“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” [Deuteronomy 30.19-20]
Life goes with blessings like death goes with curses.
All of today's OYCB reading is the after-glow, if you will, of the blessings and curses upon obedience or disobedience (respectively) discourse of Deuteronomy 28. If there is any doubt what Deuteronomy 28 is all about, chapters 29 and 30 give full disclosure.
Let me just say, today is March 20, 2020. The United States and the world are experiencing a pandemic - Coronavirus (COVID-19). Although this virus has, to date, not killed as many people as our annual "flu season" there is great concern worldwide about its deadly potential. It is a sickness like no other we have experienced according to the experts and those in leadership.
Conspiracy theories abound right now. People are uncertain what it going on. Grocery store shelves are becoming bare. Large gatherings are not only being discouraged, but banned. Businesses are shutting down. The stock market is swinging wildly. We seem to be on the brink of panic. The United States is gradually shifting to a state of complete lock-down. It all sounds like Deuteronomy 28 "curses" stuff.
Will the government of the USA or any other nation rise up to save its respective people? Will the World Health Organization or the US Centers for Disease Control save us? They might, but so far they haven't. Can they? Can world leaders in politics and science stop this plague?
Historically, plagues have come and gone. Some have been devastating while others were "light" in comparison. Where will COVID-19 rank among those?
As society has developed, there is increasingly more information tied to plagues. We understand more than ever about the functions of diseases. We really have the science going pretty good. But doesn't it cause at least a little 'pause' to consider - even ponder for just a moment - the spiritual aspect of diseases?
Diseases are directly tied to disobedience to God in the Bible. So, in our advanced scientific knowledge, do we discard the Bible? After all, don't we now know what causes these diseases? Shouldn't we just trust the science and hope for advancements going forward?
Does it not spark at least some reservation in us to read accounts in the Bible that diseases were actually overcome in the history of the world by means other than science? Or, do we just glaze over and ignore the accounts of widespread repentance by the focal group of the Bible that relieved them of their plagues?
I believe the United States and the world need to repent. I am not saying we shouldn't utilize the science. But I am saying that the symptoms the world is experiencing right now sure fit the description of curses upon disobedience described in the Bible.
Father, You have given me the choice between life and death, blessings and curses, I choose life. I want to obey You. I want to seek You. I want to find You. I want to grow closer to You than ever before. I want to serve You. I want to serve Your purpose - Your Kingdom. May Your Kingdom come! May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! Forgive me for my self-centeredness and pride - my greed and lack of concern for others. May my life demonstrate the selflessness of Jesus Christ. May my works imitate His. May my words resound Your Word. May my life be in Christ and Christ alone!
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