Tsunamis and Sin: Get the Connection
By David T. E. S. Cooke
January 18, 2005
On December 26th, 2004, a deadly disaster struck the Indian Ocean region. A magnitude nine earthquake set off a catastrophic tsunami destroying life and property in twelve countries. It is estimated that over 160,000 people lost their lives.
The magnitude of this tragedy staggers the mind. The sudden death and destruction is shocking - even terrifying. Men, women, and children everywhere are searching for answers. Why did this happen? Was it preventable? Will it happen again?
In a chabad.org article, one writer offers an explanation of the tsunami disaster.1 She writes that the tsunami gives us a new "awareness of our inner connectedness." The grief and sorrow we all feel cuts apart the divisions that separate mankind and, thus, "our fundamental unity rises to the surface." We can see that, in this tsunami, "G-d's all-pervading unity has penetrated through the dividing circumstances of our lives to reveal our unified essence."
This is an articulate hypothesis, but is it accurate? Was this disaster some divine attempt to force a human bonding experience? I agree that suffering is a leveller; but is that the main point of this tragedy? Couldn't we argue that the West needs levelling more than the impoverished, third-world region hit hardest by this tsunami? Also, can we really put the blame on God's shoulders for such horror, loss, and heartache?
We need to trace the root cause of this tsunami. Why is God's world capable of producing such violent natural disasters? Why is God's creation prone to suffering in such bloody and cruel extremes? For the only answers that count, we must turn to God's Word on the matter - we must hear what God Himself has said in the Bible.
Right in the beginning, when God created this universe, everything was good - "very good" in fact (Genesis 1:31). There was no suffering, disease, or death. Man and his world existed in harmony with God. There were no tsunamis. (Isn't that the way it should be?)
However, in Genesis 3:17-19, we read some very hard words from the Almighty:
Then to Adam He said…'Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return. |
This is one of the most important passages in the whole Bible for those who want to understand the world we live in today. Ours is not the same world as we find in Genesis 1:31. God has said, "Cursed is the ground for your sake." This is a cursed world. The ground, the earth, the plants, the trees, the animals, and the people have all fallen under God's wrath. As the New Covenant Scriptures put it, "the creation was subjected to futility"; it is in "the bondage of corruption" (Romans 8:20,21). There is now a self-destructive principle latent in all things.
Why is this so? What set off the curse of God? Well, the answer is remarkably simple - man had sinned against God. Human sin was the culprit, and it is because of sin that chaos has been introduced into a once-harmonious universe. God told Adam, "Because you…have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': Cursed is the ground for your sake…" (Genesis 3:17).
When we look at the recent tsunami and all the destruction it has wrought, when we see the loss of life and property, we are witness to the chaotic effects of human sin on this world. Adam's sin instigated a cruel chain of events that has destabilized the whole course of nature. Tsunamis, tornadoes, volcanoes, avalanches, as well as every other natural disaster, are all very normal consequences.
Who is to blame? Certainly Adam and Eve are. But, it isn't just them. It's us, too! As heirs of Adam's sin, and as perpetuators of the same sinful choices, all mankind - past, present, and future - is also to blame! The curse continues - and will continue - that is, until the Last Day.
On the Last Day, the Bible tells us, "the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:21). Creation will be gloriously renewed. On that happy day, "God will wipe away every tear…there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying" (Revelation 21:4). There will be a new earth - a new creation. God promised this in Isaiah 65:17-19:
For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying. |
God's curse will be lifted one day! The chaotic effects of human sin will be undone!
However, there is a price to be paid - an inestimable price. The wrath of God must be satisfied and the sum total of our sins remitted. How can we achieve this?! Only the Messiah is able! In fact, this is exactly what the Messiah has done! Yeshua, through His suffering and sacrifice on the Tree, bore the curse of God and took away our sins (Galatians 3:13).
And so, now, as the New Covenant teaches, "if anyone is in Christ [Messiah], he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (1 Corinthians 5:17). By acknowledging our sins and relying upon the work of Yeshua, we become a part of God's glorious new creation. We will see an end to the corruption all around us.
The recent tsunami is a shocking tragedy. The loss of over 160,000 lives is catastrophic. As the Bible explains, we are witnessing the chaotic effects of human sin on this world. This is not the way it should be! However, in Messiah Yeshua, we have the answer! In Messiah Yeshua, all things shall become new!
References
1 http://www.chabad.org/magazine/article.asp?AID=249090
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