Does God Send Calamities and Judgments?
Posted: Thursday, January 27, 2011
by John Waddey
firstcenturychristian
Much of our daily news has to do with disasters. Some of them are natural and others are man-caused. Both of which bring suffering, death and destruction on mankind. When disasters occur, it is common for religious people to assume that the disaster was a judgement sent on man by God because of his excessive wickedness. Some who are affected by the disasters are heard blaming God for their suffering and loss. Worldly scoffers see such disasters and scornfully ask, "Why did your God do this?" Or, "Why did He allow this to happen?"
But does this account for all the disasters that daily occur on planet earth? Be reminded that we and our planet live under a curse imposed by God when the first of our race chose to heed Satan rather than Jehovah the Creator. "Cursed is the ground for your sake...thorns and thistles shall it bring forth" (Gen. 3:17-18). The paradise of Eden which He had made for our habitation was replaced by an earth groaning under that curse (Rom. 8:19-22). In addition, to thorns and pesky weeds, earth is now subject to a litany of destructive agents and events: storms, floods, lightening strikes, fires, droughts, freezing cold, blizzards of snow, hailstorms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, hurricanes, pestilence and epidemics.
In addition to these events of nature we must also deal with accidents and disasters that result from human activity. We build dams to store water. For various reason dams sometime fail and those living in the path of the rushing waters suffer the consequences. We build great buildings which later collapse on those within. We invent air-planes that defy the law of gravity and fly thousands of feet above the earth. Something goes wrong and the plan and its passengers plummet to the ground with great loss of life. We have laboratories to study and experiment with deadly germs, bacteria and viruses. An accident or an act of vandalism occurs, allowing the deadly material to escape, bringing sickness and death on multitudes. We send great ships, carrying thousands of people across the oceans. Because of human error, equipment failure or violent storms the ships sink. The loss is terrible.
In a world under the curse of sin, the forces of nature cause many disasters. Tornadoes result when bands of cold weather collide with warm weather. You can avoid the risk by moving out of areas where this often occurs.
Hurricanes are natural, recurring events. They form off the coast of Africa and make their way across the Atlantic. A wise person will chose not to live in their path.
The Pacific rim countries are prone to serious earthquakes. When the great moving platelets of the earth collide, the result can be catastrophic. There are known earthquake faults beneath the surface of the earth. We have enough history to know they are there and the danger they poses. Build a city on top of a earth fault and it is only a matter of time before a disaster occurs. There are living active volcanos. Vulcanologists can sense the level of activity within the volcano long before it erupts. Eruptions are caused by the build up of gases. The ash and fiery molten lava will be forced out, destroying every thing in its path. Lightening strikes are the result of electrical charges being released in connection with storms. They can cause wild fires, or destroy a building. All of these events are predictable natural disasters. Pestilence is often the result of lack of public hygiene that allows food and water supplies to be contaminated. We mention all of these disasters to remind us multitudes perish when we get in the way of the forces of nature when they are responding to their natural causes. While God can use them for specific punishment of wicked people, most often they are simply the workings of our natural system.
We build homes and other buildings in flood planes or on exposed coastal property. Every year storms occur and some of those buildings are swept away, often with loss of life. We build huge stadiums to seat upwards of 100,000 people But something happens to frighten and panic the crowd. In the rush to the exists, people are crushed or trampled to death. We build great halls for entertainment. Proprietors ignore safety codes and the site is overcrowded. Fire breaks out and because they cannot quickly exit, a multitude perish. Men manufacture trains and busses to move large numbers of travelers. For any number of reasons equipment fails, causing deadly wrecks. Often wrecks are caused by human error or sabotage. Miners choose to work far beneath the earth but pressure, water and gasses can cause explosions, collapses and flooding and people die.
Many disasters are caused by poor choices men make. If you choose to build or purchase a home in a flood plane or on a coast where hurricanes strike, changes are you will eventually suffer loss. You cannot blame God. It is the result of your poor choice. If you have an in-door fire without proper ventilation carbon monoxide poisoning can kill those in the house.
Some folks do stupid things that result in disasters. A bus driver or a pilot does not get his needed rest and thus falls asleep while flying or driving. A disaster results. The driver or pilot may use alcohol or drugs which leave him unable to make the quick decisions necessary for a safe trip. A foolish man wants to see if his car will really do 120 miles per hour. He loses control and smashes into a car filled with a family and all perish. A careless man, anxious to get his fire going, decides to put gasoline on it. The gas ignites and flashes back over the fellow, killing him or leaving him horribly burned. His house might even be destroyed by the fire. A miserly fellow refuses to pay an electrician to repair the electrical services of his home. He does it himself, but his repairs cause a fire that destroys his home. These are truly disasters, but for them no one can blame God.
Other disasters are the result of human activity. Mistakes that we or others make can cause a disaster. Years ago a worker at a chemical plant in India, mistakenly failed to close a valve on a storage tank of a deadly chemical. Hundreds of innocent people died.
Disaster can result from flaws in human creations. The engine of an airplane fails in flight. The tire of a car fails, causing a wreck. The electrical breaker fails to function properly and a house fire results. The design of a dam might be faulty, causing it to collapse and flood the area below it.
Some disasters are the result of human stupidity. Drunk or drugged drivers, people driving too fast; people playing with fire, explosives, or weapons; people ignoring danger warnings can cause disasters.
Some disasters are deliberately caused by wicked men. Wars, genocide, germ warfare, nuclear war sabotage and terror attacks cause great suffering. Some economic disasters we know have been deliberately caused for political and punitive purposes.
Some disasters occur when people take foolish risks, mistakenly thinking God will not allow them to be harmed. The person who likes to sky dive cannot blame God if his parachute fails to open. Remember Jesus would not jump off the tower of the temple. To do that was to tempt or make trial of God (Matt. 4:5-7).
If all of these disasters were specific judgments sent from God, what value would there be in being safety conscious and avoiding obvious dangers like fires and floods?
But we still have reason to believe that on some occasions God does act to punish those who have defied his will. We know he has done so in the past and is still fully capable of so doing.
Jesus was asked about the cause of two calamities. The first case cited was that Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices..." The second was, "Those eighteen, upon whom the tower of Siloam fell." The Master asked the question, "think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? (Luke 13:1-5). His answer was, "No, they were not!" Their disaster was not associated with their uncommon wickedness. The one case was the result of Pilate’s wickedness. The other was a misfortune. Perhaps it happened because of poor engineering design of the tower, faulty materials, poor workmanship or an earth tremor.
There are several lessons we should remember about living in a world where disasters routinely occur.
* We live in a sin cursed world which means we will inevitably be confronted with the effects of that curse on our planet. Even the most safety conscious person might suffer in some disaster.
* Don’t act foolishly and bring a disaster on your head.
* Don’t choose a home in a disaster prone area.
* Don’t invite disaster by economizing on safety matters.
* Before you do something, consider the safety factors versus the risk factors. Flying in a commercial plane is actually much safer than driving or flying in a private plane.
* Take precautions before going into dangerous situations. Get your inoculations before you go to a disease ridden country. Avoid places where violence prevails.
* Plan for your safety before disaster strikes. A fire extinguisher can save your home from a disastrous fire. Good breaks and tires can help you avoid a disastrous car wreck.
* Live a godly life and seek to please God in all you do. His rod and staff will comfort and care for you (Ps. 23:4). Nothing can separate the Christian from the love of God in Christ; not tribulations, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or the sword (Rom. 8:35).
* Never forget that this world is not our permanent home. Here we live as pilgrims and strangers (Heb. 11:!3-14). Our destination is heaven. The curse will be lifted when this old world perishes in the fiery conflagration that will occur when comes the end (II Pet. 3:7-12). In the Father ‘s house the curse will be no more (Rev. 22:3).
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Yes this article is makes all the sense in the world. As people we don't see the picture or message that is being sent to us, most of us are blind to the facted that we do so many things that backfires on us as a group or as a indiviual. First things first is that we all have to believe before we can make any changes. God is a teacher who wants his students to pass his class(if that makes any sense to you). Judement is coming upon us now, but will we stop sinning and turn to the Lord for help and guidence or will we fall in the pits of his punishment. He accepts the rightous thee wicked will perish in sight. I am a young person, 22 and I have a feeling I was brought to this page to warn and change the lives of those who read this article. May God be with us all and live a new and blessed life in PEACE nothing more america....
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