Does God Use Weather as a Sign?

“Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.  Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call unto the LORD, and He shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.”  I Samuel 12:16-17

The people of Israel had asked for a human king.  God accommodated them in allowing Saul to become their ruler.  I can picture all eyes on Saul as he stood tall and likely proudly because of his victory over Nahash and the Ammonites, although he did attribute the victory to the LORD (11:13).  I can also picture the faces of the people as they glowed with admiration for and pride in their new king.  I suppose they were likely thinking in their minds that their desire for a human king was the right call.  Sometimes a great victory can tend to make one prideful and overconfident of his or her decisions and desires.

Samuel, God’s prophet, likely detected an air of arrogance and pride among those gathered to celebrate the new king, and thus he gave a warning to them, as had other prophets and judges before him.  The thrust of Samuel’s warning was a firm reminder that even though Israel had their desired king, God was still their ultimate King.  It was to the LORD God of Israel to whom Israel would be held accountable.  It was the LORD of whom they should reverence and fear, serve and obey.  This accountability applied to Saul also.  He would answer to God as to how he governed God’s chosen nation.  Neither Saul nor the people of Israel were to ever rebel against the LORD’s commandments.  As long as they were obedient, God would give them the grace to continue following Him.  Matthew Henry wrote: “To those that are sincere in their religion God will give grace to persevere in it: those that follow God faithfully will be divinely strengthened to continue following Him.  And observe, Following God is a work that is its own wages.”

Since honoring and obeying the LORD brought a great promise of blessing to Israel, the reverse was also true.  To rebel and disobey God and His commandments would cause Him to bring judgment upon them.  Generation after generation of God’s people for over 1,000 years had received this warning yet they continued to repeat the cycle of obedience, then disobedience, punishment, repentance, forgiveness, and then would begin the cycle over and over again.  All they had to do was look back at their own history to see that God was true to His word, yet sin has a mighty draw that folks on their own can’t resist.  This is why Jesus had to suffer and die to provide a means of escape from the vicious cycle of sin which dominates mankind.  Samuel knew that men and women are born with a rebellious streak within their heart, and how easy it is to become complacent even with the best intentions to obey God.

In order to emphasize his warning, Samuel called on God to present a sign that would illustrate the truth of His words.  I recall how the self-righteous religious leaders asked Jesus for a sign several times to prove that He was who He said He was, the Son of God (Matthew 12:38;16:1).  Signs were also given in the Old Testament times as proof of God’s missions for those he chose to do great works:  Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), Gideon and the dew on the fleece (Judges 6:37-40), and Hezekiah and the sundial (II Kings 20:9).  Who can argue with a miraculous sign from heaven?  Notice that all of these signs used an element of nature.  Matter of fact, the very first display of judgment by God was a tremendous flood, but He did promise never to destroy the entire world by a flood again (Genesis 9:15).

Samuel warned the people that he was going to call on the LORD to send thunder and rain upon Israel.  While thunder and rain were not unusual events, they were unusual at this time of the year, harvest time, when it was normally dry enabling the grain to be gathered.  The purpose in Samuel’s calling for this sign was to emphasize the wickedness that dwelt in the heart of each individual that caused each one to reject the LORD in calling for a human king.  As stated before, the people were proud of their decision to demand a king, but God was displeased with their behavior and their attitude.  However, in all ages, God has had and still has a remnant of folks who are zealous for His honor and glory and who remain under His care and protection, but who were and are in the minority.  Being few in number, God’s loyal followers are subject to experience events related to God’s judgment.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:45 that God “sends rain on the just and the unjust”, a result of living in a sin-cursed world.

God did send the thunder and rain that day which put the fear of God into the hearts of God’s people.  They understood that they had committed sin in asking God for a king, but Samuel encouraged them to fear the LORD and serve Him with all of their heart.  He promised to pray for them and teach them how to live righteously, but again warned them of the consequences of disobedience.  This event causes me to ask the question concerning what the secular world calls “climate change”:  is it possible that the floods, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, relenting heat, and extreme cold that has seemed to be increasing as of the last few years are warnings and/or judgments from the Lord?  If God used elements of nature in ancient times to warn folks concerning their sinful behavior, is it not logical that He might still use these same methods today?  Something to think about.