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I was just searching on the internet for the theologian who lately wrote about some Scriptures that truly hit me. However, I cannot find the website anymore. :-/ I recall it was a German or a Swiss theologian who quoted (inter alia) these verses from the Old Testament.

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14 ESV)

Does this sound familiar to you… somehow? 🙄

First, the last two years 2018 and 2019 were the driest in the whole wide world since records began. Nature suffers, people suffer, and nobody knows what will happen this year. Second, swarms of locusts invaded Russia and parts of Italy (Sardinia) last year. This year, instead, the locusts have destroyed the land and crop in several parts of Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia), too. How many people then will be afflicted by famine? 25 millions in Africa as I heard them say… or many, many more? 🙄 Third, pestilence… synonymous with a pest or a plague is defined by Merriam-Webster (1) as

1 : a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating […]

 2 : something that is destructive or pernicious […]

I guess we all know immediately what this pestilence, which is an archaic expression for epidemic, even pandemic, could be today. It could be the coronavirus, right? 🙄

Instead of trying to give answers I cannot give, I know we can only pray here. I am afraid we cannot pray the corona virus “away” as much as we might want it. I suspect this viral affliction has come from God just like the drought and the locusts did. It is so easy for us human beings to blame the devil to have done all the “bad” things and to ascribe that which we think is good must have come from God alone. However, it was not only the prophet Amos who knew that God was the author of everything (He even created the devil!) as we read here,

“Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it? “For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:6-8 ESV)

I want to conclude with this particular question by Amos and I hope someone, perhaps, can prophesy through a comment on this topic. Nonetheless, any comment that spreads confusion (!) as it was originated by another spirit than God’s won’t be moderated by me.

 (1) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pestilence

All images by Susanne Schuberth 2020

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