2 Tim 3.16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The LORD: the Author of Calamity

The LORD brings calamity to nations and peoples.

As I asserted in the Introduction, a necessary result of the LORD’s sovereignty is that He must also be the LORD of calamity.

The LORD can’t be sovereign if there are events outside His direct intentions; chapter 1 of this series made that point very clear from the Scriptures. The purpose of this chapter is to detail from the Scripture the equally clear point that the LORD is the author of calamity.

Most frequently calamity is inflicted upon the lives of large groups of people (anything from cities to nations); however, there are also numerous examples of calamity brought into the life of a single person.

[The account of Job is a remarkable example of the LORD’s sovereignty; an entire chapter is devoted to it.]

This is very different from the LORD’s discipline of His people, one of the ways He uses to bring them to maturity.

[The Scripture is very clear that the LORD cleanses and matures those who are His own people with the process of discipline:

Heb 12.7-8
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

The discipline of the Christian and biblical calamity are very different.

  • The purpose of the discipline is the continuing growth and maturity of the LORD’s people.
  • The purpose of calamity is to demonstrate the LORD’s wrath upon sin and disobedience.

There are occasions when the LORD’s people are “caught” in the middle of a large-scale catastrophe (for lack of a better term). Based on the following powerful text, it must be true that in their case:

Rom 8.28
And we have come to know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

They may be collaterally involved in a calamity but the LORD made a promise to His people that whatever happens “works together” for their good and will not overcome them (1 Cor 10.13).

It is very important to note that the lost do not share this gracious promise; for them, the calamity is what they deserve as rebellious sinners under the LORD’s wrath.]

No group of people is beyond the LORD’s reach; this has been true throughout all time. The LORD is equally sovereign over the largest and most powerful human nation the world has seen (or ever will see) as He is over any single individual.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide numerous examples of His power over nations.

Isa 45.6-7
That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.

There are two main sections in this chapter:

  1. The LORD’s national dealings with the most obstinate and rebellious people ever seen, the ancient Jews.
  2. The LORD’s national dealings with other nations.

 


1. The LORD’s national dealings with Israel.

As you review the references below, remember that these warnings and calamities occurred over multiple centuries! OT history shows the ancient Jews to be the most stubborn of all the peoples of the planet, especially given the privilege they enjoyed as the LORD’s chosen people!

[EDIT Feb 2019: A new article, The Day of the LORD, contains a detailed description of what will occur in and with national Israel in the future.]

 


The calamity inflicted on ancient Israel by the LORD for their consistent and unbroken record of rebellion.

Of all the calamity brought about by the LORD’s hand against national sins, the ancient Jews stand out as the single, largest recipient.

No other nation mentioned in the Scripture approaches the scope of the obstinance and disobedience of the ancient Jews.

The LORD chose them as His people beginning with Abram approximately 1921 BC.

[Refer to excellent The Chronology of the Old Testament by Dr. Floyd Nolen Jones, Appendix F, pg 278: Abram’s birth in 1996 BC less his age when called (75) yields 1921 BC.]

For the next 1991 years (1921 BC to 70 AD, the date of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans), national Israel’s record shows one consistent, unbroken rebellion against its LORD.

[There were brief glimmers of national righteousness under Joshua and King David; but even these proved shallow, given how quickly it vanished after the death of these two strong leaders.]

Remember that Israel stubbornly maintained their idolatry even during the Exodus when the LORD performed incredible works of power for them:

Amo 5.25-26
Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.

 


The LORD used calamity against a rebellious Israel.

Lev 18.24-28
Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you.

Lev 26.16
I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up.

Num 14.35
I, the LORD, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.

Num 32.13
So the LORD’S anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed.

Deu 1.35
Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers,

Deu 28.59
then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses.

Deu 30.15
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;

Deu 31.17
Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?’

Deu 31.29
For I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days, for you will do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands.”

Deu 32.23
I will heap misfortunes on them;
I will use My arrows on them.

Jos 23.15
It shall come about that just as all the good words which the LORD your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

Jdg 2.15
Wherever they went, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken and as the LORD had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

Jdg 3.12
Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

Jdg 6.1
Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD gave them into the hands of Midian seven years.

Jdg 9.23
Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

Jdg 9.56
Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers.

Jdg 9.57
Also God returned all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them.

1 Sam 12.17
Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that He may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the LORD by asking for yourselves a king.

2 Kin 21.12
therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.

2 Kin 22.16,20
thus says the LORD, “Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. ... Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”’” So they brought back word to the king.

2 Chr 7.22
And they will say, ‘Because they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them from the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this adversity on them.’

2 Chr 34.24,28
thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. ... Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.”’” And they brought back word to the king.

2 Chr 36.15-17
The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy. Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand.

Neh 13.18
Did not your fathers do the same, so that our God brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath.

Psa 78.32-36
In spite of all this they still sinned
And did not believe in His wonderful works.
So He brought their days to an end in futility
And their years in sudden terror.
When He killed them, then they sought Him,
And returned and searched diligently for God;
And they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
But they deceived Him with their mouth
And lied to Him with their tongue.

Psa 90.15
Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have seen evil.

Psa 94.23
He has brought back their wickedness upon them
And will destroy them in their evil;
The LORD our God will destroy them.

Isa 31.2
Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster
And does not retract His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers
And against the help of the workers of iniquity.

Isa 65.12
I will destine you for the sword,
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter.
Because I called, but you did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not hear.
And you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”

Isa 66.4
So I will choose their punishments
And will bring on them what they dread.
Because I called, but no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
And they did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”

Jer 1.14
Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land."
[This also included other nations and peoples living in the same region.]

Jer 2.19
“Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your apostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter
For you to forsake the LORD your God,
And the dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

Jer 4.6
Lift up a standard toward Zion!
Seek refuge, do not stand still,
For I am bringing evil from the north,
And great destruction.

Jer 4.18
Your ways and your deeds
Have brought these things to you.
This is your evil. How bitter!
How it has touched your heart!”

Jer 6.19
Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The fruit of their plans,
Because they have not listened to My words,
And as for My law, they have rejected it also.
[This also included other nations and peoples living in the same region.]

Jer 7.12
But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

Jer 11.8
Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.

Jer 11.11-12
Therefore thus says the LORD, “Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they surely will not save them in the time of their disaster.

Jer 11.17
The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me by offering up sacrifices to Baal.

Jer 11.23
and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth—the year of their punishment.
[The Jews of Anathoth were specifically singled out for their threats against Jeremiah.]

Jer 13.10
This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless.

Jer 14.16
The people also to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters—for I will pour out their own wickedness on them.

Jer 15.8
Their widows will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,
A destroyer at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Anguish and dismay.

Jer 16.10
Now when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘For what reason has the Lord declared all this great calamity against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against the Lord our God?’

Jer 18.11
So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds.”’

Jer 18.17
Like an east wind I will scatter them Before the enemy; I will show them My back and not My face In the day of their calamity.

Jer 19.1-9
Thus says the LORD, "Go and buy a potter's earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests. Then go out to the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the potsherd gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you, and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Behold I am about to bring a calamity upon this place, at which the ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle. Because they have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind; therefore, behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter. I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will give over their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. I will also make this city a desolation and an object of hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its disasters. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life will distress them."'

Jer 19.15,25
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words.’” … Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words.’

Jer 21.10
For I have set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the LORD. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire.”’

Jer 23.12
“Therefore their way will be like slippery paths to them,
They will be driven away into the gloom and fall down in it;
For I will bring calamity upon them,
The year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.

Jer 23.17
They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace”’; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’

Jer 24.9
‘I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places where I will scatter them.
[Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials during the ministry of Jeremiah]

Jer 25.7
“Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the LORD, “in order that you might provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm."

Jer 25.29
For behold, I am beginning to work calamity in this city which is called by My name, and shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment; for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the Lord of hosts.’

Jer 26.3,13,19
‘Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them because of the evil of their deeds.’ ... Now therefore amend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will change His mind about the misfortune which He has pronounced against you. ... Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put [the prophet Micah of Moresheth] to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and the LORD changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against ourselves.”

Jer 28.8
The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence.

Jer 32.23
They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made all this calamity come upon them.

Jer 32.42
“For thus says the LORD, ‘Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them.'"

Jer 35.17
“Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”

Jer 36.3
Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in order that every man will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

Jer 36.31
I will also punish [Jehoiakim king of Judah] and his descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I will bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.

Jer 39.16
“Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.'"

Jer 40.2
Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “The Lord your God promised this calamity against this place;

Jer 42.10
If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you.

Jer 42.17
So all the men who set their mind to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence; and they will have no survivors or refugees from the calamity that I am going to bring on them.

Jer 44.2-3
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ruins and no one lives in them, because of their wickedness which they committed so as to provoke Me to anger by continuing to burn sacrifices and to serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers.'"

Jer 44.11
Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to set My face against you for woe, even to cut off all Judah.

Jer 44.20,23
Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women—even to all the people who were giving him such an answer—saying, ..."Because you have burned sacrifices and have sinned against the Lord and not obeyed the voice of the Lord or walked in His law, His statutes or His testimonies, therefore this calamity has befallen you, as it has this day.”

Jer 44.27,29
Behold, I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will meet their end by the sword and by famine until they are completely gone. ... This will be the sign to you,’ declares the LORD, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for harm.’

Jer 46.21
Also her mercenaries in her midst Are like fattened calves, For even they too have turned back and have fled away together; They did not stand their ground. For the day of their calamity has come upon them, The time of their punishment.
[This took place after Nebchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, and the remnant disobeyed the LORD and moved to Egypt.]

Eze 5.16-17
‘When I send against them the deadly arrows of famine which were for the destruction of those whom I will send to destroy you, then I will also intensify the famine upon you and break the staff of bread. Moreover, I will send on you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you of children; plague and bloodshed also will pass through you, and I will bring the sword on you. I, the LORD, have spoken.’”

Eze 6.10
Then they will know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them.

Eze 7.5
Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘A disaster, unique disaster, behold it is coming!

Eze 7.24
‘Therefore, I will bring the worst of the nations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the pride of the strong ones cease, and their holy places will be profaned.

Eze 14.15,21-22
If I were to cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the beasts, ... For thus says the Lord GOD, “How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts and plague to cut off man and beast from it! Yet, behold, survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come forth to you and you will see their conduct and actions; then you will be comforted for the calamity which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it.

Dan 9.12-14
Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

Hos 9.15
All their evil is at Gilgal;
Indeed, I came to hate them there!
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of My house!
I will love them no more;
All their princes are rebels.

Hos 10.15
Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut off.

Amo 4.6-7,9-12
"But I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places, yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD. "Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you while there were still three months until harvest. Then I would send rain on one city and on another city I would not send rain; one part would be rained on, while the part not rained on would dry up. ... "I smote you with scorching wind and mildew; and the caterpillar was devouring your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees; yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD. I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt; I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses, and I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils; yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD. "I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze; yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD. "Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel."

Amo 6.3
Do you put off the day of calamity, And would you bring near the seat of violence?

Amo 9.4
And though they go into captivity before their enemies,
From there I will command the sword that it slay them,
And I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good.

Amo 9.10
All the sinners of My people will die by the sword, Those who say, ‘The calamity will not overtake or confront us.’

Oba 1.13
Do not enter the gate of My people
In the day of their disaster.
Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity
In the day of their disaster.
And do not loot their wealth
In the day of their disaster.

Mic 1.12
For the inhabitant of Maroth
Becomes weak waiting for good,
Because a calamity has come down from the LORD
To the gate of Jerusalem.

Mic 2.3
Therefore thus says the Lord,
“Behold, I am planning against this family a calamity
From which you cannot remove your necks;
And you will not walk haughtily, For it will be an evil time.

Mic 3.11
Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe,
Her priests instruct for a price
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord saying,
“Is not the Lord in our midst?
Calamity will not come upon us.”

Hab 1.6;2.8
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs. ... Because you have looted many nations, all the remainder of the peoples will loot you—because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, to the town and all its inhabitants.

Hag 1.11
I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.

Zec 8.10
For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another.

Zec 12.1-3
The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel.
Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.

Just in case some of my readers want to say at this point:

“But Dave, all these are OT texts; that was the time of Law, not grace! We’ll grant that the LORD of the OT certainly used calamity, but that time has passed. Ours is the time of grace.”

Along with most of what calls itself "Christianity" today, the thinking responsible for the expression above is filled with error! Anytime your "theology" of the LORD of the OT brings you into "supposed conflict" with the God of the NT, you need to humbly repent before the ONE Lord, the Almighty. Remember:

Mal 3.6
For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

Heb 13.8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Consider these words of the Lord Christ at the end of His ministry of grace among the Jews, spoken in the Parable of the Land Owner:

Mat 21.42-43
Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,
‘The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone;
This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.

These words would be fulfilled with devastating power in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans:

Mat 23.33-38
You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?
Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!

In approximately 55 AD, the Apostle Paul quotes from a few OT texts:

Rom 11.7-10
What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written,
God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,
Down to this very day.”
And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
Let their eyes be darkened to see not,
And bend their backs forever.”

He makes the point that the conditions mentioned in these OT Scriptures centuries before still applied to the Israel of his day!

 


At a point yet future, the LORD will grant national Israel a new heart and will relent of the calamities He has brought to them.

Isa 65.23
They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for calamity;
For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.

Jer 29.11
For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Zec 12.7-10a
The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. 9 And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced;"

 


Sometimes in the process of bringing calamity, the LORD cuts it short due to His mercy.

2 Sam 24.16
When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

1 Chr 21.15
And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw and was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; now relax your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

 


The LORD promises to withhold or remove calamity when true, national repentance is seen.

Jer 18.8
if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.

Jer 42.10
If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you.

Eze 14.22
Yet, behold, survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come forth to you and you will see their conduct and actions; then you will be comforted for the calamity which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it.

 


2. The LORD’s national dealings with other nations.

While not a major topic of the Bible (compared to the texts which deal directly with national Israel), it is nonetheless clear that the LORD is sovereign over all other nations and uses calamity as He deems necessary.

 


Ancient Canaan

Lev 20.22 [Lev 18.25;28;]
You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out.


Moab

Jer 48.2
There is praise for Moab no longer; In Heshbon they have devised calamity against her. ‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’ You too, Madmen, will be silenced; The sword will follow after you.

Jer 48.16
The disaster of Moab will soon come,
And his calamity has swiftly hastened.


 Babylon

Isa 47.11
But evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly.

Jer 51.2
I will dispatch foreigners to Babylon that they may winnow her
And may devastate her land;
For on every side they will be opposed to her In the day of her calamity.

Jer 51.60
So Jeremiah wrote in a single scroll all the calamity which would come upon Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon.

Jer 51.64
and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted.’” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.


Nineveh

Jon 1.2
Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.

Jon 3.10
When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.

Jon 4.2
He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.”


Elam

Jer 49.8
Flee away, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Dedan,
For I will bring the disaster of Esau upon him
At the time I punish him.

Jer 49.35-37
“Thus says the Lord of hosts,
‘Behold, I am going to break the bow of Elam,
The finest of their might.
I will bring upon Elam the four winds
From the four ends of heaven,
And will scatter them to all these winds;
And there will be no nation
To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.
So I will shatter Elam before their enemies
And before those who seek their lives;
And I will bring calamity upon them,
Even My fierce anger,’ declares the Lord,
‘And I will send out the sword after them
Until I have consumed them. ’


Edom

Mal 1.1-4
The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.
“I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.” Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; thus says the Lord of hosts, “They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the Lord is indignant forever.”

Eze 35.5
Because you have had everlasting enmity and have delivered the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of the punishment of the end,


Egypt

Jer 46.21
Also her mercenaries in her midst Are like fattened calves, For even they too have turned back and have fled away together; They did not stand their ground. For the day of their calamity has come upon them, The time of their punishment.


Ammon

Jer 49.5
“Behold, I am going to bring terror upon you,”
Declares the Lord God of hosts,
“From all directions around you;
And each of you will be driven out headlong,
With no one to gather the fugitives together. ”


Damascus

Jer 49.23,26-27
Concerning Damascus.
“Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,
For they have heard bad news;
They are disheartened.
There is anxiety by the sea,
It cannot be calmed.

“Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets,
And all the men of war will be silenced in that day,” declares the Lord of hosts.
“I will set fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it will devour the fortified towers of Ben-hadad.”


Kedar

Jer 49.28b,32-33
“Their camels will become plunder,
And their many cattle for booty,
And I will scatter to all the winds those who cut the corners of their hair;
And I will bring their disaster from every side,” declares the Lord.

“Hazor will become a haunt of jackals,
A desolation forever;
No one will live there,
Nor will a son of man reside in it.”


General mention of national/global calamity at a time yet future.

Mat 24.21-22
For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

Luk 21.25-26
There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Rev 6.3-4
When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.

Rev 6.7-8
When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Rev 8.6-11
And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.
The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.

Rev 9.5-6
And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.

Rev 9.15,18
And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind. … A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.

Rev 11.6
These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

Rev 11.18
And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Rev 16.2-11
So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.
The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.
Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.

Rev 16.18-21
And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.

Rev 19.17-18,21
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” … And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

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