The question comes up time and again about God’s judgment of nations whenever there is a natural disaster : does God judge nations or people groups for their gross wickedness?
God appears to have done so in the Old Covenant times. My friend Carol gave a very good point when she said that was all about God protecting His chosen people—the nation called Israel.
But now it’s different. Those who are Christ’s from every nation have a New Covenant for the people of God whether Jew of Gentile and there is no correlation now with the nations identified in the Old Testament story.
Terrible things continue to happen in this world. And the number of terrible things we experience or read/hear about almost daily seem to be increasing. A few days ago Vanuatu has just been devastated by the worst kind of cyclone leaving tens of thousands homeless and crops ruined. Did they deserve it more than Brisbane and the Gold Coast? Of course not.
After Tornado Katrina hit New Orleans, USA, there were those who proclaimed this was God’s judgment on the wickedness in that locality. Yet Bourbon St –where bars, clubs, and brothels abound and where “the party never stops” was left untouched. Does the Almighty need a lesson in where to aim His wrath? Of course not.
No. If there is such a thing as God judging a people group the question can only be answered by a specific word from the Lord and not from the mouth of self-proclaimed prophets.
We do read of judgment in the Old Testament scriptures, but an announcement from God always preceded the awful events.
So we turn to Jesus for the answer—as we always must do! And he was asked about such a situation recorded in Luke 13: “those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Ian Thomson 