Pestilence and God's People

Plagues and pestilence are found in the Bible of such great scope and severity the worst we experience can be termed of "biblical proportion."  Though these are acts of God who is to be feared, He is our Deliverer and Saviour.  His proud enemies will be made to cower before Him, yet those who trust in Him are protected like Noah and his family in the ark.  The God who strikes the earth and man is able to heal and restore.  The sons of Korah wrote in Psalm 46:1-3, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ² Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; ³ though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah"

It is because God is good, gracious, loving, merciful, and faithful we were not consumed long ago by our own pride, greed, selfishness and folly because the wages of sin is death.  God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust and is longsuffering towards the worst of the worst.  But we do see many scriptures where God judged His own people because of their sins.  It is true He afflicted the Egyptians and their gods with 10 severe plagues, yet it is the action God took upon His own people for their ultimate salvation.  Even as a surgeon removes necrotic flesh which sickens and places the entire body at risk of death, God judged the children of Israel many times so they might be restored to fellowship with Him.  Like a farmer uses the right implement and force to thresh grain, God metes out corrective judgment wisely.

When Moses received the 10 Commandments from God on Sinai, during that short space of time the high priest Aaron, at the urging of the people, made a molded image they worshiped as the "gods who brought you out of Egypt."  Exodus 32:35 says, "So the LORD plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made."  On another occasion the people murmured against God and Moses for his dealings with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.  Notice how the passage describes how God was involved in the plague for sin and causing it to cease in Numbers 16:47-50:  "Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped. ⁴⁹ Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident. ⁵⁰ So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped."  The sin of the people was the cause of this plague, and a righteous God is not at fault for dealing justly--though unrighteous men stand foolishly in judgment of Him.

There was another time when the Hebrews entered into sexual sin and idolatry with the women of Moab.  Numbers 25 describes in detail the command of the death penalty for those who sinned, and how the plague which claimed 24,000 people ceased when Phinehas zealously obeyed God in executing judgment.  Still another plague occurred after David numbered the people of Israel without receiving the census tax (Exodus 30:12).  King David was given the choice of three years of famine, three months of being defeated by their enemies, or three days of pestilence.  1 Chronicles 21:13-15 reads, "And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man." ¹⁴ So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. ¹⁵ And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the LORD looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, "It is enough; now restrain your hand." And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite."  The severity and swiftness of these plagues make the current pandemic small in comparison.

What is so comforting about our great God is His great love, grace, and compassion in judgment.  He could have destroyed the nation without remedy, but He looked upon His suffering people and said, "It is enough."  He went further than determining the measure of judgment but was able to stop it.  He said to the angel, "Now restrain your hand."  God is able to stop deadly plagues and pestilence dead in its tracks.  This is the comfort and consolation available today to followers of Jesus Christ, for we know He is on the throne and supreme in power.  We are wise given the current situation to do everything in our power to practically prevent the spread of illness and protect the vulnerable, yet without God we cannot do anything.  Doctors who treat the sick are able to become sick themselves and this reveals the vulnerability of all people to a microscopic organism.  There is much we cannot know, but what we can know is God according to His grace has the power to heal bodies, save souls, and say "It is enough."  Then restoration can begin.

The Men of Jericho

In our family reading last night I was struck by the mention of men from Jericho rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, tucked neatly in Nehemiah 3:1-2:  "Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They built as far as the Tower of the Hundred, and consecrated it, then as far as the Tower of Hananel. ² Next to Eliashib the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built."  The books of Ezra and Nehemiah confirm 345 men of Jericho returned to Jerusalem 70 years after the Babylonian captivity.  The fact they worked alongside the high priest on the walls of Jerusalem--and that they were reckoned to have an inheritance among the children of Israel--is an amazing demonstration of God's grace considering the history of that accursed city.

Jericho was the first stronghold defeated in the conquest of Canaan by the LORD at the hand of Joshua.  The city and all in it were accursed by God, save the harlot Rehab and her household who feared the LORD who were saved alive.  On a side note, Rehab ultimately converted to Judaism and married a man of Judah.  All the gold, silver, and precious things were brought into the treasury of the LORD, but everything else was to be destroyed and burned with fire.  Because Jericho was accursed by God Joshua also uttered a curse over the burning ruin in Joshua 6:26:  "Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, "Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates."

About 500 years later this curse came into effect according to 1 Kings 16:34:  "In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the LORD, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun."  In 2 Kings before his departure the prophet Elijah visited Jericho where there was a school for prophets of God.  This should be no surprise, for even in the darkest places in this world the light of the LORD shines bright.  There is no heart too darkened by sin and wickedness which cannot be redeemed, no human soul incapable of being reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Elisha the prophet carried along after Elijah's departure and was approached by Jewish men who resided in Jericho.  2 Kings 2:19-22 says, "Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren." ²⁰ And he said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. ²¹ Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.' " ²² So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke."  By the power of God Elisha miraculously healed the source of the waters of Jericho with salt--which naturally would always have the opposite effect!  True to God's Word, the waters of Jericho have remained pure to this day.  When I visited Israel in 2005 I was treated with a tangible reminder of God's faithfulness by "Jericho" spring water.

Think of it:  from the accursed city Jericho God saved the harlot Rehab who is included in the lineage of Jesus Christ; after Jericho was rebuilt the bad water and barren soil were healed by the Word of the LORD; God brought men of Jericho out of captivity in Babylon to rebuild the holy city of Jerusalem!  It is a demonstration of God's grace and faithfulness that we can identify with personally because this is what Jesus has done for all who believe in Him.  We were accursed by our sin, yet we have been spared the wrath of God by grace through faith in Jesus.  We were barren and unfruitful, and God has redeemed and reconciled us to Himself, making us fruitful by the Living Water of the Holy Spirit.  He has purified and cleansed us from within, now the pure source of our lives.  By Jesus' stripes we are healed now and forever!  God has chosen us as His inheritance, and His is ours.

The scene of the men of Jericho building reminds me how we are God's chosen materials to construct His habitation in 1 Peter 2:4-5:  "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."  Jesus is our great High Priest and we are enabled to take His yoke upon us.  We are the accursed once afar off but have been brought near as Ephesians 2:19-22 says:  "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."  Praise the LORD! 

Return to Your Rest

On the theme of rest, last night during a prayer meeting the LORD lead me to Psalm 116:5-9 which says, "Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful. ⁶ The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. ⁷ Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. ⁸ For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. ⁹ I will walk before the LORD in  the land of the living."  The psalmist loved the LORD and cried out to Him knowing he would be graciously heard.  How blessed are the people whose God is the LORD, the Creator of the heaven and earth.

The good things God does spring from how good He is.  God is gracious, righteous, merciful, the One who preserves, a Saviour.  In the midst of trouble the psalmist was moved to return to his Rest who is the God who dealt bountifully with him, having delivered his soul from death, eyes from tears, and his feet from falling.  Even as we must trust in Jesus Christ to enter into the blessings of the kingdom of God, it is faith which leads us to return to our rest.  It is easy without even thinking to leave the rest provided for our souls by Jesus Christ because of the cares of this world.  The worries, the "what ifs" and uncertainties flood into our minds and disrupt the perfect peace provided by God's grace.

The rest Jesus gives is not opposed to effort or labour.  Jesus did the work of His Father, and He has good works prepared for us to enter into.  It is not a life of ease on the heavenly dole we are promised as children of the Most High, but even in the most taxing seasons the perfect peace of God guards our hearts and minds.  Jesus has done the work and therefore we work alongside, returning to Him as the Good Shepherd of our souls.  He said in Matthew 11:28-29, "Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."  Stripped of the rest God intends mark us inside and out by doubts and fears, restlessness, carelessness, and forgetfulness are the results.  But when we return to Jesus, casting our gaze and cares upon Him, we find rest for our souls even in a storm.

Based on the goodness of God the psalmist whose feet were delivered from falling said in verse 9, "I will walk before the LORD in  the land of the living."  As long as we live may we live and speak before our great God who is our life.  He has created the world in which we live, and sovereignly placed us on our feet in it for His good purposes.  Our souls have been spared so we might bring glory to our God, and our eyes He opened have been dried of tears so we might see Him clearly.  Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  By taking heed to His Word our eyes are kept from wandering and delivers our feet from stumbling.  I encourage you believer to return to your Rest and enjoy the presence of your King with praise.

Lean on the LORD

When King Hezekiah was besieged in Jerusalem with the remnant of Israel, the pompous Rabshakeh of Assyria hurled a lot of verbal rubbish as he threatened, cajoled, and mocked.  Nestled in the arrogant boasting and blasphemy there was a grain of truth.  He falsely accused King Hezekiah as relying upon Egypt for help, but his conclusions about those who place their trust in men was dead on.  He said in 2 Kings 18:21, "Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him."

There is reason why reeds are not used for supporting the structure of buildings.  A gentle breeze moves them and very little effort is required to push them over.  The Rabshakeh compared the king of Egypt to a broken reed damaged beyond repair, and trying to lean on the staff of Egypt--a sturdy stick used to maintain balance and footing while walking--it would only end in injury.  What the Rabshakeh said concerning the Egyptians was true of those who put their trust or hope in the Assyrians or any nation!  All other people and things we look to for support are only found through trust in the LORD.

I have a personal example of this:  yesterday I smoked a brisket for dinner and I have a digital thermometer I use to monitor the temperature of the pit as well as the meat.  It is a clever device which is more accurate than the lid thermometer and because I have used it successfully for years I trust it is giving me the correct temperature.  When smoking larger pieces of meat there is a period called "the stall," where the moisture from the meat simultaneously cools it.  A whole hour may pass to gain a single degree of internal temperature, and once the stall is over the internal temperature of the meat rises much faster.  I thought I was in the middle of a second and very lengthy stall when the probe connection ran out of battery.  Because I trusted the thermometer to read an accurate temperature (and had for 18 hours) I didn't know the meat was done.  So we had some overcooked (but thankfully very edible and tasty) brisket and a valuable lesson:  trusting in anything or anyone other than God leads to trouble.

I wonder:  what sort of "staff" do we trust?  Trusting a staff for walking would lead to us placing our weight on it, leaning on it for support.  The currency of the United States has "In God We Trust" on every note and coin,yet it's likely money is a staff we tend to look to for security.  It may have taken a painful and distressing situation to learn the hard way Egypt could not supply the help Israel hoped for, and it is often through trials and difficulties that throw us off balance we discover what our false support are.  Dumbo the elephant in the movie was tricked to believe a magic feather enabled him to fly and emboldened him to jump, but the marvelous ability was in his enormous ears.  Our tendency is to trust ourselves, to lean on others, to look to our resources, or vainly hope for circumstances to change, yet the reality is as children of God we ought to look to our Saviour and Good Shepherd Jesus Christ.  He was pierced for our sins so we could be forgiven and redeemed, never runs out of battery, and none who trust in Him will be ashamed.