15 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
I recalled an experience when I was in the 5th grade, my male classmates and I disobeyed our teacher by not paying attention to his instruction. As a consequence, our hands were painful with the welts from the stick used by our teacher as a punishment. All of us, I believe, learned a very important lesson that was imprinted in our minds even to this day--- obey the higher authority! Whether we believe in God or not, we have to be reminded that there is a Supreme Being who knows and sees all things. He observes how we govern the planet He entrusted to us. Bill Gates said the other day that Covid-19 is a "corrector" or a teacher that teaches us important spiritual lessons. Let me provide a theological perspective of these spiritual lessons, thus drawing our attention to 2 Samuel 24: 1-25. The context of the passage is about a situation when a disease struck a nation because the leader became proud of his military might and strong fortresses.
What important lessons can we learn from this passage? Let me give my private insights.
1. When we become too proud and depend on our human capabilities, resources, and defenses; we place God in the periphery as irrelevant in the way we govern the nation. That's the time that God exposes our weaknesses vv. 1-2. (e.g. Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 4)
a. David represents a human leader who became self-reliant and trusted the quantitative number of his army more than the God who entrusted him with authority.
b. This is very similar to the spirit of politics today where political leaders of atheistic and Christian nations trust and depend so much on their human abilities. With the attack of Covid 19, it exposes our human vulnerabilities that even our advanced world health systems fall short. They cannot protect us from this dreadful disease.
c. Covid-19 teaches us that military forces and monetary resources of powerful nations cannot deliver us from the onslaught of a global disease. vv. 1-2.
d. China, the US, EU, including the PH have all the necessary resources as well as technology to stop the virus but they were unable to do so.
e. Those who have political rule have a delegated power from God. We need to recognize that there is an all-knowing and all-powerful God who watches us, and sees how we run and govern this beautiful and productive planet that He has entrusted to us.
2. A disease is depicted here as a punishment to teach us a lesson especially for us who are too stubborn and dull to listen to God's Word, vv 3-4.
a. David should have avoided the death of the 70,000 Israelites from a dreadful disease if he listened and seriously obeyed what was stated in the law. v. 3 compare Exodus 30:2.
b. Pharoah should have saved his country if he would have listened and recognized that the God that was speaking to him wanted justice and mercy for the poor and the oppressed.
c. The Philistines should have spared their tribes from a tumor outbreak if they did not treat the ark of the covenant as if it was one of their exploits (1 Samuel 5:1-13: Daniel 5:1-20).
d. Since the start of the Covid 19 outbreak, It took nearly 9 weeks before we hear the presidents and prime ministers invoking the name of God in human affairs. Faith in God for most of our political leaders is just a mere lip-service except for some God-fearing politicians.
e. As we observe on TV and social media, God, as expressed by our human leaders, became the last resort rather than our first defense. f. We have forgotten accounts in the O.T. that those political leaders who recognized God's power over their difficult situations were miraculously spared by God. Ps. 91.1; 2 Chron. 22:1-5.
3. When disease strikes us, all of us, regardless of our race, religion, economic status, gender; are equally suffering. vv. 14-16 " 70 thousands of people died."
a. Covid 19 is no respecter of person. If you don't believe me, ask Koko Pimentel or Tom Hanks ( quotes from Bill Gates).
4. Bad decisions/choices have bad consequences, vv. 10-13
a. David acted as if he was in charge. He had forgotten that his authority was delegated by God. He had forgotten that he was a steward and not the owner of Israel.
b. All of our actions have moral and ethical implications. Leaders of the world have the moral responsibility to be right, humble, and caring for the people who are under their leadership.
c. We have many examples in the Bible of leaders who were proud of their wealth and resources, without acknowledging the God who placed that power and wealth into their hands until God had removed, replaced, and deposed them (Daniel 3, 5).
5. To let God come to our defense again, we need to approach Him with brokenness, a penitent heart, and humility, vv. 17-20.
a. Human leaders like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Daniel were commended by their faith because they learned to recognize and walked humbly with God all their days. So God was pleased with them.
b. Man can touch the heart of God through repentance.
c. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise," David said in Ps. 51:17.
6. A sacrifice with great value must be offered to atone us from our sins and diseases because the world around us, as well as the world we live in, is wicked and disease-ridden. vv. 21-25.
a. We are all prone to sins and sicknesses. Therefore, we need a Great Physician who can quickly diagnose our spiritual and physical conditions. One who sympathizes with our weaknesses, and the One who can forgive our sins and heal our diseases.
b. Isaiah 53:5 says, "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds, we are healed."
c. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
d. Regardless of the sins that we have committed, God is merciful and compassionate. We cannot underestimate nor beat His grace for us. He might allow us to suffer or for a while but His faithfulness is renewed every day. He never stops thinking of us.
May God bless us and heal us in these trying times!
