Why Drought

melvin collins

The Unseen At Work • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Ephesians 6:10–17

False gods

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The ancient gods is at it again.

Notes

Transcript

Drought, physical

Synopsis

Drought arises through the absence of rain, leading to severe hardship for those who are affected by it.

Drought may be a sign of God’s displeasure

Dt 11:17

Deuteronomy 11:17 (NKJV) — 17 lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

See also Dt 28:22–24; 2 Sa 1:21; 1 Ki 17:1; Ps 107:33–34; Is 5:6; Is 5:13; Je 2:2–3; Je 14:1–6; Je 50:38; Eze 22:23–24; Am 4:7; Hag 1:11; Jas 5:17

Deuteronomy 28:22–24 (NKJV) — 22 The Lord will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

2 Samuel 1:21 (NKJV) — 21 “O mountains of Gilboa, Let there be no dew nor rain upon you, Nor fields of offerings. For the shield of the mighty is cast away there! The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

1 Kings 17:1 (NKJV) — 1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”

Psalm 107:33–34 (NKJV) — 33 He turns rivers into a wilderness, And the watersprings into dry ground; 34 A fruitful land into barrenness, For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

Isaiah 5:6 (NKJV) — 6 I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it.”

Isaiah 5:13 (NKJV) — 13 Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst.

Jeremiah 2:2–3 (NKJV) — 2 “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown. 3 Israel was holiness to the Lord, The firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; Disaster will come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”

Jeremiah 14:1–6 (NKJV) — 1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts. 2 “Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They mourn for the land, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up. 3 Their nobles have sent their lads for water; They went to the cisterns and found no water. They returned with their vessels empty; They were ashamed and confounded And covered their heads. 4 Because the ground is parched, For there was no rain in the land, The plowmen were ashamed; They covered their heads. 5 Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field, But left because there was no grass. 6 And the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights; They sniffed at the wind like jackals; Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”

Jeremiah 50:38 (NKJV) — 38 A drought is against her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is the land of carved images, And they are insane with their idols.

Ezekiel 22:23–24 (NKJV) — 23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’

Amos 4:7 (NKJV) — 7 “I also withheld rain from you, When there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, And where it did not rain the part withered.

Haggai 1:11 (NKJV) — 11 For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

James 5:17 (NKJV) — 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.

The response of believers to drought

It tests their faith

1 Ki 17:7; Hab 3:17–18

1 Kings 17:7 (NKJV) — 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

Habakkuk 3:17–18 (NKJV) — 17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— 18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

See also Dt 8:15; Is 41:17; Is 48:20–21; Je 2:5–6; Ho 13:5

Deuteronomy 8:15 (NKJV) — 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock;

Isaiah 41:17 (NKJV) — 17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

Isaiah 48:20–21 (NKJV) — 20 Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, Declare, proclaim this, Utter it to the end of the earth; Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!” 21 And they did not thirst When He led them through the deserts; He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them; He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.

Jeremiah 2:5–6 (NKJV) — 5 Thus says the Lord: “What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters? 6 Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And where no one dwelt?’

Hosea 13:5 (NKJV) — 5 I knew you in the wilderness, In the land of great drought.

It gives opportunity to help others

Ac 11:28–29

Acts 11:28–29 (NKJV) — 28 Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.

See also Ge 41:56–57; 1 Ki 17:9; 1 Ki 18:1–4

Genesis 41:56–57 (NKJV) — 56 The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. 57 So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

1 Kings 17:9 (NKJV) — 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

1 Kings 18:1–4 (NKJV) — 1 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. 4 For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)

Rain is a sign of God’s general favour or of his forgiveness

His general favour

Ac 14:17

Acts 14:17 (NKJV) — 17 Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

See also Ge 27:28; Job 5:10; Job 38:25–28; Ps 65:9–10; Ps 147:8; Je 5:24; Je 14:22; Mt 5:45

Genesis 27:28 (NKJV) — 28 Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine.

Job 5:10 (NKJV) — 10 He gives rain on the earth, And sends waters on the fields.

Job 38:25–28 (NKJV) — 25 “Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt, 26 To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, A wilderness in which there is no man; 27 To satisfy the desolate waste, And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass? 28 Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

Psalm 65:9–10 (NKJV) — 9 You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. 10 You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth.

Psalm 147:8 (NKJV) — 8 Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

Jeremiah 5:24 (NKJV) — 24 They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the Lord our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”

Jeremiah 14:22 (NKJV) — 22 Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait for You, Since You have made all these.

Matthew 5:45 (NKJV) — 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

His response to repentance

Joe 2:12; Joe 2:23

Joel 2:12 (NKJV) — 12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”

Joel 2:23 (NKJV) — 23 Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you— The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month.

See also Le 26:3–4

Leviticus 26:3–4 (NKJV) — 3 ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

His response to prayer

Jas 5:18

James 5:18 (NKJV) — 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

See also 1 Ki 8:35–36; 1 Ki 18:36–46; Zec 10:1

1 Kings 8:35–36 (NKJV) — 35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

1 Kings 18:36–46 (NKJV) — 36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there. 41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” 44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ” 45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Zechariah 10:1 (NKJV) — 1 Ask the Lord for rain In the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone.

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