Australian Wildfires: ‘Acts of God’?

For almost three weeks, the Australian state of Victoria has been afflicted by a dozen bushfires. Over 400,000 hectares of land have been consumed; 289 homes and 500 other structures have burned to the ground.

• The Victoria Farmers Federation reports 20,000 head of sheep and cattle have burned to death or died choking in ash and dust. More than 1,000 farmers have been affected, and one died in the inferno.

Insurance companies classify many kinds of disasters as “acts of God.” Did the all-powerful, all-loving God of the Bible cause these flames to rip apart homes, decimate forests, and consume the lives of animals and men?

• The deadly fire at Longwood, north of Melbourne, was triggered by a spark from a trailer on the highway that ignited dry scrub on the roadside and quickly spread. With dry weather and strong winds prevailing, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen warned that the current fires could burn for “days if not weeks.”

As residents return to the charred remains of homes, some will undoubtedly ask, Where was God? In these moments, some even question God’s existence.

• But consider Amos 4:7: “And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.” The God of the Bible says that He causes drought. He can and will use “natural” disasters to reprimand mankind. God calls these acts curses! Yes, God curses people—even whole nations!

God uses the elements to carry out His will, as Psalm 148:8 states: “Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word.”

Why does God use the elements to afflict people? It isn’t out of some divine sadism. God is love. All He does is motivated by love. God allows these terrible events because our nations need hard, loving correction.

If blame must be placed, then it must be placed on us. We are bringing these disasters upon ourselves by breaking God’s physical and spiritual laws. God’s laws exist to show us the way to happy, full lives. Breaking those laws brings repercussions. It is a matter of cause and effect.

The only way God can get people to sit up, listen and repent is through punishment—correction!

Deuteronomy 28 is all about cause and effect. One memorable scripture perfectly encapsulates large parts of Australia: “And the heavens over your head shall be brass, and the earth under you shall be iron” (verse 23; Revised Standard Version). This is a curse for disobedience that applies directly to the Australian Outback.

Australia is a big country. We might have fires at one end, floods at another, and drought in between. Victoria is suffering fires and floods all at the same time.

But there is nothing natural about these “natural” disasters. As Australia and many other Western nations turn further from the laws of the Almighty, the intensity and frequency of such events will increase.

It does not have to be so! Just as there are effects for breaking God’s commandments, there are also effects for keeping them. The way to peace and prosperity, individually and nationally, can be found in the commandments of the Bible.

Read Why ‘Natural’ Disasters? and see for yourself how God can both close the heavens to punish and open them up to bless you with such abundance that you won’t even have room enough to receive it!