In North Georgia where I live, and in much of the Southeastern United States, we are experiencing a devastating drought. It has been months since we had any appreciable rain. Last month we had a couple of days where we received an inch of rain or less, but we are in desperate need of rain. There is a total watering ban in effect and many people are seeking ways to conserve water. I know of people in North Georgia whose wells have run dry and they have to buy water at the store.
As I pray for rain each day and ponder the reasons for the drought, I am reminded of a couple of verses in the Bible where God speaks to the issue of drought or leanness. Let’s look first at Haggai 1: 7 and 11. In this passage God is speaking through Haggai to the Israelites concerning their neglect of His temple and He admonishes them saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways! 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.’” Whew!! The Lord isn’t playing around here. He is UPSET with the Israelites and He is going to hit them where it hurts most. God was telling the Israelites that they had dishonored Him and His temple and so He would dishonor them and their needs. The Hebrew word used here for drought means exactly what you might think it would– dryness, desolation, parching heat.
If we go to Psalm 106: 15, we find that this isn’t the first time that the Lord had sent leanness or desolation to Israel, however He did it in a very different way previously. He did it by using excess to provoke desolation, which sounds hauntingly similar to the day in which we live. The verse says, “So He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.” The word used in this passage means leanness, scantness, wasting. The Psalmist is referring to when the Israelites whined excessively about not having meat to eat in the desert after they had come out of Egypt. In response, God sent so many quail that they were stacked up about three feet deep all around the people. Can you imagine having rotting meat stacked three feet deep for as far as you could see? What a vivid picture of leanness or wasting.
As I ponder our current drought, I wonder and ask God to show us why He has allowed it. As a nation, we have certainly neglected God and turned from Him. However, could it be that because we are exceedingly blessed, we have taken God for granted? Either way, I believe He is trying to get our attention and so I pray that we will be responsive to what He tells us so that our land can once again receive the blessing of rain.
