Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.” – 2 Samuel 21:1
A few weeks ago I was listening to CBC Radio’s morning show and Chris Walker said something like, “As if heat domes and global pandemics weren’t enough, now there are swarms of grasshoppers in the Williams Lake area.”
It reminded me of the plagues we read about when God brought the Israelites out of Egypt. After God delivered them from slavery in Egypt, He brought them into their promised land, establishing them as a nation in that land. However, they forsook God and worshiped idols and practiced sinful behavior resulting in similar judgements.
When famines, plagues, and oppressions happened to ancient Israel, it would eventually cause them to question, “Why is all this happening to us?” When they acknowledged and repented of the evil, God’s blessing was restored. Notice in the verse above, a famine caused King David to inquire of the Lord.
Sadly today, when we encounter natural and unnatural afflictions we don’t generally do some self-examination nor inquiring of the Lord. We look to science, government or other man-made solutions to explain and solve our problems. Don’t misinterpret me. I am not saying don’t consult science. God has given man an amazing intellect and ability to help mankind. Many scientific inventions and breakthroughs have benefited us tremendously. Likewise, governments are there for the purpose of uniting and helping those who are hurting. I am deeply thankful for both science and government. I am not saying that certainly the troubles I mentioned earlier are the judgement of God upon a particular sin of our society.
I have been asked a number of times if COVID was a judgement from God, my answer is always, “I don’t know.”
I have not been given any special revelation from God on the matter and I would be very skeptical of anyone who claimed they did. My stance throughout the past 14 months has been that none of us have had to deal with such a thing before and everyone is doing what they believe is best, so let’s cut each other some slack.
The thing I am saying is: be thankful for the health care workers, scientists and government leaders who do what they can to help, but the only One who knows exactly what is going on is the Lord.
Perhaps, it is time to inquire of the Lord and seek His favour and help.
Tom Kline is pastor of Castlegar Baptist Church
