Think about this: first, the God who permits
natural disasters to happen could choose not
to permit them to happen. In the very act of allowing them, He demonstrates
that they fall within the boundaries of His providence and will. Notice that in
the story of Job, Satan brought about the natural calamities of lightning and
wind. But he could do this only when God signed off on it; he did it because
God said, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man
himself do not lay a finger” (Job 1:12). Luther was right when he said, “Even
the devil is God’s devil.”
Second, the Scriptures sometimes picture God
as being in control of nature, even without secondary causes. When the
disciples were at wit’s end, expecting to be drown, Christ awoke from His nap
and said, “Quiet! Be still!” The effect was immediate: “Then the wind died down
and it was completely calm” (Mark 4:39). The same Christ could have spoken
similar words and the tidal waves in Honduras would have obeyed Him, and the
rain that triggered the mud slides in Venezuela would not have turned into a
flood.
Third, if the heavens declare the glory of
God, if it is true that the Lord reveals His attributes, through the positive
side of nature, why would not the calamities of nature also reveal something about
His other attributes? There is no hint in the Bible that the God who created
the stars and keeps them in line is somehow removed from nature; if nature is
to give us a balanced picture of God, we must see His judgment too. “The LORD
does not whatever he pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas
and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends
lightning with the rain and brings out of the wind from his storehouses” (Ps.
135:6-7).
Who sent the Flood during the time of Noah?
God said, “I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life
under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything
on earth will perish” (Gen. 6:17). God determined the timing, the duration, and
tine intensity of the rain. And it happened according to His word.
Who sent the plagues of Egypt, the hail and
darkness that could be felt? Who caused the sun to “stand still” so that Joshua
could win a war? Who sealed the heavens during the time of Elijah and then
brought rain in response to his prayer? Who sent the earthquake when the sons
of Korah rebelled against Moses? This event is of special interest: “As soon as
he [Moses] finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the
earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s
men and their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything
they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from
the community” (Num. 16:31-33).
Can anyone doubt that God is the ultimate
cause of these disasters?
The biblical writer leaves no doubt as to who
caused the storm that forced the sailors to throw Jonah overboard: “Then the
LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship
threatened to break up.” The sailors agonized about unloading their unwanted
cargo, but we read, “They took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging
sea grew calm” (Jon. 1:4, 15). Clearly, God was in charge. (Erwin W. Lutzer, 10 Lies About God and the Truths and Shatter
Deception [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 2009], 103-4)
