Here are some Scriptures to help us in light of the Coronavirus crisis. Each of them has a valuable lesson.
1. This crisis has something to say to us
In Job 33:14 Elihu suggests that God speaks to us in different ways. He mentions dreams and suffering. More generally God does speak to us in his providences and so I think we should be seeking to learn from it. Of course, when seeking to read providence we need to be careful we do not misread it. We need to be guided by the sure word of Scripture.
2. This crisis is not something new
In Ecclesiastes 1:9 we are reminded that What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Yes, this virus is new in that it is a new strain of coronavirus but crises are, even global crises are not new. Things like this have happened before. Think of the “Spanish flu” of 1918-1919 that killed more people than World War I or one of the most extreme pandemics ever recorded, the Black Death (1347-51).
3. This crisis reminds us of our ignorance
Then do not forget Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. This verse is always true but this current crisis is a strong reminder of the fact. I am hoping to go to a conference soon but if the government bans such gatherings or if the organisers decide to call it off I won't be going. We were pleased to hear a while back that our son had won tickets to a film festival in New York in April but now the festival has been postponed and he won't be going. It is good for us to remember that we are in God's hands.
4. This crisis reminds us that God is in control
As another biblical proverb puts it (19:21) Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. Why he has allowed this virus to arise we do not know. But we do know he has his own purposes in it.
5. This crisis reminds us of the pestilences and economic trouble that marks the last days
Then more acutely in Revelation 6 we read about the famous horsemen of the Apocalypse. Revelation can be a controversial book but the way to understand it is as a book describing how it is in the last days, the period John was in and that we are still in, between the first and second comings of Jesus. Revelation 6 describes four horses - one white, one red, one black, one pale. Forget about the first two for a moment and concentrate on the other two Taking them in reverse order
The pale horse and rider are in 6:7, 8 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
This is a reminder of how things like famine and plague will stalk the earth during this period. Famine and plague don't always lead to death but death and decay stalk this earth nevertheless and it comes in by many routes. Coronavirus is one of them. Our society has insulated itself as best it can from death and often refuses to discuss the subject but it continues to be a fact of life. Death and decay are everywhere as this present crisis reminds us. Like a rider on a pale horse death stalks us at every point of our lives and when it comes close we can be devastated.
Then further back in 6:5, 6 we read When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "Two pounds of wheat for a day's wages, and six pounds of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
The scales remind us of how food was eked out in times of siege and famine. The prices quoted for wheat and barley have been estimated at something like eight or 16 times what they would normally have been. The reference to oil and wine has been paraphrased as “don't cheat on the oil and wine” or “don't overcharge” for it. Famine and drought and other factors can easily have economic repercussions and it is the poor who suffer, often Christians who can be pushed to the bottom of the heap in an unsympathetic world that has quite a different agenda. It is another reminder of the troubles that plague this world and that are nevertheless not out of control but all part of the sovereign purposes of Christ.
Jesus himself also tells us in Luke 21:11, 12, speaking again I think of this period Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. There will be ... pestilences in various places he says. This virus should not surprise us.
6. This crisis reminds us to love our neighbour
Other Scriptures worth mentioning are those that call on us to love our neighbour as ourselves. It is surely our duty at this time to do all we can to make sure we do not pass on germs. Obviously we ought to be looking out for the elderly in particular at this time.
7. This crisis reminds us of the importance of praying for those in power
In 1 Timothy 2:1, 2 Paul says I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. It is especially difficult for those in power at times like this. Do pray for them as they make their decisions and act and react.
8. This crisis is a time for faith and prayer not fear and worry
Also those Scriptures that warn against worrying. It would be so easy to become fearful and to start worrying at such a time at this. Jesus says (Matthew 6:34) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Paul says (Philippians 4:6) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
9. This crisis reminds us that creation is groaning and we groan too longing for redemption
In Romans 8:22, 23 Paul writes We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. When Paul writes of creation groaning he includes many things but among the groanings would be things like this virus. We too groan inwardly in the face of it for it makes us long for a day when this will all be over and God sons will be redeemed.
10. This crisis reminds us that this present world is passing away
Similarly in 1 Corinthians 7:26-31 Paul says Because of the present crisis, (I'm not sure if he means something specific to that time or to this whole period but he says) I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
Perhaps there are other Scriptures we could mention but that is enough to be going on with.
Google gives a deserved nod today to Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-65). Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician whose work demonstrated that hand-washing could drastically reduce the number of women dying after childbirth. This work took place in the 1840s, while he was Director of the maternity clinic at the Vienna General Hospital in Austria.
