“The earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
… for they have transgressed the laws”
(Isaiah 24:4-5)
Both prophetic warnings and historical records in the Bible provide examples of natural catastrophes that were a direct result of divine judgment on people. When God told the Egyptians to let the people of Israel leave their country but they did not give in, God sent ten plagues: swarms of frogs, flies and locusts, water turned into blood, days of darkness, hailstorms, and so on. The land was completely destroyed till the Egyptian ruling class finally gave in.
When King Ahab and the people of Israel abandoned God’s commandments to serve idols, God withheld rain and dew for three and a half years. When the people turned back to the Lord, it rained again. When the Israelites were repeatedly unfaithful to God, He warned them that they would be exiled and their land would turn into a wilderness.
All these examples make clear that there is a spiritual side to natural disasters. Not all catastrophes are directly caused by God. But He is the Lord of creation and has the power to intervene in natural processes to accomplish His goals. Winds and waves obey Him — as do locusts, raindrops and viruses.
Are you aware of this connection between the natural and the spiritual world?