Disaster as Discipline

In Amos 3:6b we come across a rather surprising, troubling verse: "Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?" Within the series of rhetorical questions that Amos is asking his original audience, the obvious answer is no. No, disaster does not come to a city unless the LORD has done it. In short, God causes disaster. A rather disturbing thought.

In context, the point Amos is making is that the disaster coming to Israel would be God's doing. Israel was going to be judged by God for her sins. The disasters they were experiencing (drought and blight) and the coming disaster (the Assyrian invasion) were not merely the natural course of things; but rather, God's discipline meant to turn them from their sin. God was implementing the covenant curses to promote their repentance (see Lev. 26:14-46; Dt. 27:15-16; 28:15-68).

A significant part of the context for verse 6 is what follows in verse 7. "For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets." This seems to qualify the fact that God causes disaster. In other words, when God uses disaster to discipline his people, he warns them through his prophets and provides opportunities to repent. In Israel's case, God was warning them through the prophet Amos in approximately 760 B.C. of the coming judgment that would ultimately take place when the Assyrians conquered them in 722 B.C. The upshot is God always reveals his judgments to his prophets so that his underlying purpose - turning people back to him/condemning without excuse (depending on their response) - will be achieved.

A few other biblical texts also seem to qualify the fact that God causes disaster. First, in an especially fitting example from Isaiah 10, God referred to Assyria as his disciplining rod sent to spoil and plunder Israel. However, although they were commissioned by him to execute this judgment, God then turned around and punished the Assyrians for going beyond what he had intended - the Assyrians had it in their hearts to destroy (Isa. 10:5-7). Second, Lamentations 3:31-33 says, "For the LORD will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men." Third, the fact that Jesus rebukes (the same word is used when Jesus rebuked and drove out demons) the storm in Mark 4:39 suggests that not all disasters are God's doing (you do not rebuke a storm you caused in the first place). Lastly, in Luke 13:4-5 Jesus specifically corrects the mistaken assumption that every calamity is a direct punishment sent by God. In response to a tower that fell and killed eighteen people in Siloam, Jesus says, "do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you." To conclude, God does not cause every disaster. Therefore, prophetic discernment is necessary to interpret the events of history. My advice is that we intentionally avoid attributing a particular disaster to God unless he has specifically revealed to us ahead of time that he is going to do it (and then, of course, it is incumbent upon us to plead with people to repent).