DIVINE ORDINANCE OF THE WIND by Rev. Babatunde Ezekiel Ajibola

Not many readers of the bible would have noticed the fact that there are specific divine attributes tied to the designation of the east and west wind. The authority of God is seen in creation especially in the ways He uses and manipulates the elements of creation even, including man.
“Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb. I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;” Is.44:24
There is no doubt that every authority belongs to God and that all that He made are for His pleasure. He commands and it stands. He called everything by their numbers and they obey His command and act according to His pleasure. It is also written that He made His messengers spirit and fire hence He asked Job these questions;
“Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundant of waters may cover thee?
Canst thou send lightening, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?” Job 39:33-35
To all these questions Job answered, “I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.” Job 42:2
By the authority by which He made all things He is always able to assign them for a specific function and when He calls them by their names, they hear Him and they go ahead to fulfil His pleasure and bring to fulfilment His purpose.
In line with these principles in God’s ordinances in creation we can notice in what manner God has designated the different location of the earth to be the custodian of winds that reflects the positive and the negative role in the fulfilment of God’s purpose.
From the account of the bible, when the east wind blows it has negative impact or it sometimes manifest the powerful arm of God to manifest His purpose in a situation. The west wind blows it brings to an end a negative impact of the east wind or bring about a positive change to manifest the shedding of divine grace and mercy.
In the time of Noah’s flood it was reported that with the blowing of the wind the waters began to decrease. “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged: Gen.8:1
It is mentioned here if this wind was west or east Wind but from the biblical trends of the role of the west and east wind, the wind that God made to pass over the waters is very much likely to be the west ind. You will agree with me logically as you read along.
When Pharaoh refused to allow the Israelites depart from Egypt, God used the east wind to bring locust upon Egypt. “And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.”Ex.10:13
After Pharaoh pleaded for the locust to be taken away, God sent a west wind that blew the locust away.
“And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locust, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.”Ex.10:19
In Exodus 14:21 God sent the East wind to separate the red sea. “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”
The purpose of this miracle even though made a way for the Israelites to escape the wrath of Pharaoh, the primary aim of the east wind coming to play was to manifest the powerful arm of God in battle and to bring an end to the Egyptians pursuit of the Israelites. Where ever the east wind is assigned a disaster manifest. The Egyptians all died in the red sea while the Israelites escaped to the other side.
In Num. 11:31 God responded to the protest of the Israelites who were no more delighted in manna as their only source of sustenance in the wilderness. The wind brought quails in excess and the Israelites ate to their satisfaction but died in great numbers. Though it was not mentioned if it was the east wind that brought the quails, it can logically be deduced that it was the east wind that was in action.
In two instances in the bible, it is recorded how ship heading to Tarshish was broken. In the book of 2Chronicle 20:37, the king of Judah Jehoshaphat and the king of Israel, Ahaziah both built a ship to go to Tarshish. The ship was broken because God was against the venture because Ahaziah was evil in the sight of the LORD. We are only told that the ship was broken but we do not know how.
Also in the book of Jonah, the ship in which Jonah was running away from the presence of the Lord to go to Tarshish was said to be about to be broken by the wind but we are not told if it was the east or west wind that God used to trouble the ship. Jonah 1:3-4
However, in Psalm 48:7 there seems to be the clue as to what was used to break the ship of Tarshish “Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.”
In the vision given to prophet Ezekiel, the dry bones in the valley by the miracle of the wind received life.
“Then said he unto me, prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”Ezek.37:9
This time around the wind came from all sides, north, south, east and west because the assignment for this occasion was peculiar and it involves giving life back to dead bones. It was an assignment that needed to bring about perfection and God invoked every facet of the elements that empowers the wind in its divine functions.
Finally in the prophecy of prophet Hosea it reads, “Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.”Hos.13:15
The storm of life could blow against us negatively but the ultimate authority which is in the east and the west wind of God benevolence and goodness will always blow against such storms and they shall be still. Greater still the combine anointed wind of the Lord from all sides shall come and perfect life in us.