The Language of God: Thunder
This is part of an ongoing series called “The Language of God”. Previous entries were:
The Language of God: Natural Disasters, Introduction
The Language of God: Hail
The Language of God: Drought
Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. (Revelation 4:5)
In the Bible, God’s voice is often depicted as thunder, or, alternately, when thunder occurs, people believed it was God speaking. (Acts 9:7, John 12:29). We remember the people at Mt Sinai were scared out of their wits upon hearing the thunder and begged Moses to ask God not speak aloud again. (Exodus 20:19).
We recall Revelation 10:1-4 and the mystery of the Seven Thunders. We know they will be judgments, but we do not know what they are.
“And I saw another angel come down from heaven clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth. And he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars: and when he cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.“
Thunder, when it is not a God-controlled weather phenomenon, is shown in the Bible to be a representation of God’s power. Even adults startle when a particularly loud boom of thunder claps above us.
The throne of God is surrounded by thunder. “From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.” (Revelation 4:5).
God spoke to Moses and the people heard thunder. “When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.” (Exodus 19:19).
When Jesus spoke to Paul on the road to Damascus, those who were with Paul heard thunder. God said to Job, “Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?” (Job 40:9).
The Bible shows us that sometimes when God spoke, it sounded like thunder. It’s a way of presenting God to us that uses terms our finite mind can understand.
But in these days, not every thunderclap is God speaking. Sometimes it is simply one of the forces of nature controlled by God.
Nowadays God speaks through His Son the Word, through His word. I think of the power of God’s voice at Mt Sinai thundering and the people quailed in fear; and yet Jesus, who IS the incarnate God, spoke with compassion and mercy to the people. He could have thundered! He spoke of His gentleness and lowliness instead.
He also in these days speaks to a believer’s conscience through the convicting work of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
But if I hear thunder, I would like to use that startled moment to acknowledge a merciful God and ask Him to awaken me to His tremendous power … He demonstrates His tremendous mercy by using only an infinitesimal amount of that power, otherwise we would surely surely die.
