Are Droughts A Divine Judgment From God?

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Many parts of the US and other nations are under a severe and worsening drought, so we ask, are droughts a judgment of God?

Worldwide Droughts

Many parts of the US and other nations are under a severe and worsening drought, so we ask, are droughts a judgment of God? God blessed many nations, and the USA abundantly, especially in the nation’s beginning, but the nation has changed. They have turned away from God and all turned to their own way (Isaiah 53:6). With that, the nation continues to lose blessings and life will be getting harder and harder for, not only Americans, but people around the world.

Blessed or Cursed?

In the blessings and curses outlined in Deuteronomy, God warns Israel of the consequences of disobedience. The text states, “The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron. The LORD will turn the rain of your land into dust and powder; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed” (Due 28:23-24). In the Midwest and West, much of this has already happened. Dust storms are happening with greater frequency and in much stronger intensity. It’s approaching what they called, The Dust Bowl. In Deuteronomy 28:23-24, we can see the direct correlation between Israel’s faithfulness and the fertility of the land. Since God is no respecter of persons, or of nations (save Israel and the church), He will surely bless those nations who are striving to live in obedience, but He will most certainly curse those nations who live contrary to the Word of God.

Apostasy

In the days of Elijah the Prophet, there were hundreds of false prophets, and only a few, faithful prophets (only a remnant), so part of God’s judgment on Israel was that there would be a drought during the reign of Israel’s most wicked king, King Ahab. Elijah declares, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word” (1 King 17:1). This drought served as a response (judgment) to Israel’s idolatry and apostasy that was being led by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Today’s leadership in Washington, as you know, does not always hold our best interests. That’s because evil has infiltrated all parts of society, not just the government. The prophet Elijah announced a coming three-and-a-half-year drought as a direct judgment from God upon the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab. Even with this, they did not repent or listen to Elijah. Will America or others nations repent? That is our prayer, or it should be.

Spiritual Droughts

There are so many false teachers out there today, that we can rightly say there’s a spiritual drought in the nation and around the world. It appears we have lost our moral compass (God’s Word). Today we think it is okay to live how you “feel” is right for you, so the world ignores biblical teaching on sexual immorality. Some “churches” even teach that God will condone sexual immorality, wink an eye at same-sex marriage, or as one man wanted to do, marry his own daughter, “Because they love one another.”  In fact, biblical (or godly love) is expressed by obedience to God’s Word.  It is not by what we “feel” is right for us. Bank robbers love too…they love money, but that doesn’t mean its okay to rob banks!

Divine Judgment

Not one rain drop is an accident in the sovereignty of God. There is not one random, radical molecule in the entire universe.  That’s because God is sovereign over everything.  In truth, He upholds the universe with His Word (Heb 1:3). Since this is true, that means God is sovereign over everything that happens to us and in the world…including droughts. He allows such evils for His own good purposes, but devastating droughts are not accidents or a result of global warming or of human activities (although they can certainly contribute to them). God told Jeremiah the Prophet why there was a severe drought coming (Jer 14:2) and it would affect those who rule down to those who work (Jer 14:3-4).  Today, communities, farmers, ranchers, and private-citizen are facing wells that are beginning to dry up, threatening not only their livelihoods, but also their lifes.  Will the nation wake up?

Revival

Before revival can come to this nation, revival must come to each believer.   Draw a circle in the sand.  Step into it.  That’s where revival begins.  As for the lost, revival is impossible unless God gives them eternal life through the Holy Spirit.  You cannot revive what is not alive (Eph 2:1-6), so that’s why we evangelize…like our hair’s on fire; there’s another fire coming and we must warn them of the wrath to come.  Should we not tell sinners that you are “treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom 2:5).  Do we love them enough to be willing to offend them for His name’s sake? Wasn’t someone willing to offend you in order to share the gospel?  As it is for individuals, so it is with churches; if you don’t “go” you won’t grow.

Warnings

God warned ancient Judah through Jeremiah as He does any nation today through His Word, that “I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence” (Jer 14:12). Why this punishment? God says it is because “They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins” (Jer 14:10). Jeremiah describes a severe drought as a consequence of Judah’s persistent sin. God allows this in the hopes that they would repent. The suffering caused by the drought, with the land mourning and the people and animals languishing, serves as a call to repentance and a reminder of the covenantal stipulations. Even here, in Jeremiah’s day, they refused to repent. As a result, they ended up in captivity.

Turn to God

Destruction of Jerusalem by Ercole de’ Roberti (1850).

It seems today, some places receive far too much rain and end up with busted levies, flooding, and mudslies, causing catastrophic flood damage, but some are thirsting…craving for even one drop. The Prophet Amos recounts how God withheld rain as a means to turn Israel back to Him, even though it failed. God said, “I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered” (Amos 4:7-8).  Is that your experience where you live?   It seems it rains to the South of us, just to the West of us, or just East of us or it clips us and just goes North of us.  That’s what Amos seems to be saying.  Despite these signs (judgments) the prophets proclaimed, Israel never did return to God, highlighting the people’s stubbornness. Today, are we any different than they were as a society?

A Tangible Reminder

Since drought is a divine judgment, it makes us reflect on the broader biblical theme of God’s sovereignty over creation and His use of natural phenomena to achieve His purposes. God can use evil for good (Gen 50:20; John 3:16), so even with all the bad around us, God is working all things together for those who are called by God and love God (Rom 8:28).  Believers should be at peace, even when the world is not.  Natural catastrophes should serve as a tangible reminder of the consequences of sin and the need for repentance, both on a personal level and a national level. Revival starts with each one of us. The withholding of rain, a vital resource for survival, underscores the utter dependence of humanity on God’s provision and the futility of relying on false gods or human strength to survive.  We are totally dependent upon God, but I’m not sure the world thinks that. The fact is, we cannot end droughts any more than we can create catastrophic floods.  God alone is sovereign over all things…meaning, we are not. He is God; we are His creation.

Choose Today

The concept of drought as a judgment of God is deeply rooted in the covenantal framework established between God and Israel. We read that in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. There, God outlines the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience, with drought being a prominent curse; perhaps the worst of fall. This covenantal context emphasizes the conditional nature of Israel’s relationship with God, where faithfulness leads to prosperity and rebellion results in hardship.  Do we really think that God would do any less with any other nation? Jesus warns people everywhere, as He would nations collectively, “Repent, or you will likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). We pray this nation repents…before it is too late and our King of kings returns to judge all nations with His rod of iron and scepter of Righteousness (Isaiah 2:4; Matt 25:31-46; Rev 11:18).

Conclusion

I pray you have put your trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If that has not happened yet, my friend, you are in real danger of hell fire. And I mean, in immediate danger. You’re one breath, one heartbeat…one accident away from eternity when it will be too late to repent. Today is the best day to believe (2 Cor 6:2) since tomorrow is no guarantee. If Jesus Christ came today, here is your fate (Matt 7:21-23). This is why I plead with you as you read this, repent today…and I mean right now. Put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you do not, you will face God’s judgment after death guaranteed (Heb 9:27) or at Jesus Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), which could happen at any moment.

Here is some related reading for you: Are Natural Disasters From God?

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Catastrophes, Divine Judgment, Drought, God's Judgment, last days