Good Words from God’s Word
Our Good Word this morning from the Bible is EARTHQUAKE. The Bible is filled with episodes where God used earthquakes in special ways:
“Now, Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently…” (Exodus 19:18)
“Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord, and behold the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind, And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a gentle blowing…” (1 Kings 19:11-12)
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened and the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matthew 27:50-52)
“And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it” (Matthew 28:2)
Earthquakes in the Bible are evidence of God’s power and his presence. Notice the word “BEHOLD” used before the word earthquake. God wants us to know—He wants us to open our eyes to what He is doing in the world. Some people want a quiet God—A Jesus who is meek and mild. We want God to be polite and soft-spoken.
Our Good Word this morning from the Bible is EARTHQUAKE. The Bible is filled with episodes where God used earthquakes in special ways:
- In the Giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses:
“Now, Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently…” (Exodus 19:18)
- When God appeared to the Prophet Elijah:
“Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord, and behold the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind, And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a gentle blowing…” (1 Kings 19:11-12)
- At the Cross:
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened and the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matthew 27:50-52)
- At the Empty Tomb:
“And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it” (Matthew 28:2)
Earthquakes in the Bible are evidence of God’s power and his presence. Notice the word “BEHOLD” used before the word earthquake. God wants us to know—He wants us to open our eyes to what He is doing in the world. Some people want a quiet God—A Jesus who is meek and mild. We want God to be polite and soft-spoken.
GOD GETS LOUD!
He uses thunder, and lightning. He speaks through the storm and in the violence of the earthquake. Since God created everything, he certainly has the right to shake it all up every now and then.
An earthquake that registers 4.0 on the Richter scale is equivalent to about 6 tons of TNT exploding. The amount of energy released in an earthquake increases quickly as the earthquake climbs in magnitude.
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake is amounts to about 200 tons of TNT,
a magnitude 6.0 earthquake increases to 6,270 tons,
and a 7.0 sized earthquake climbs to 99,000 tons.
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