Psalm 107:33-35
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This verse highlights God's power to reverse natural abundance, turning life-giving rivers and springs into barrenness. It's not just about drought, but a deliberate divine action that renders once-fertile lands utterly desolate, underscoring His ultimate control over creation.
He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage marks a shift in Psalm 107, moving from specific instances of God's deliverance to broader observations about His control over the natural world and human affairs. It highlights God's power to render fertile lands barren due to the inhabitants' wickedness, transforming life-giving rivers and springs into desolate, dry ground. This contrasts with His ability to bring life to arid deserts, demonstrating His sovereign hand in both judgment and mercy.
Ever feel like the world around you is unpredictable, even chaotic? This psalm reminds us that behind the scenes, God is actively orchestrating the very land we live on.
The psalmist declares that God has the power to transform fertile, life-giving areas into desolate wastelands. He can turn flowing rivers into dry riverbeds and natural springs into thirst-inducing ground.
From Life to Barrenness
This isn't just poetic language; it speaks to God's absolute authority over the natural world. He can withhold rain, alter the course of water, or cause the land itself to become infertile. This can happen through natural disasters or through gradual changes that leave the land unable to sustain life.
A Divine Hand at Work
When we see lands devastated by drought or transformed into deserts, we're meant to see God's hand. It's a reminder that even the most enduring features of our world are subject to His will and power. He is not a distant creator, but an active participant in the unfolding of history and the shaping of our environment.
Why would God turn a garden into a desert? This psalm hints that these dramatic changes in the land are not random, but often carry profound spiritual meaning.
The psalm connects these environmental transformations to human actions, particularly wickedness. When people turn away from God, the land they inhabit can reflect that spiritual barrenness.
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Judgment and Consequence
Turning fertile land into a desert or salt-land (as some translations suggest) serves as a form of judgment. It's a visible consequence of sin, a way for God to discipline His people or to judge those who oppose Him. This isn't about random acts of nature, but about a purposeful, albeit severe, divine action.
A Call to Repentance
These desolate landscapes can also serve as a stark warning and a call to repentance. By removing the blessings of fertility, God prompts people to examine their ways and turn back to Him. The desolation points to the spiritual desolation that results from sin, urging a return to the Source of life.
Understand the original words
ra'ah · Hebrew Noun
The ethical state of rebellion against God, moral perversity, or wickedness that disrupts the created order and invites divine judgment.
This psalm uses the dramatic transformations of the land—fertile regions turning to desert and deserts blooming—as powerful metaphors for God's sovereign control over nature and human history, often linking these changes to human wickedness or righteousness.
c. 1400 BC
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
God destroys the wicked cities of the plain with fire and brimstone, turning a fertile area into a salt and barren wasteland, serving as a prime example of land becoming unfruitful due to sin.
c. 8th-6th centuries BC
Assyrian and Babylonian Empires Flourish
These powerful empires controlled vast territories, including fertile regions like Mesopotamia, and their expansion and governance significantly impacted the political and agricultural landscapes of the ancient Near East.
605 BC - 539 BC
Babylonian Exile of Judah
Many Judeans were deported to Babylon, a land that was once a fertile region but, through political decisions and perhaps ecological shifts, became associated with desolation. This experience highlighted how God could transform once-productive lands.
c. 539 BC
Fall of Babylon
The Persian Empire, under Cyrus the Great, conquered Babylon. This event dramatically shifted the political landscape, demonstrating God's power over earthly rulers and empires.
c. 6th-4th centuries BC
Persian Empire Governs Fertile Crescent
The Persians restored stability and, in some cases, agricultural productivity to regions previously impacted by conquest or mismanagement, showcasing God's ability to restore barren lands.
1st century AD
Roman Empire's Influence
The Roman Empire controlled vast agricultural regions, and their governance or misgovernance, as well as their military actions, could profoundly affect the fertility and prosperity of the land.
c. 1st century AD— this verse
Jesus' Ministry and the Early Church
The New Testament describes God's power to bring spiritual life to barren hearts and nations, transforming them into fruitful communities, mirroring the psalm's theme of God's transformative power on the land.
This passage describes God turning the fertile Jordan plain into a landscape of sulfur and salt, directly illustrating how He can transform fruitful land into a barren wilderness due to wickedness.
Jeremiah 50:12The prophet laments Babylon's desolation, stating it has become the 'least of nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert,' echoing the psalm's theme of God's judgment turning fertile lands into barrenness.
Isaiah 35:6-7This passage offers a stark contrast, prophesying that in a future restoration, 'the desert and the wasteland shall rejoice, and the Arabah shall blossom like the rose... and waters shall break forth in the wilderness,' showing God's power to reverse such desolation.
Job 12:24This verse speaks of God diminishing 'the strength of the leaders of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless waste,' which parallels the idea of God's sovereign power causing fertile lands to become desolate wildernesses, often linked to judgment.
pulpitPsalms 107:33: "He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;"
Verses 33-42. - Professor Cheyne finds in this passage - which he views as an "appendix" to the psalm - a falling off from the earlier portion of the psalm, and a set of "sentences strung together without much reflection." But to others the transition from special deliverances to God's general dealings with mankind seems an enlargement and an advance in the thought, although the language may be less grap…
clarkePsalms 107:33: "He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;"
He turneth rivers into a wilderness - After having, as above, illustrated the state of the Jews in their captivity, and the deliverance which God wrought for them, he now turns to the general conduct of God in reference to the poor and needy; and his gracious Interpositions in their behalf, the providential supply of their wants, and his opposition to their oppressors. On account of the wickedness of men…
This verse highlights God's power to reverse natural abundance, turning life-giving rivers and springs into barrenness. It's not just about drought, but a deliberate divine action that renders once-fertile lands utterly desolate, underscoring His ultimate control over creation.
This passage marks a shift in Psalm 107, moving from specific instances of God's deliverance to broader observations about His control over the natural world and human affairs. It highlights God's power to render fertile lands barren due to the inhabitants' wickedness, transforming life-giving rivers and springs into desolate, dry ground. This contrasts with His ability to bring life to arid deserts, demonstrating His sovereign hand in both judgment and mercy.
This passage marks a shift in Psalm 107, moving from specific instances of God's deliverance to broader observations about His control over the natural world and human affairs. It highlights God's power to render fertile lands barren due to the inhabitants' wickedness, transforming life-giving rivers and springs into desolate, dry ground. This contrasts with His ability to bring life to arid deserts, demonstrating His sovereign hand in both judgment and mercy.
"He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of…" — This verse highlights God's power to reverse natural abundance, turning life-giving rivers and springs into barrenness. It's not just about drought, but a deliberate divine action that renders once-f…
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Last reviewed October 2026
