, as well. God cared for Elijah and others who trusted the Lord, even during the disaster. God sent food to Elijah through ravens. Later, Elijah visited a destitute widow in Zarephath, and God provided resources for them to survive. Ultimately, God did end the famine, but after a dramatic confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, where God sent fire from heaven (instead of rain) to consume and justify Elijah’s offering, proving the Lord’s supremacy.
Again, while not a popular or common lesson today, we see how idolatry and sin could lead to natural judgments like a drought or famine. Our worship of God alone brings blessings to us and others. At the same time, if we seek the Kingdom and his righteousness, he will provide what we need, even during very difficult economic times (Matthew 6:33). He knows what we need and will take care of us. Finally, the account reveals how only God can bring salvation and deliverance. All other gods and ways are powerless, fruitless, and lifeless.
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In the New Testament, God brought an earthquake in two events, first the death of Jesus (Matthew 27:51) and then the resurrection (Matthew 28:51). At Christ’s death, the earth shook, rocks split, and the temple curtain tore from top to bottom. The death of Jesus shook nature and creation itself. Such shaking reveals what has true foundations, the spiritual and coming Kingdom of God. At the same time, the splitting of the veil in the temple symbolized free and welcome access to God through his Son.
Three days later, another earthquake rolled the stone away from Jesus’ grave, marking his resurrection. The Fall in the Garden subjected all creation to death and entropy, and Jesus’ resurrection manifested God’s victory over death and the grave, a radical event that shook the earth. Both earthquakes proclaim the central work of Christ through his death and resurrection, expressed through natural means.
Jesus’ death and resurrection didn’t make the news. Few outside of Judea cared about it. However, these earthquakes showed how Jesus’ death and resurrection would go on to shake the world. The apostles turned the world upside down with the Good News. For us today, we are still a part of this epic story. No story is more real or epic than the Gospel of the Kingdom. The power of Jesus still shakes nations and hearts, tearing down religious, political, or spiritual oppression to make a way for any who believe to be saved and walk in eternal life.
Peace.
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