by John D Carmack

Created on: April 20, 2009

I have argued previously that God is sovereign over all and God uses things such as the recent state of the US economy to get our attention (see "What's God's Purpose for the Recession?. The US economy has become so weak and the devaluation of the dollar has gotten to such a point that many countries no longer want to use it as the world's reserve currency. There are consequences for our actions. "Every effect has a cause", as they say. We do reap what we sow. However, I also addressed the fact that sometimes things happen to righteous people, such as Job, or innocent bystanders like the examples Jesus used of Galilean worshipers being killed in the temple by Pilate and those who died at the collapse of the Tower of Siloam (Lk 13:1-5).

This last point is important to ponder. This passage was often used to criticize Pastor Danny Nalliah of Catch the Fire Ministries in Australia for stating that God was removing His protective hand from Australia because of abortion. It is easier to blame the state of the US and world economy upon human behavior. After all, economics is a human invention. Without the flow of money, we would be back to bartering. More than that, it is easy to point to pervasive foolishness and greed as the causes. God did not cause the greed of investors or banks. God did not cause the greed of Bernard Madoff. Does the same logic work for natural disasters? Can we identify the causes as being the result of God's judgment? And, if so, what does that mean exactly?

God Does Intervene When It Suits His Purpose

First of all, let's highlight the elephant in the room first. God has actively intervened in human affairs throughout history. We are told it was God, not an angel, who drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (Ge 3:23-24). God caused a worldwide flood in Noah's day to wipe most human life off of the face of the planet. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. What do all of these have in common? Sin. In the case of the Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah, we are told that the sin was "very great" or "very grievous" (Ge 6:5; 18:20). In both cases, we also see the cries of injustice reached God's ears.

Let us not forget, however, that God has also intervened at times to grant people favor. Yes, He punished the Canaanites by driving them out of the land, but He also granted favor to Israel by giving them the land. He granted favor to Queen Esther when Haman tried to exterminate the Jews. Time and time again, God showed favor to David while he was being chased

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