Australia Culls Herds to Cope with Drought!

Southeast Australia has experienced drought-like conditions for years. Yet, worsening conditions are now forcing ranchers to cull their herds because it is becoming too expensive to feed them (The Guardian, June 9, 2018). As usable pasture land shrinks, one rancher observed, “We’re killing a cow and a calf at this late stage of pregnancy. The drought is so widespread there’s just no options left for stock producers to put them anywhere. That’s why it’s so heartbreaking.”

Although this drought is not the “worst ever,” it has been ongoing for about seven years and is intensifying. Soil moisture levels are extremely low and may prevent winter planting in several areas of the nation. This will have far-reaching ramifications. 

Not only are famine and drought apocalyptic events (Revelation 6:5–6), the Bible also links famine and drought with prophesied punishment on backsliding Israelite-descended nations. As a result of disobedience, God warned Israel through Moses, “I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze” (Leviticus 26:19), and “The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust” (Deuteronomy 28:24). As we look around the globe, many extreme weather conditions are impacting Israelite-descended nations, like Australia, that have drifted away from God. However, the Bible not only states that punishments come when God is rejected, but blessings will also come when God is obeyed! To learn more about this covenant of “blessing and cursing,” be sure to listen to or read our historically insightful booklet The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy.