Natural Disasters and Hazards

“Ah, Edom, I’m dropping you to last place among nations,
   the bottom of the heap, kicked around.
You think you’re so great—
   strutting across the stage of history,
Living high in the impregnable rocks,
   acting like king of the mountain.
You think you’re above it all, don’t you,
   like an eagle in its aerie?
Well, you’re headed for a fall.
   I’ll bring you crashing to the ground.” God’s Decree. Jeremiah 49:15-16 (MSG)

I, along with the rest of the world, watched with fascination over the weekend as Japan struggled with the aftermath of the strongest earthquake recorded in that country and the subsequent tsunami. I thought back to my post from Jeremiah 47. I guess I could add another bullet point to my list of doomsday predictions.

The events of the previous few days came to mind as I read this morning’s chapter. There’s a big difference between healthy skepticism when people are quick to proclaim “the end of the world” and blind arrogance about our own personal safety and well-being.

In Jeremiah’s day, the people of Edom lived in caves in tall cliffs. It was almost impossible for armies to successfully lay seige to the area. The people of Edom, therefore, felt a strong sense of security. “No one can touch us up here in our caves,” they said to themselves. Thus, Jeremiah’s prophesy reminded them that they should watch it with the big head. And, so should we. We may never live to the end of the world, but it quite possible that we’ll see the end of many things as we’ve known them.

I try not too worry too much about tomorrow. Today has plenty of worries of its own. Still, reading Jeremiah’s words and watching the news feed out of Japan remind me not to put too much security in the things of this world. A tsunami of events might just wash them all away on a moments notice.

All the farm work has stopped.
Not a drop of rain has fallen.
The farmers don’t know what to do.
They wring their hands, they shake their heads.
Jeremiah 14:4 (MSG)

Growing up in Iowa, even when you grow up in the city, you can’t help but feel the effects of agriculture. It becomes a part of you. I remember summers of intense drought, when farmers and small communities gather to pray for rain. I remember during one harsh summer a small Iowa community held a prayer service and a small rain cloud appeared on the horizon and dropped a small amount of rain on the fields. Our local television station reported the event in a crawling message across the bottom of the television screen.

I also remember years of flooding, when entire sections of farm land were washed out. In 1993, virtually every able bodied citizen pitched in somewhere along the endless number of sand bag dikes to try and hold back the torrential flood waters of the flood that our generation will always remember as “the big one.”

When your livelihood is linked to the land, I believe there is a greater appreciation for the forces of nature that lie completely outside your control. Because of that, there is a more keen sense that everything you have and everything you hope for lies in the hands of God. In that way, I have to believe that the farmers of Jeremiah’s day were no different than the farmers of today.

Jeremiah’s prophecy carefully chronicles the effects of God’s wrath on every level of society. He records not only the reactions of the powerful temple priests and officials in Jerusalem, but also the farmers in the fields.

Every one is welcome to partake of God’s gracious salvation. No one is excused from God’s judgment.