Earthquakes and Riots

Friday 5/1/2015 4:36 AM

Last week there was a devastating earthquake in Nepal measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. Collapsing buildings, landslides, and avalanches killed thousands of people. Yesterday there was a small 3.6 earthquake in Carson, a nearby city. It reminds me that I live in an earthquake prone area where devastation can come without warning.

In the course of the last week there has also been rioting in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a young man who died while in police custody. Scores of people were injured, buildings and cars were burned, and businesses were looted. It reminds me of the rioting that occurred in the Los Angeles area in 1994 after the acquittal of the police officers who had beaten Rodney King. It reminds me that I live in an area of the country where social unrest and violence can come without warning.

Today I read Psalm 64 as part of my devotional reading. It begins with these words: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.” Isaiah then goes on to acknowledge the sin of God’s people. “All of us become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins. The chapter ends with these words, “Your sacred cities have become a wasteland; even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire, and all that we treasured lies in ruins. After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?”

The events occurring in Isaiah’s day seem to have been repeated in the past week in our modern world. The people of Israel do not have a corner on the shaking mountains, unclean people, and ruined cities market. We have the same bent. This realization can bring with it a sense of hopelessness and despair. Will things never change? Will God withhold his blessing from this world forever?

The hope for our world is hidden in Isaiah 64:3, “For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.” The earthquakes described at the beginning of the chapter are actually caused by God coming down and doing the unexpected, making his name known to his enemies. One would expect for God to come and wipe humanity off the face of the earth so he could start over. But, after giving us over to our sin for a time, God returns, not with judgment but with mercy. That is earthshattering news worth sharing.