by Harry BuererIn the Hebrew scriptures God used a number of methods for punishing disobedience and sin. Sometimes he was punishing his people Israel for not following his commands, and sometimes he was punishing Gentile cities, nations, or mankind at large for their sinful actions.
During the time of Noah, the sinfulness of humanity was punished by a flood. The only survivors were those aboard the ark. God promised that he would never destroy the earth by that method again.
Cities that harbored particular wickedness, such as Sodom and Gomorrah, were destroyed by fire. Lot and his family were warned in advance to flee the city and escape judgment. There are repeated warnings in the epistle of II Peter (3:7, 10, 12) that the present earth is destined to be destroyed by fire.
The various peoples in Canaan, who occupied the land that God wanted to give to his people Israel, were destroyed through warfare and conquest. Jericho was an example of that. The Israelites didn’t follow through on the conquest as much as God wanted them to, and as a result they were led astray by the peoples that remained to worship their gods, leading to long-term punishment and exile from their land.
But there were many times when God used sickness, often described as “plagues”, to punish people. One of the first instances of this is in Genesis 12. Abram went to live in Egypt because of a famine in Canaan. He told Pharoah that Sarai was his sister (which was partly true), and when Pharoah showed romantic interest in her, God inflicted diseases on Pharoah and his household. (Genesis 12:17)
After God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt by sending various kinds of plagues on the Egyptians, it was common for Israel to turn their back on God, and be punished with sickness. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving God’s law, the people had Aaron make them a golden calf which they worshiped. One of the punishments for that was a plague that God sent. (Exodus 32:35)
Several times during the subsequent forty years of wandering in the desert, God punished their disobedience with plagues. When the people complained about the manna that God was providing, he sent quail for them to eat, but he also sent a severe plague that killed many of them. (Numbers 11:33)
When Moses sent spies to scout the land of Canaan, ten of the twelve spies said that it would be too hard to take the land, even though God had promised to give it to them. These ten spies influenced the people to reject God’s plan, and as a result these ten faithless spies were all killed by a plague. (Numbers 14:37)
A little later there was a general rebellion against Moses led by Korah and his followers. The earth opened up and consumed many of them. In addition, fire came down from heaven and consumed hundreds of them. But in addition to this, there was a plague that killed over fourteen thousand of them. (Numbers 16:46-50)
Toward the end of the desert wanderings, the people of Israel began to indulge in immoral relations with Moabite women and worship their gods. As a result, God sent a plague that killed 24,000 of them. (Numbers 25:9)
In our present situation, with CoVid-19 afflicting every nation in the world, I don’t know if it’s a plague sent by God, but it’s not unusual if it is. Our society has embraced and normalized many kinds of immorality. Even many of those who claim to follow the God of Israel have abandoned his commands and have done so for many centuries. We need to repent and turn back to God, read his word to find out what he expects of us, and learn to love his law as the psalmist did. “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.” (Psalm 119:92-93)