Every island fled away and mountains were not found. Great hail weighing as much as a talent [90 pounds] fell from heaven upon men, and men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since the plague of hail was so severe. Rev. 16:20, 21.
When natural disasters come, people always ask why. Usually there is no simple answer. But a major cause of natural disasters are actions we thought would be to our benefit. Something done from the highest of motivations may still have negative consequences.
"What I am trying to do is make the whole world safe for Jews," Harry Truman wrote as he wrestled over the decision whether or not to recognize a Jewish state in Palestine. Deeply affected by the Holocaust, the American president sympathized with Jewish aspirations for a homeland. In November 1947 he lobbied for a United Nations resolution that divided Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. Britain announced that it would hand authority over Palestine to the U.N. by May 14, 1948.
Secretary of State George Marshall advised against recognition. He warned Truman that Arab countries would unite in an attempt to destroy the Jews. On the eve of the British withdrawal he told the American leader that "the office of the president" was at stake. But Truman had made his mind up. At 4:00 p.m. on the fourteenth of May, David Ben-Gurion read a 979-word declaration of independence in front of a small audience at the Tel Aviv Art Museum. At midnight British rule over Palestine lapsed. Eleven minutes later the U.S. announced its recognition of Israel.
"God put you in your mother's womb," the chief rabbi of Israel later told Truman, "so you would be the instrument to bring the rebirth of Israel." With Truman's decision, the hopes of the Jewish people were realized, but so too were Marshall's fears. Arab opponents of the new nation immediately declared war, prompting a bloody struggle over Israel's existence that continues until this day.
The plagues at the end are horrible. In a perfect world God would never choose to destroy and devastate as described here. But this is not a perfect world. His people are in danger of destruction, and He intervenes to deliver them from end-time Babylon.
Like President Truman, God once faced a fateful decision. He could create beings programmed only to obey Him or He could fashion ones that were truly free. But free beings would be able to reject God and plunge the creation into great misery. It was a God-sized decision with pluses and minuses either way. The Lord chose freedom, and the rest is history. One day the universe will clearly see the the wisdom of His choice. For now we live with the unavoidable consequences.
Lord, thank You for the freedom we have to live and love and choose our way. Help me to freely choose the best way--the way that You designed me to go.
When natural disasters come, people always ask why. Usually there is no simple answer. But a major cause of natural disasters are actions we thought would be to our benefit. Something done from the highest of motivations may still have negative consequences.
"What I am trying to do is make the whole world safe for Jews," Harry Truman wrote as he wrestled over the decision whether or not to recognize a Jewish state in Palestine. Deeply affected by the Holocaust, the American president sympathized with Jewish aspirations for a homeland. In November 1947 he lobbied for a United Nations resolution that divided Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. Britain announced that it would hand authority over Palestine to the U.N. by May 14, 1948.
Secretary of State George Marshall advised against recognition. He warned Truman that Arab countries would unite in an attempt to destroy the Jews. On the eve of the British withdrawal he told the American leader that "the office of the president" was at stake. But Truman had made his mind up. At 4:00 p.m. on the fourteenth of May, David Ben-Gurion read a 979-word declaration of independence in front of a small audience at the Tel Aviv Art Museum. At midnight British rule over Palestine lapsed. Eleven minutes later the U.S. announced its recognition of Israel.
"God put you in your mother's womb," the chief rabbi of Israel later told Truman, "so you would be the instrument to bring the rebirth of Israel." With Truman's decision, the hopes of the Jewish people were realized, but so too were Marshall's fears. Arab opponents of the new nation immediately declared war, prompting a bloody struggle over Israel's existence that continues until this day.
The plagues at the end are horrible. In a perfect world God would never choose to destroy and devastate as described here. But this is not a perfect world. His people are in danger of destruction, and He intervenes to deliver them from end-time Babylon.
Like President Truman, God once faced a fateful decision. He could create beings programmed only to obey Him or He could fashion ones that were truly free. But free beings would be able to reject God and plunge the creation into great misery. It was a God-sized decision with pluses and minuses either way. The Lord chose freedom, and the rest is history. One day the universe will clearly see the the wisdom of His choice. For now we live with the unavoidable consequences.
Lord, thank You for the freedom we have to live and love and choose our way. Help me to freely choose the best way--the way that You designed me to go.
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