About a week ago, I woke up to news that we had experienced an earthquake overnight. I didn’t feel a thing, but there were those in our area who did.

There were no reports of damage, other than a few rattled dishes and someone’s porch that was cracked. By the end of the week, no one was talking about it.

There are people around the world who have experienced earthquakes, some severe enough to cause loss of life. Damage can often be devastating and traumatic.

Many stories of earthquakes can be found in the scriptures. They occurred for a variety of reason, but each taught a lesson to those involved.

In Exodus 19, we find that the Children of Israel had arrived at Mt. Sinai. The people were gathered as they waited for the Lord. “Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder” (Exodus 19:17-19 ESV). 

Imagine how the people must have felt as they felt the shaking of the mountain, saw the smoke that encompassed it, and heard the deafening sound of the trumpet. That would have frightened most anyone.

In Numbers 16, a man named Korah and a group of about 250 Israelites decided they didn’t like the way Moses was running things. They thought he had too much power.

Two other men, Dathan and Abiram, joined Korah in his dissent, and they perished as is described in verse 32. “And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.” 

We know the reaction of the Children of Israel to this event. They began to run away and cried out for fear they would be swallowed up. Fire came from the Lord and consumed the 250, and the Lord sent a plague on the people that killed 14,700.

At the death of Jesus in Matthew 27, there was darkness from noon until 3:00 in the afternoon. As Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. “And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matthew 27:51-52). 

Damage to the temple, rocks broken, the earth shaking, and dead bodies coming back to life occurred with this earthquake. The centurion who was with Jesus saw this happen, and his reaction says it all. “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54).

At the resurrection of Jesus, there was another earthquake. It happened as Mary Magdalene and another Mary went to Jesus’ tomb. “And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it” (Matthew 28:2). This earthquake frightened the guards, and they “became as dead men” (verse 4).

In Acts 16, we find the apostle Paul and Silas, his companion, in prison. A young slave girl had been following Paul, and he became annoyed with the evil spirit that possessed her. He commanded the spirit to come out of her; when her owners saw that Paul had taken away their source of income, they took them before the rulers of the city.

The owners of the girl made false accusations against Paul and Silas, and the rulers ordered that they be beaten. After beating them, they threw them in prison.

About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing; “and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken” (Acts 16:26). 

No one was swallowed up in this earthquake, but there was a very frightened jailer. He was so frightened that he was ready to kill himself because he was afraid his prisoners had escaped.

What followed was the conversion of the jailer and his family. Paul and Silas remained in the prison until the rulers decided to let them go.

What do we learn from the earthquakes found in scripture? We learn that God has a plan. He puts people in charge for a reason; God’s rules are made to obey. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Standing for what is right may someday get us thrown in prison or cause us physical harm. But God is always with us.

Our earthquakes today are not the result of a miracle, but they are a reminder of the power of our Heavenly Father. No act of nature, storms, fires, earthquakes, floods, or any other event is as powerful as God.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (Second Corinthians 5:10). 

Sandra Oliver