Updated 26 Apr 2020. Originally published 21 Jul 2006.

I talked in a previous post about who sends calamity. Biblically, the answer is God. (If you want to debate that, please do it on that post, rather than this one.)

Naturally, the next question that follows is, “Why?”

While I don’t believe that we can necessarily know why God causes each and every individual event (and He doesn’t owe us an explanation!), we can know what some of the reasons are that God does these things, in general. How? By looking to the Scriptures to see why He has sent calamity in the past. (The following is not intended to be a comprehensive list.)

In the past, God has sent calamity to…

• bring about a blessing for someone else. (“Therefore understand today that the LORD your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has said to you.” – Deu. 9:3)
• prove the faith of a Saint. (See the entire book of Job, but especially chapters 1-2. Do not miss the second half of verse 2:3, “And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”)
• make known that He is the LORD. (“And they shall know that I am the LORD: I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them….So I will strech out My hand against them and make the land desolate, yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblah, in all their dwelling places. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.” -Ez. 6:10,14)
• bring His children to repentance. (“For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away: I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.” – Hos. 5:14-15)
• humble the proud. (“Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, ‘I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.'” – Is. 10:12)
• punish the wicked. (“Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people – the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words nor My law, but rejected it.” – Jer. 6:19″)