Today I read 1 Chronicles 21 verse 7 onwards. Let me paraphrase below:
God was displeased with what King David had done. So He punished Israel.
David said to God, "I have committed a terrible sin in doing this! Please forgive me..."
But God asked Gad the prophet. "Go and tell David that I am giving him 3 choices of punishment. I will do whichever he chooses."
The 3 choices were a) 3 years of famine, b) 3 months of running away from the armies of your enemies, c) 3 days during which the Lord attacks you with His sword and sends an epidemic on your land.
David replied to Gad the prophet. "I am in a desperate situation! But I don't want to be punished by men. Let the Lord Himself be the one to punish me BECAUSE HE IS MERCIFUL."
So the Lord sent an epidemic on the people of Israel, and 70,000 of them died. Then He sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but He CHANGED HIS MIND and said to the angel, "Stop! That's enough!"
David saw the angel standing in midair, holding his sword in his hand, ready to destroy Jerusalem.
David prayed, "Oh God, I am the one who did wrong, I am the one who ordered the census. What have these poor people done? Lord, my God, punish me and my family, and spare your people."
This is truly a sad story about God's righteousness. God WAS a tough discipline master. When the Israelites sinned, He punished them.
But all these had changed. With Good Friday and Easter, when God's people sin, Jesus was the one who got punished. He was hung on the cross. God's people would not suffer an epidemic from God anymore.
So, dear friends, DO NOT SAY that this COVID19 PANDEMIC is an act of God. It is not an act of God -- because Christ died on Good Friday and was raised on Easter.
This is the Dispensation of God's Grace.
(Photo: Mostar Stari Bridge, Bosnia. 2019)
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