The Real COVID-19 Crisis: The Plague of Our Hearts

By Wesley Strackbein

In the throes of the first global pandemic in a century, we must not miss God’s wake-up call.

The impact of COVID-19 — be it from the virus itself or from public and private response to it — has been enormous and has struck the world like a ferocious tsunami.

Millions have lost their jobs, with businesses large and small struggling to make it.1 Churches, the world over, have been resigned to broadcast services on the web, rather than meet as a congregation for weekly worship.2 Weddings and vacations have been postponed, while schools and sporting events have been altogether canceled.3 Families have been forced to hunker down in a way they’ve never done before. The normal routines of life have drastically changed, forcing all of us to take stock of our priorities.

The massive upheaval has spawned many burning questions: How far is too far with our state leaders restricting personal, economic, and religious activity in an effort to “keep us safe”? How should economic and health issues be balanced in light of the Constitution? What culpability, if any, do Chinese officials have — due to negligence or something more sinister — in the initial outbreak of the virus?4 Should businesses and/or individuals be demanding monetary bailouts, and how does this square with our Founders’ view of limited government? Has Newsweek’s declaration in the wake of the last serious economic downturn (2009) — that “We Are All Socialists Now”— become the reality in the onslaught of this global financial crisis (2020)?5 What could and should government and health officials do differently if we have to endure this all over again in the months or years ahead?

These questions are among the hot topics families, businesses, and churches are fuming about in person and on social media threads. We’ve all been confronted with elements of this furor, first-hand, and most if not all of us have engaged in one or more of these heated discussions.

As relevant as these debates are, we must not miss the most critical point: that God sends plagues as judgment for sin, and when men and nations struck by such scourges fail to repent, worse judgment follows. This truth is pronounced from Genesis to Revelation in God’s word, and we must come to grips with this sobering reality if we are to learn the most important lesson from COVID-19.

Plague and Pestilence Defined

Before surveying the plague accounts in Scripture, we need to grasp the meaning of two words, “plague” and “pestilence,” that are used in English translations of the Bible, along with the original Hebrew and Greek words that stand behind them.

The English Words

In defining the English word “plague,” the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) explains that the original sense of the term meant a “stroke” or “wound.”6 The OED’s second and third definitions are most relevant for our discussion:

2 An affliction, calamity, evil, ‘scourge’; esp. a visitation of divine anger or justice, a divine punishment; often with reference to ‘the ten plagues’ of Egypt.

3 A general name for any malignant disease with which men or beasts are stricken. . . . esp. An infectious disease or epidemic attended with great mortality; a pestilence.

In considering the English word “pestilence,” the OED’s first definition is pertinent to note: “Any fatal epidemic disease, affecting man or beast, and destroying many victims.”

The Hebrew and Greek Foundation

“Nege’” is the usual Hebrew word for plague found in Scripture. This word literally means “a stroke,” and it is used in a wide variety of passages from the plagues of Egypt (Ex. 11:1) to the laws concerning the “plague of leprosy” (Lev. 13-14) to the passage in Isaiah 53:8 where Jesus was “stricken” for our transgressions.

“Dever” is the Hebrew word usually translated “pestilence” in the Bible. It is used of the cattle disease God sent upon the Egyptians (Ex. 9:3), and it is also used of the disease that God struck Israel with when King David numbered the people (2 Sam. 24:13, 15; 1 Chron. 21:12, 14).

“Plege’” is the usual Greek word used is Scripture, and it is the root of our English word plague. It literally means “a wound” and can be figurative as well as literal. It is the Greek word used in the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament for the plagues of Egypt, and it is employed in the New Testament for all the plagues prophesied in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 9:20; Rev. 11:6; 15:1, 6, 8; 16:9, 21; 18:4, 8; 21:9; 22:18).7

The Scourge against Two Pharaohs: That God’s Name Might Be Exalted

We now turn to the plague accounts in Scripture.

The first two plagues found in the Bible were levied against the Egyptians. The first recorded outbreak is in Genesis when God struck Pharaoh’s royal family when the Egyptian ruler was fooled by Abram’s “sister” ruse concerning his wife Sarai and took her into his harem. Scripture matter-of-factly states: “And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife” (Gen. 12:17).8 Upon realizing his error, Pharaoh promptly returned Sarai to her rightful husband and sent them away (Gen. 12:20).

The second instance — the Ten Plagues against Egypt — is the most famous account of plagues in all of history (Ex. 7-12). These plagues were broad in scope: from attacking pests such as flies and frogs to the ominous onset of weather calamities such as hail and darkness, from the striking of Egyptian livestock with disease to the death of all the firstborn in Egypt. God spoke to the heart of why He sends such judgments in His message for Pharaoh that Moses was to relate:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. (Ex. 9:13-16)

The message of the Ten Plagues could not be more clear: The One True God is singularly great and powerful and must be revered as such by men across the world.

The Four Wilderness Plagues: God’s Rebellious People Judged

As explicit as the point is in this passage, it’s easy for our eyes to glaze over it and for us to smugly assume that such plagues are reserved for somebody else — for flagrantly pagan nations such as Ancient Egypt, for example, and not for those peoples who name the name of this singularly Mighty God.

Yet nothing could be further from the truth.

While the Ten Plagues against Egypt, found in the book of Exodus, tend to grab our attention, God followed them with four plagues against His chosen people, found in the book of Numbers. The freed children of Israel, who crossed the Red Sea after witnessing God’s awesome judgment on the Egyptians due to Pharaoh’s pride, were themselves struck by God due to their own obstinate hearts.

Discontent with God’s Provision: Manna Not Good Enough

The first plague God exacted came not in response to some heinous murder or blatant sexual sin, but to the ungrateful Israelites who complained that the manna God provided for their sustenance was not good enough for them. Numbers 11 records:

And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes (Num. 11:4-6)

In answer, God sent them a mess of quail along with a plague of judgment:

And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague. And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. (Num. 11:33-34)

Casting Doubt and Derision on God’s Promise: The Ten Cowardly Spies

The second plague Got meted out was on ten of the twelve spies — Caleb and Joshua excluded — who were sent to search out the Promised Land and to bring back their findings (Num. 13-14). Following forty days of reconnaissance, the ten doubting spies acknowledged Canaan to be a land of fruitful abundance (Num. 13:27), but then derided God’s plan for settling it as impossible to achieve:

We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. (Num. 13:31-33)

In reaction to this report, the people also scoffed at God’s plan with a sore lament:

And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. (Num. 14:1-4)

God’s initial response to this scornful murmuring is notable, as He threatened to wipe out the people altogether by plague and raise up a new line from Moses:

And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. (Num. 14:11-12)

At Moses’s intercession, God elected to judge the people twenty and older through natural attrition over forty years, rather than impose an immediate death by plague. Due to their murmuring hearts, they would not enjoy God’s promise. The “carcasses” of the older generation would “fall in [the] wilderness,” and their children would possess the land only after they died out (Num. 14:27-34).

As for the ten doubting spies, their death was immediate:

The men [who] . . . made all the congregation to murmur against [Moses], by bringing up a slander upon the land, Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD. (Num. 14:36-37)

The Execution of Rabble-Rousers: God’s Justice Maligned in Response

The third plague God leveled came at the close of another contemptuous controversy (Num. 16). The Levite Korah, and the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram — all three leaders in their respective tribes — fomented a rebellion and sought to usurp Moses and Aaron’s authority. Dathan and Abiram mockingly alleged that Moses had led Israel out of Egypt — a land flowing “with milk and honey” (their sarcastic phrase) — to die in the wilderness, while Korah demanded that he and other fellow Levites be allowed to serve as a priests, positions that God had reserved for Aaron and his sons. In response, God consumed them and their 250-strong rebel band through an earth-swallowing quake and a fire of judgment (Num. 16:35).

The next day, the Children of Israel decried God’s justice, murmuring against Moses and Aaron, “Ye have killed the people of the LORD” (Num. 16:41). As judgment, God sent a plague. The account in Numbers relates:

And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah. (Num. 16:46-49)

Idolatry and Sexual Perversion: The Sins of Baalpeor Judged

The fourth plague God decreed came when the Israelites fell into idolatry and religious-driven prostitution. Numbers 25 records:

And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. (Num. 25:1-3)

As God pronounced judgment, in part by plague, an impudent Simeonite named Zimri paraded a Midianite woman named Cozbi by the Israelite congregation, who was weeping in front of the tabernacle, in order to commit fornication with her in his tent. Cozbi was from a leading Midianite family and appears to have leagued herself with the idolatrous Moabite women (Num. 25:6, 14-15). Upon beholding this defiant gesture, Aaron’s grandson took action:

And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. (Num. 25:7-9)

The Wilderness Plagues Concluded: A Call for Humility

Considering these four wilderness plagues should humble us as we come to grips with the fact that God is not well pleased with professing believers who: (1) voice discontent with His faithful provision (The Manna Complaint); (2) cast aspersions on His promises (The Derisive Spy Report); (3) decry His perfect justice (The Condemning of God’s Execution of Korah’s Rebel Band); and (4) spurn His holy standards through idolatry and sexual sin (The Baalpeor Apostasy).

These four acts of rebellion brought death by plague to those who claimed to be God’s people, and the same Holy God who invoked this judgment is the God who governs the nations today. Thankfully in these accounts, God’s compassion shines through the enforcement of His divine justice. In light of these lessons, we should flee from selfish sins that would invite His righteous displeasure. Our prayer should be that “in wrath [He] remember mercy” (Hab. 3:2), as “[we] serve [Him] acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28).

Leviticus and Deuteronomy: Blessings, Cursings, and the Plague

Having briefly summarized the plague accounts in Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers, it behooves us to round out our look at the Pentateuch by considering key pronouncements concerning plagues found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

In both these books, Moses conveyed God’s promise to bless Israel, if they “walked in [His] statutes” (Lev. 26:3).

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. (Deut. 28:1-2)

Included among these blessings are prosperity in agriculture and other business pursuits, good weather, physical strength and fruitfulness in childbearing, as well as strong positioning for Israel in respect to other nations (Deut. 28:3-14).

In direct contrast, however, Moses related God’s promise to curse Israel, if they rebelled, with plagues being named among the curses. Leviticus outlines five stages of judgment, which would increase in severity whenever those who received such discipline refused to humbly repent. While we won’t fully analyze these progressing stages (Lev. 26:14-33) in this article (though this is a worthy study to undertake), it is important to recognize that plagues are emphasized here as a key means of chastisement from the Lord.

But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart. . . .  And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. (Lev. 26:14-16, 21)

As in Leviticus, the curse of plagues is emphasized in Moses’ Deuteronomy discourse, among other scourges of God’s discipline. While there’s much to study in this lengthy text, here are the segments that focus on the judgment of pestilence:

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: . . . The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. . . . If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. (Deut. 28:15, 21-22, 58-61)

Moses declared this Deuteronomy message just prior to the Israelites entering the Promised Land. The younger generation that was about to cross the Jordan River had much good to look forward to, yet God made it clear that He would only prosper them over the long haul if they honored His “glorious and fearful name” through obedience to His law (Deut. 28:58). Otherwise, they would face the Almighty’s scourge, as their fathers did in the wilderness.

Numbering the People: David’s Sin and Repentance

Israel indeed settled the Promised Land, and we now move forward in their history to the close of the era of the Judges, moving into the period of the Kings.

The next recorded plague in Scripture came against the pagan Philistines when they seized the Ark of the Covenant as battle plunder (1 Sam. 4:10-11; 5:1-12), yet the plague account that follows it underscores the point that God uses pestilences as a rod of judgment when true believers pridefully err (2 Sam. 24; 1 Chron. 21).

At the center of this latter narrative is King David. Called a “man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22), he stands out as a key pillar of God’s unfolding Gospel plan in history. As this author has noted elsewhere:

. . . David is one of the central and most important characters in God’s redemptive plan for the ages. Other than God Himself, his name is invoked more than any other person in the Bible — 968 times, in fact — with hardly a close second.9 Not only did David write 75 of the 150 psalms and possess an inspired vision to build a glorious temple for Jehovah, but he established a dynasty, ordained by God Himself (1 Sam. 16:1-13; 2 Sam. 7:8-17), that would culminate with the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would bring salvation to the world.10

Most know that this man of God sinned greatly by committing adultery with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11-12), but fewer are aware that David incurred God’s wrath when he arrogantly numbered the people of Israel (2 Sam. 24; 1 Chron. 21).

In this latter case, God, through the Prophet Gad, gave David the choice of three judgments for the nation: (1) seven years of famine; (2) three months of fleeing before their enemies; (3) or three days’ pestilence in the land (2 Sam. 24:11-13; 1 Chron. 21:9-12).

David chose the plague, and 70,000 people throughout Israel’s coasts died from it (2 Sam. 24:15).11

As jarring as this account is, it contains a silver lining of hope which must be brought out — that true repentance is met with God’s mercy. Responding appropriately, David did not minimize the severity of his sin. He confessed it openly and cried out to God for forgiveness, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly” (2 Sam. 24:10).

Pursuant to his petition, David made offerings on a newly-built altar at Ornan’s threshing-floor, a plot of land located on Mount Moriah that he purchased for this purpose. The good news is that God responded with tender mercy: “So the LORD was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel” (2 Sam. 24:25).

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication: Dealing with the Plague of Our Hearts

Significantly, when David’s son, Solomon, became Israel’s king, he carried out his father’s vision to build a Holy Temple (2 Sam. 7; 1 Chron. 28-29), erecting it on Mount Moriah — on the very spot where David sought and received God’s forgiveness for numbering the people (2 Chron. 3:1).

King Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the Temple could not be more on point with where we find ourselves now with the COVID-19 crisis. Consider these words:

If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. (1 Kings 8:37-40)

Solomon’s message transcends the myopic responses that often attend calamity to emphasize what our chief focus should be at such a time as this: humbly examining and repenting of the sin of our selfish hearts. What’s pictured here is a person coming to grips with the unresolved sin that is particular to them and dealing with it, and of God responding with forgiveness.

Are there not important practical questions to be grappled with, such as how we are to feed our children in a famine and tend to the sick when plagues strike? Most certainly — and dozens more can be added to this list. But, dear friends, we must not overlook this essential truth: that outward afflictions — such as plagues and famines — should bring us “to a true and serious sense of [the] worse and inward plague of [our] sins.”12

If our primary focus with COVID-19 is debating the economic and practical health merits of shelter-in-place and social distancing edicts, finger-pointing at state and health officials for lacking good metrics and common sense, or even defending our cherished Constitution, we risk missing God’s wake-up call to deal with our sinful hearts.

The good news is that God answered Solomon’s prayer with a message of hope that we can cling to, if we turn to Him in humble contrition:

And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (1 Chron. 7:12-14)

Christ Smitten: The Only Path to Forgiveness and Healing

The people of our nation, along with all others around the globe, should give heed to this powerful message.

In considering David and Solomon’s testimony, we must not miss the sober acknowledgment of the wickedness of our sins, but also the Gospel hope that can be ours if we truly repent. Both men acknowledged the validity of God’s righteous law as well as the need to seek forgiveness from Him as our only Savior from its curse.

It’s vital that we grasp the bigger picture that their witness signaled. In fulfillment of God’s promise, Jesus Christ, who is fully God, came to earth as fully man to bring salvation to the lost.13 This compassionate Son of David “cured many of their [physical] infirmities and plagues” while on earth (Luke 7:21; Mark 3:10), but more important than this, he bore the plague of our rebellion against God on the cross to reconcile wayward sinners to Himself (2 Cor. 5:18-21).

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Cor. 5:21)

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Pet. 3:18)

In his foretelling of this pivotal event, the Prophet Isaiah spoke of Christ’s suffering for our iniquities. Employing the Hebrews word “nege’,” His prophecy can be literally translated: “for the transgression of my people was he [plagued]” (Isa. 53:8).

Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken [or plagued], smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was on him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa. 53:4-6).

The greatest plague in history came not in the form of a frightful global pandemic, but in the dark plague of sin Christ endured on the cross to cleanse the diseased hearts of those who come to Him in faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Christ paved the only path for the spiritual healing we all need (John 14:6; 1 Tim. 2:5-6). In words reminiscent of God’s reply to Solomon (1 Chron. 7:12-14), the Apostle John declared how we can be cured: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

The Lot of True Believers: God Disciplines Those Who Break His Law

It’s a blessing to consider that Christ’s righteousness, when imputed to repentant sinners by faith (Rom. 4:5-8; Acts 10:43; Phil. 3:9; Eph. 2:8-9), guarantees them eternal communion with God. The Apostle Paul states the matter plainly: Though “the wages of sin is death . . . the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

This being said, a common misconception Christians have is to assume that there are not temporal, earthly consequences that will come when they bow to the sins of the flesh. The judgments God pronounced against David for his lustful adultery with Bathsheba and His prideful numbering of Israel are just two examples, already cited, that show this notion to be false (2 Sam. 11-12; 2 Sam. 24).

Looking at the New Testament, we find that the same Apostle Paul who wrote of the eternal life that Christians can expect to enjoy (Rom. 6:23) also urgently warned the Gentile church of Corinth to avoid the traps the Children of Israel succumbed to during their wilderness sojourn. Included in Paul’s sobering list of sins committed by the Israelites is the fornication they indulged in through the enticements of Baalpeor (Num. 25) and the plague God sent to judge them:

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. (1 Cor. 10:1-12)

Paul’s message is clear: If we are not careful, we can plunge headlong into sin and be judged, as our Old Testament fathers in the wilderness were.

“Oh, but we’re not under law anymore; we’re under grace!” This slippery half-truth has sown much confusion in our time. Yes, Christians are free from the eternal curse of the law (Gal. 3:13), by God’s grace, but they are called upon to live by God’s moral law as a standard for life on this earth after being saved (Gal. 5:14-23; Matt. 5:16-20).

The Apostle John declared: “He that says, ‘I know [Christ], and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him’” (1 John 2:4). Our desire to keep the law is evidence that we are truly His (1 John 2:3, 5). While all Christians will continue to struggle with sin this side of heaven (Gal. 5:17; Rom. 8:21-25), we are treading on dangerous ground whenever we make light of God’s perfect standards. We again quote from Paul: “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid” (Rom. 6:15).

The wise drafters of the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) put the whole matter in proper context when they wrote:

Although true believers be not under the law as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified or condemned; yet is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life, informing them of the will of God and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly; . . . It is likewise of use to . . . to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin; and the threatenings of [the law] serve to show what even their sins deserve, and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them, although freed from the curse thereof threatened in the law. (Excerpted from Chapter 19, Section 6, emphasis added)

Among the texts they cited in support of this final clause is Psalm 89:30-34:

If [my] children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

The truth is that God disciplines His children, as the author of Hebrews explains:

. . . have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. (Heb. 12:5-13, ESV)14

The takeaway should be obvious: As we receive discipline from our Heavenly Father, we should show Him humble reverence, even as we aspire to uphold His holy standards. We are to “make straight paths for [our] feet” (Heb. 12:13) in the fear of God.15

A Lion Has Roared: Will We Not Fear God?

It’s important that we remind ourselves of first things.

In zooming out to the broader landscape, we see that the call to fear God was at the heart of Moses’ message to Pharaoh prior to the Exodus (Ex. 9:13-16) and to the Children of Israel just before they took the Promised Land (Deut. 28:58-61), with the curse of plagues cited in both instances. It was likewise Solomon’s punctuating point in the portion of his prayer when he addressed what the people’s response should be to pestilences: “That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers” (1 Kings 8:40).

Comparing our time with that of generations past shows the wisdom of Solomon on yet another front — that “there is no new thing under the sun” (Ec. 1:9). A defining crisis of our day is that professing Christians have too high a view of themselves and too low a view of Almighty God. We do not fear Him in His awesome holiness and majesty, as we should. We soft-pedal and minimize disobedience to God’s word. We make excuses for ongoing sin in our life, as if it is not a serious affront to the God who saved us.16

Left to our own devices, we tend to view our Savior as some sort of jolly, heavenly genie who exists to grant our personal whims rather than a Holy God who is to be reverently feared.17

It’s time we come to grips with who God is in His righteous and holy greatness:

Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. (Ps. 33:8)

The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved. The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people. Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy. (Ps. 99:1-3)

Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. . . . Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (Ps. 46:8,10)

Sing forth the honour of [God’s]’ name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. . . . Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. . . . He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. (Ps. 66:2-3, 5, 7)18

The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. . . . Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger. . . . (Isa. 42:21, 24-25)

. . . If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it? . . .  A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! (Amos 3:6, 8, NKJV)19

Is COVID-19 a Warm-up Act? Absent Repentance, More Woes will Follow

He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. (Pro. 29:1, NKJV)20

Dear readers, the Lord has spoken in our time with the tsunami that is COVID-19.

Compared to past pandemics such as the Black Death that ravaged Europe, Asia, and North Africa in the 14th century and the Great Plague that struck London in 1665-1666, what we are experiencing now is unquestionably mild.21 At least thus far, the economic impact of COVID-19 is far more serious than the effects of the virus itself.

Yet what if this global illness — a mere walk in the park compared to history’s real plagues of terror — is only the first salvo of worse judgments to come, a warm-up act for further woes God intends to level against us due to our refusal to receive His correction?

As noted earlier, Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 make it abundantly clear that if we fail to heed God’s discipline, more grueling scourges will follow. Fierce pestilence, emphasized in the excerpts below, is only one of a number of judgments invoked in these warnings which warrant further reflection.

. . .  And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. (Lev. 26:21)

If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. (Deut. 28:58-61)

The Prophet Jeremiah affirmed this truth, lamenting Judah’s prideful lack of repentance when God chastised the people — declaring more serious discipline was soon to come.

O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. . . . How shall I pardon you for this? your children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife. Shall I not visit for these things? said the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

While there are many sins for which God judges nations, in this text Jeremiah emphasizes a raging and unchecked lust problem that characterized Judah. Elsewhere in Scripture we learn that God “spue[s]” out nations for homosexual sins (Lev. 18:28-30; 20:13, 22-23), but the divine vengeance in view here appears to be in response to heterosexual adultery in the flesh as well as adultery of the heart.

Let us not kid ourselves: Adultery and pornography are widespread sins of our time, even among professing Christians.22 Could it be that this is a key reason God is judging us now?

In a later prophecy Jeremiah makes a similar case, but this time he calls out the people of Judah for their idolatrous child sacrifice which they refused to repent of. Could the millions of abortions committed in our time be another leading cause for why God’s hand is against us?23

Consider these words:

And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; (Jer. 32:33-36)

When God Strikes, Get the Message: Don’t Pridefully Strive to Rebuild

A wise man fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident. (Pro. 14:16, NKJV)24

It’s beyond the intent of this article to explore all the reasons God may be judging us with the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, whether you are a Christian or an unbeliever reading this piece, I pray that the numerous Scriptures highlighted in it will prick you to examine “the plague of [your] own heart” (1 Kings 8:38) — whatever it may be — and to humbly repent of it without delay.

My deep concern is that, in our fixation over the plight of the economy, we will fail to reach this point. Over the last few weeks, officials in a growing number of states have greenlighted the reopening of businesses previously ordered to close, and economic activity is, slowly, beginning to rebound in the affected sectors. For most people this couldn’t be happening soon enough. Social media and the chatter on the street are rife with angst and red-blooded chest-thumping about “getting back to work” and building a stronger world.

But if — in our capitalistic crowing — we pay little mind to the Lion who has roared (Amos 3:8), we should expect to be brought to our knees. If you think this is some misguided scare tactic, then consider the Prophet Isaiah’s indictment on such posturing:

The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. (Isa. 9:8-14)25

Without question in this case, the aim of the Israelites in the Northern Kingdom was not to repent when smitten by God, but to defiantly build a stronger nation: “The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars” (Isa. 9:10).

Addressing this prideful proclamation, John Calvin remarked:

These are the words of men who were obstinate, and who despised the calamity which they had sustained, as if it had been of advantage to them, because it afforded them an opportunity of adorning with greater splendor both their houses and their fields. “We shall build,” they say, “more magnificently.”26

Matthew Henry added this:

Those are ripening apace for ruin whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences; for God will walk contrary to those who thus walk contrary to him and provoke him to jealousy, as if they were stronger than he. . . . That which God designs, in smiting us, is to turn us to himself and to set us a seeking him; and, if this point be not gained by less judgments, greater may be expected.27

The Prophet Hosea echoed Isaiah’s theme, invoking the imagery of God as a Lion who will not halt in tearing His prey unless repentance comes:

I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him . . . till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face. (Hos. 5:14-15)28

Hosea further declared that though we secretly cling to evil vices of the heart that we prefer to keep hidden, God sees our sin for all this it is: “And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face” (Hos. 7:2).

Conclusion

The Almighty, with COVID-19, has confronted us with a wake-up call.

The question remains: Will we be as the obstinate Israelites when struck with God’s judgment, or will we humbly cry out as David did in response to His chastening: “I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly” (2 Sam. 24:10)?

In closing this discussion, I appeal to all of us to heed these serious yet hopeful admonitions that Hosea and Isaiah proclaimed:

Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. . . . Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. (Hos. 6:1, 3)

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isa. 55:6-7)29

Let us cease now from our selfish delusions and deal with the plague of our hearts.

Footnotes

  1. On May 28, the New York Times reported: “More than 2 million U.S. workers filed jobless claims last week, bringing the tally since mid-March, when the coronavirus pandemic took hold, to over 40 million.” As noted in web article, “Live Updates: U.S. Jobless Claims Pass 40 Million,” NewYorkTimes.com, May 28, 2020. Accessed May 30, 2020.
  2. The AP reported: “From the Vatican, to the village church, to mosques and temples, shuttered places of worship are streaming religious services for a global audience seeking spiritual help and connections with others during the pandemic.” As quoted from: Andrew Selsky, “Houses of Worship Gain Audience by Going Online,” the Associated Press, May 17, 2020. Selsky reported from Salem, Oregon. Associated Press journalists Nicole Winfield in Rome; Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow, India; Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo; and Josef Federman and Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Accessed May 30, 2020.
  3. On WEDDINGS, the Atlantic reported: “En masse, weddings have been dramatically downsized, postponed, or canceled. The gauzy, fluttery dress I bought in February to wear to a friend’s now-postponed May wedding hangs solemnly in my closet, a delicate question mark suspended in the air. The virtually nonexistent wedding season of 2020 promises to be strange: a May-to-October stretch with an anomalous number of free weekends. And there’s a strong possibility that this weirdness will last, that weddings as we know them — grand, festive events, with extended family and friends in attendance — won’t be the norm again for a long time.” Story by: Ashley Fetters, TheAtlantic.com, May 18, 2020. Accessed May 30, 2020.

    On VACATIONS: “According to a recent Harris Poll, 51% of Americans have canceled or postponed travel due to concerns about COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Only 49% of Americans said they would be ready to fly six months after the government says the virus is abating. And with millions of Americans out of work, many won’t be able to afford a vacation anytime soon.” As reported in: Callie Patteson, “What will travel look like after the coronavirus pandemic?” Today.com, May 6, 2020. Accessed May 30, 2020.

    ON SCHOOL CLOSURES: “In late March, global school closures affected 91.3% of the world’s enrolled learners, according to a UNESCO tally that includes all education levels, from early childhood to doctoral degrees.” As reported in: Morgan McFall-Johnson,“School closures may not help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and some experts say they do more harm than good,” BusinessInsider.com, May 14, 2020. Accessed May 30, 2020.

    ON SPORTING EVENTS: “The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the worldwide sporting calendar.” As reported in: “Global Travel and Sports Markets 2020: Widespread Cancellation of Sporting Events Due to COVID-19 and the Economic Impact on the Industry,” GlobalNewswire.com, May 7, 2020. Accessed May 30, 2020.

  4. The Epoch Times has published a good deal to support the assertion that the Chinese government willfully mishandled their reporting of the COVID-19 virus in an attempt to cover up the severity of the outbreak. One helpful resource: “The Timeline of the Intentional Coverup,” Daniel Holl and Simone Gao, TheEpochTimes.com, April 27, 2020. Accessed May 30, 2020.

    In addition, the Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences published an even-handed look at the possibility, raised by respected experts, that COVID-19 was accidently released by either the Wuhan Institute of Virology or the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Relevant quotes:

    Professor Richard Ebright of Rutgers University’s Waksman Institute of Microbiology, a biosecurity expert . . . thinks that it is possible the COVID-19 pandemic started as an accidental release from a laboratory such as one of the two in Wuhan that are known to have been studying bat coronaviruses.

    Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations, recently wrote an article for Foreign Affairs that is dismissive of conspiracy theories about the origins of the pandemic but also mentions circumstantial evidence that supports the possibility that a lab release was involved. That evidence includes a study ‘conducted by the South China University of Technology, [that] concluded that the coronavirus probably originated in the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention,’ located just 280 meters from the Hunan Seafood Market often cited as the source of the original outbreak.

    Reported in: Matt Field, “Experts know the new coronavirus is not a bioweapon. They disagree on whether it could have leaked from a research lab,” TheBulletin.org, March 30, 2020. Accessed May 30, 2020.

    Beyond this, multiple conspiracy theories of a more sinister nature have been propounded in recent months on social media platforms which won’t be cited or discussed here. Even if the worst of such speculations have some truth, they completely miss the point of what our fundamental response should be to this global pandemic, which has been ordained by God — namely, that we should bow to our Maker in fear and repent of our sins. The Prophet Isaiah said it well in response to Judah’s angst over the Syro-Ephraimite War: “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Isa. 8:12-13).

    The tired notion that the Rockefellers, Rothchilds, Bilderbergers, Bushes, CFR, TC, WHO, EU, Federal Reserve, IMF, Club of Rome — or any other conniving cabals — rule the world is a biblically bankrupt falsehood that must be rejected by Christians. Can one find evil international conspiracies throughout history? Most certainly — but “the earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1); He is “the governor among the nations” (Ps. 22:28). Evil factions and nation-states serve as a mere “axe” in His hand to bring about His sovereign purpose. (See Isa. 10:1-27 and Hab. 1:12-2:14, for example.)

    While it is prudent and necessary for Christians to look beyond mainstream media narratives to properly understand the times (1 Chron. 12:32), Psalm 2 is the antidote to such thinking and makes God’s decisive posture toward the sinister plots and machinations of men crystal clear:

    Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

  5. Jon Meacham “We Are All Socialists Now,” Newsweek.com, Feb. 6, 2009.  Accessed May 30, 2020.
  6. Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition on CD-ROM (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).
  7. Thanks to biblical language teacher John Huffman for his insightful input on these Hebrew and Greek definitions.
  8. All quotes from the Scriptures are from the King James Version (1611) unless otherwise noted.
  9. Considering those figures who are central to God’s unfolding plan of redemption, the person most mentioned after David in Scripture is Moses with 784 references. Abraham follows with 230. Much lower on the list are Noah, with 46 mentions, and Adam, who is named a mere 27 times.
  10. Wesley Strackbein, “A Critical Heart-Check: Has Success Led You to Act Selfishly?”, UnbrokenFaith Ministries.com, April 2, 2018. Accessed May 30, 2020.
  11. In an attempt to keep this article no longer than it already is, the pestilence God sent in response to David’s numbering of the people is the last biblical account of plagues we will consider. For those who wish to study the future plagues prophesied in Revelation, see: Rev. 5-9 (note 9:20 for context); Rev. 11:6; 15-16; 18 (note verses 4 and  8 for context); 22:17-21.
  12. Quote excerpted from Matthew Poole’s remark on 1 Kings 8:38: Matthew Poole, A Commentary on the Whole Bible.
  13. FULLY GOD: John 1:1, 14; John 10:30; Phil. 2:5-6; Col. 2:8-9; Heb. 1:1-3; 1 John 1:20. FULLY MAN: Luke 1:27, 31, 35; Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 2:14, 16-17; Heb. 4:15.
  14. Scripture quotation from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
  15. Of this phrase, John Gill states:

    . . . to make these paths “straight,” is to make the word of God the rule of walking; to avoid carefully joining anything with it as a rule; to attend constantly on the ordinances of Christ; to go on evenly in a way of believing on him; to walk in some measure worthy of the calling wherewith we are called, and by way of example to others.

    Excerpted from John Gill: Exposition of the Whole Bible.

  16. The Scriptures condemn the notion of “Carnal Christianity” that many church-going people take false comfort in as they go about grossly sinning. Consider Jeremiah’s condemnation of such an evil course:

    Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. (Jer. 7:8-15)

  17. This sentence is inspired by a line I once heard from Dr. George Grant, though he used Santa Claus — rather than a genie — in his illustration. I do not remember what message this came from (my apologies to Dr. Grant for this omission).
  18. These excerpts from Psalm 76 and 85 also express our duty to fear God:

    At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? (Ps. 76:6-7)

    Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. (Ps. 85:4-9)

  19. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Hereafter cited as “Quoted from the NKJV Bible.”

    These declarations from Jeremiah are also worthy of reflection:

    Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among my people are found wicked men . . . (Jer. 5:20-26)

    But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. (Jer. 10:10)

  20. Quoted from the NKJV Bible.
  21. Wikipedia’s summary of the 14th century’s “Black Death” gives a helpful point of contrast with the current impact of the COVID-19 crisis: “The Black Death, also known as the Pestilence and the Great Mortality, was the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, resulting in the deaths of up to 25–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351” (Accessed May 30, 2020).

    Thus far with COVID-19, the total number of deaths attributed to the virus stands at 369,156. (This statistic taken from the COVID-19 Dashboard by the CSSE at John Hopkins University, accessed May 30, 2020.)

    In Wikipedia’s summary of “The Great Plague of London” (1665-1666), we learn that the “Plague killed an estimated 100,000 people — almost a quarter of London’s population — in 18 months” (Accessed May 30, 2020).  London’s mortality rate of nearly 25% of its population is staggering compared to the world’s hardest-hit city by COVID-19: New York. As of May 30, New York City has suffered 21,512 deaths out of a population of 8.3 million — which is 3/10ths of 1%. Put another way, the Great Plague took the lives of nearly 1 in 4 Londoners, whereas COVID-19 has taken the lives of 1 in 385 New York City residents. (NYC stats garnered from the COVID-19 Dashboard by the CSSE at John Hopkins University, accessed May 30, 2020.)

    Beyond the disparity of deaths, by percentage, that there have been with COVID-19 compared to the great pandemics of the past, it is important to grasp the gruesome nature of the bubonic plague compared to the typically mild symptoms of COVID-19. It’s an almost night-and-day comparison. Among the most harrowingly descriptive and important sources on the bubonic plague is Daniel Defoe’s book, A Journal of the Plague Year, which chronicles the Great Plague of London (1665-1666). Though it was published in 1722, most historians believe that Defoe (better known for his classic, Robinson Crusoe) drew directly from the memoir of his uncle, Henry Foe, along with other first-hand accounts, in compiling it. You will likely weep as you read of the gruesome deaths that struck so many London families. The accounts are utterly heartbreaking.  A Journal of the Plague Year is, without question, an adult book, but I believe that there is value in sharing key excerpts from it with one’s children. I recommend this work, as well as Puritan Thomas Vincent’s book, God’s Terrible Voice in the City (1667), which he wrote following the Great Plague and Fire that struck London in the 1660s.

  22. ON ADULTERY: A Durex 2005 Global Sex Survey indicated that 22% of married couples admitted to having extramarital sex. (Cited in Wikipedia “Adultery” entry, accessed May 30, 2020.)  Shockingly, in a 2014 survey commissioned by Proven Men Ministries and conducted by the Barna Group, 35% of professing Christian men admitted to “an extramarital sexual affair while married.” As reported in: “Shocker: Study Shows Most Christian Men are in to Porn,” CharismaNews.com, Oct. 7, 2014. Accessed May 30, 2020.

    ON PORNOGRAPHY: According to the same Barna Group study,

    Addiction to pornography affects millions of men and women in the United States, and many of those people identify themselves as Christians, according to a 2014 survey produced by a Christian organization dedicated to fighting pornography and sexual addiction.

    Sixty-four percent of men view pornography “at least monthly,” according to the survey conducted by the Barna Group for Rockville, Md.-based Proven Men Ministries. . . .

    It also found that the number of men identifying themselves as Christians and viewing pornography virtually mirrors the national average.

    As reported in: Penny Starr, “Pornography Use among Self-Identified Christians Largely Mirrors National Average, Survey Finds,” CNSNEWS.com, August 27, 2015. Accessed May 30, 2020.

  23. In January of this year LifeNews.com reported, “The United States marks 45 years of legalized abortion in all fifty states . . . [via] the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Since that time, there have been an estimated 60,069,971 abortions that have destroyed the lives of unborn children.” Excerpted from: Steven Ertelt, “60,069,971 Abortions in America Since Roe v. Wade in 1973,” LifeNews.com, Jan. 28, 2020. Accessed May 31, 2020.

    Looking at the global picture, the Guttmacher Institute reports, “During 2010–2014, an estimated 56 million induced abortions occurred each year worldwide. This number represents an increase from 50 million annually during 1990–1994, mainly because of population growth.” Quoted from: “March 2018 Fact Sheet: Induced Abortions Worldwide,” accessed May 31, 2020.

  24. Quoted from the NKJV Bible.
  25. Isaiah opens his prophetic book with a pointed lament on how God had stricken His people and how they refused to heed His discipline, despite His chastening:

    Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. (Isa. 1:2-6)

  26. On Isaiah 9:10: John Calvin, Commentary on Isaiah.
  27. On Isaiah 9:8-21: Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
  28. Consider also: Jer. 23:23-24:  “Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD”; Ps. 90:8: “Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance”; and Job 34:21-22: “For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.”
  29. Psalm 130:1-5 gives an appropriate prayer for us at this time: “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.”