Rain and drought in the Bible

• Before any plant sprouted, there was no rain on the earthGen 2:5
  The verses

  Gen 2:5Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, nor had any plant of the field sprouted; for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.
• The autumn and spring rainsDeut 11:14
  The verses

  Deut 11:14then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.
• Ezra's assembly sat trembling in the rain of the ninth monthEzra 10:9, Ezra 10:13
  The verses

  Ezra 10:9So within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem, and on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling regarding this matter and because of the heavy rain.

  Ezra 10:13But there are many people here, and it is the rainy season. We are not able to stay out in the open. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.
• The north wind brings forth rainProv 25:23
  The verses

  Prov 25:23As the north wind brings forth rain, so a backbiting tongue brings angry looks.
• If the clouds are full, they pour out rainEccl 11:3
  The verses

  Eccl 11:3If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
• He sends rain on the just and the unjustMatt 5:45
  The verses

  Matt 5:45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
• The rain fell and the torrents raged against the houseMatt 7:25
  The verses

  Matt 7:25The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

The flood

• The floodgates of the heavens opened; rain fell forty days and nightsGen 7:11–12
  The verses

  Gen 7:11–12In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.
• Then the floodgates closed and the rain was restrainedGen 8:2
  The verses

  Gen 8:2The springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained.
• The rainbow: never again a flood to destroy the earthGen 9:11–15
  The verses

  Gen 9:11–15And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living creature of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.

Storms

• Hail and thunder struck Egypt, but not GoshenExod 9:23–26
  The verses

  Exod 9:23–26So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt. The hail fell and the lightning continued flashing through it. The hail was so severe that nothing like it had ever been seen in all the land of Egypt from the time it became a nation. Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both man and beast; it beat down every plant of the field and stripped every tree. The only place where it did not hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.
• Samuel called for thunder and rain at wheat harvest1 Sam 12:17–18
  The verses

  1 Sam 12:17–18Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king.” So Samuel called to the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

Droughts

• Elijah: neither dew nor rain except at my word1 Kgs 17:1
  The verses

  1 Kgs 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
• In the third year of the drought, rain was promised1 Kgs 18:1
  The verses

  1 Kgs 18:1After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”
• A cloud as small as a hand, then heavy rain1 Kgs 18:44–45
  The verses

  1 Kgs 18:44–45On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’” Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
• The sky was shut three and a half yearsLuke 4:25, Jas 5:17–18
  The verses

  Luke 4:25But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land.

  Jas 5:17–18Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.
• Rain on one city, none on anotherAmos 4:7
  The verses

  Amos 4:7“I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered.
• The ground cracked; the farmers covered their headsJer 14:4
  The verses

  Jer 14:4The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
• Solomon prays for rain when the skies are shut1 Kgs 8:35–36
  The verses

  1 Kgs 8:35–36When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.