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The apparent silence of God over the past 20+ years has intrigued me. I wonder why?
As I pondered the question, I was reminded of how God revealed himself in the Old Testament books of the Bible.
For example, before the release of the Jewish people from Egypt, God told Moses to tell the Pharaoh to expect (what we would call) natural disasters to occur.
God spoke to a man (in this case, a male) who conveyed the message to the Pharaoh.
Frogs
If you refuse to release them, I’m warning you, I’ll hit the whole country with frogs.
The Nile will swarm with frogs – they’ll come up into your houses, into your bedrooms and into your beds, into your servants’ quarters, among the people, into your ovens and pots and pans.
They’ll be all over you, all over everyone – frogs everywhere, on and in everything!'”
Exodus 8:2-4 The Message
Gnats
God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and strike the dust. The dust will turn into gnats all over Egypt.'”
He did it. Aaron grabbed his staff and struck the dust of the Earth; it turned into gnats, gnats all over people and animals. All the dust of the Earth turned into gnats, gnats everywhere in Egypt.
Exodus 8:16-17 The Message
Flies
If you don’t release my people, I’ll release swarms of flies on you, your servants, your people, and your homes. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground under their feet will be thick with flies.
Exodus 8:21 The Message
Animal Disease
I’m giving you fair warning: God will come down hard on your livestock out in the fields – horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep – striking them with a severe disease.
Exodus 9:3
A pandemic
God said to Moses and Aaron, “Take fistfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses throw it into the air right before Pharaoh’s eyes;
it will become a film of fine dust all over Egypt and cause sores, an eruption of boils on people and animals throughout Egypt.”
So they took soot from a furnace, stood in front of Pharaoh, and threw it up into the air. It caused boils to erupt on people and animals.
Exodus 9:9-10 The Message
An act of nature
So here’s what’s going to happen: At this time tomorrow I’m sending a terrific hailstorm – there’s never been a storm like this in Egypt from the day of its founding until now.
Exodus 9:18 The Message
Insect invasion
If you refuse to release my people, watch out; tomorrow I’m bringing locusts into your country.
They’ll cover every square inch of ground; no one will be able to see the ground. They’ll devour everything left over from the hailstorm, even the saplings out in the fields – they’ll clear-cut the trees.
And they’ll invade your houses, filling the houses of your servants, filling every house in Egypt. Nobody will have ever seen anything like this, from the time your ancestors first set foot on this soil until today.'” Then he turned on his heel and left Pharaoh.
Exodus 10:5-6 The Message
Darkness
God said to Moses: “Stretch your hand to the skies. Let darkness descend on the land of Egypt – a darkness so dark you can touch it.”
Moses stretched out his hand to the skies. Thick darkness descended on the land of Egypt for three days.
Exodus 10:22 The Message
Plague
Then Moses confronted Pharaoh: “God’s Message: ‘At midnight I will go through Egypt and every firstborn child in Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl working at her hand mill. Also the firstborn of animals.
Widespread wailing will erupt all over the country, lament such as has never been and never will be again.
Exodus 11:5-6 The Message
Why is this important?
Consider how these events would be looked at if they happened today. Do you suppose people would consider them acts of God or nature?
Before the events unfolded, Moses spoke to the children of Israel. God said to tell them they would know he is their God.
I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Exodus 6:7 The New King James Version
However, the God-acts that followed did not convince them that he was God. In that case, you could say that (even back then) they considered the events acts of nature, which is how they would be perceived today—(sadly) even by some within the church structure.
The Exodus story shows God was:
Orchestrating the events,
speaking through his servant to validate where they were coming from,
how he uses nature to accomplish his plans and,
could be confused as natural events.
God holds humanity with an open-hand—he always has.
In the Garden of Eden, he told them not to eat fruit from certain trees, but he did not block the path to the trees.
Being made in God’s image and likeness means (in part) having the ability to choose. Just as in the garden, the wrong choice was made, so in the Exodus, the wrong choice was made.
The exodus events were NOT acts of nature but acts of God.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change states, “The number of disasters has increased by a factor of five over the 50-year period.” Climate change and improved reporting are cited as the reasons.
Is it possible climate change is the rational name for acts of God today?
I think the answer is yes.
Remember, humanity has the freedom of choice.
Is it possible God is not silent today but speaking through acts of nature, as he did in the Old Testament book of Exodus?
I believe the answer is yes.
Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries.
Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end.
This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says – powerful words! The Son Is Higher than Angels
far higher than any angel in rank and rule.
Hebrews 1:1-4 The Message
Jesus spoke about the end of the age, including natural (earthquakes) and man-made (famines) disasters.
Although God may not be speaking as he did in Old Testament times, Jesus (God the Son) has talked about the end of the age.
To answer the question, is God silent?
I do not think so.
I think he is speaking loud and clear (to those choosing to listen) through the words of his Son Jesus.
Jesus is returning.
A close personal relationship with the Godhead provides you a living hope. It is a living anticipation full of expectation of something good happening.
A close personal relationship with the Godhead is a journey. I invite you to follow along. As I learn, I will pass it along so you, too, can learn. I hope that as you learn, you can pass it along so that I (and others) might learn.
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