Rhemalogy

With the coronavirus (COVID-19) taking center stage on every news station, Internet, and our lives I am reminded of a few things. First, what David spoke in Psalm 91. “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. (Psalm 91:7-11) King David, in wisdom, realized the only safe place was in the presence of God. There was no other place to go. Just like today; there is no other place we can go except the secret place of the Most High.

God holds the timetables of viruses and plagues—

Viruses and plagues have been around since the beginning of time. A plague is defined as any contagious epidemic disease that is deadly; esp., bubonic plague and the biblical definition is any of various calamities sent down as divine punishment: Ex. 9:14, Num. 16:46. Whereas a virus is defined as an infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat, is too small to be seen by light microscopy, and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host. And you would surmise with all the think tanks, research and development laboratories, technology, and modernization humanity holds; it would have the answers. But alas, it does not—whether in pretense or in truth.

Only God holds the timetables of viruses and plagues. Mankind can only guesstimate and that in and of itself is what makes things, for most, hectic, panicky, and confusing. One virologist has this opinion and an epidemiologist has another. But neither has anything concrete to nail the situation down nor give humanity peace of mind or hope. It’s as if we are overhearing the advice-giving friends of Job. Perhaps the empty grocery shelves reveal more than just erring on the side of caution. But how empty our lives are of faith in God as opposed to having so much faith in our money, intellect, and technology. God is our only hope. Do we really trust Him?

Second, with Passover quickly approaching, I am again reminded of another plague. Actually, there were ten different plagues that befell the Egyptians because they refused to let God’s people go so they could worship Him. Which is where the Passover originated. (Exodus 12:41-47) God commanded the Israelites to take the blood of a pure yearling lamb, using hyssop, and apply it on the two side posts and tops of the door frames of their houses so when God passed through Egypt He would see the blood and pass over them. And the destroyer would not be allowed to come into their homes. No harm came to the Israelites. (Exodus 12:21-23) This display of God’s omnipotence was not only over Pharaoh but all of the Egyptian gods. Perhaps there is a Pharaohic grip on America. Are we worshiping our money in the place of God? Yet on our money, we print “In God We Trust.”

Finally, I am once again reminded of King David when he purchased a threshing floor to stop a plague that was killing his people. The plague was a by-product of David imploring a census in Israel and Judah. (I Chronicles 21:1) This was dangerous because of a command God gave in Exodus 30:12 – “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them.”

Here Israel did not belong to David—-Israel belonged to God. It was up to the LORD to command a counting, and if David counted he should only do it at God’s command and receive ransom money to “atone” for the counting.

“Let us fall into the hands of the Lord…”

Realizing he had erred by numbering the people and acknowledging this wrong; David entreated the LORD for an answer. (2 Samuel 24:10) The prophet Gad came with an answer the next day. God gave David a choice of three for penitence. (2 Samuel 24:11-13) David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.” Here he contrasts the mercies of God against those of humanity. (2 Samuel 24:14)

When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd,^[c] have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.” (2 Samuel 24:17)

On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”  So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. (2 Samuel 24:18-19)

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels^[e] of silver for them. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped. (2 Samuel 24:24-25)

America needs a real coming to Jesus moment!

You may not have a threshing floor, but we can all give prayers of thanksgiving, praise, and fellowship on our faces unto the Lord. We as a people need a revival and a resurrection back to the biblical principles our forefathers established in this land. America needs a real coming to Jesus moment! Not just the thrill of going to another conference and then leaving and forgetting the spiritual applications.

We are amidst a census and are in a pandemic. This is not a movie, but real life. There are no re-takes. How much more information do we need to discern where we truly are? All the Christian communities need to come together like never before and have a Day of Pentecost. Not just in the month of May, but right now. We don’t have to have an upper room. All we need are upper minds to surpass denominations and get in the presence of God for such a time as this. Perhaps, like King David, the Lord will answer our prayers on behalf of the land. Then this COVID-19, in not just America; but the entire world will be stopped.

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

“America, America God shed His grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.”

What is your opinion on this subject?

Definitions for plagues extracted from Your Dictionary.
Definition for virus extracted from Google Search.

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