5 Things to Know about Pestilence in the Bible
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When God sends pestilence, it is not a good thing. He sends it for a reason. God sent pestilence as judgment. Through Scripture, you will read about pestilence. Pestilence is a deadly disease. This calamity is considered harmful or destructive. It is a consuming sickness and is frequently used by God in Scripture as a judgment on the people.
What Is the Purpose of Pestilence in the Bible?
The purpose of pestilence is to correct disobedience. Read the entire chapter of Leviticus 26. The author of Leviticus is Moses. In this book, God is providing instruction on how His people should live. The laws included here relate to the entire nation of Israel and not just the priests. The goal is for Israel to understand that they serve a Holy God and that He has expectations for them. Not much has changed. God still has expectations for His people whether you are Christians or Jews. God sent Jesus so that all of us could be saved because we were headed in the wrong direction since the fall of man and even after the flood. Jesus is God’s pathway for redemption.
God gets really descriptive about pestilence. Look at Numbers 14:11-12. And the Lord said unto Moses, “How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.”
If you know the history of the Israelites and how they spent four hundred years in the wilderness as God dealt with them, you know that they suffered many things. Some of that had to do with pestilence. Today, you can see a people that are favored as the Lord has promised. As Christians, this is nothing to get upset about. We are highly favored as well. God loves those who keep His commandments. God tells us in His Word that His commandments are not grievous (1 John 5:3).
5 Things to Know about Pestilence (in the Bible)
1. When God sends pestilence, it is because of disobedience, and He wants those who encounter it to straighten up. In Deuteronomy 28:21-68, God gives some examples of what pestilence does to the people afflicted. He does talk about consumption or wasting away, a fever, inflammation, and extreme burning. He talks about how the enemies will get the best of those afflicted. He discusses the loss of relationships and property. We see in these verses that the crops are not profitable. The livestock are given away. I interpret these scriptures as meaning any of these things can occur and the cause is pestilence. There are many different afflictions and situations listed here.
2. Pestilence appears to not only be a condition, but it also separates you from God for a time being until you cry out to God and come in right standing. You have to fast, pray and be sincere. Many people think that Coronavirus is a type of pestilence. I will leave that up to ministers for interpretation. The Black Plague caused loss of life and was considered a type of pestilence. At least with the Coronavirus, we have vaccines available. However, people must get vaccines in time to assist them with the ailments of the Coronavirus.
3. Pestilence was also sent to those who prophesied but were not sent by God. I see the results of God’s wrath on those not sent in Jeremiah 27:13-14. Jeremiah 13 says
“Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?” Verse fourteen continues, “Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you.” “For I have not sent them, said the Lord, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that you might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you” (Jeremiah 27:15).
4. Pestilence can be removed. Numbers 16:47-48 reads “And Aaron took as Moses commanded and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.”
God has a kind heart and really wants us to repent of our sins. When pestilence and plagues come, it is usually after He has given us many chances. God also can go from zero to one hundred on the angry scale depending on what has occurred. Read Numbers chapter 16 to find out why God caused the earth to open up and swallow Korah and his crew.
Second Samuel 24:16 shows us where God stays His hand after He sent judgment. God sends pestilence after King David numbered the people. David knew that this was wrong and repented. God gave David a choice of three punishments. There could be seven years of famine, he could flee from his enemies for three months or three days of pestilence. David chose the pestilence. In verse fifteen, “the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died about seventy thousand men.” Let us continue in verse seventeen “And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, it is enough: stay now thine hand.”
God promises to deliver His people from pestilence. Read Psalms 91. Verse six says “nor the pestilence that walked in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasted at noonday.” This whole Psalms talks about how God will protect us. Keeping us from pestilence is a benefit of His goodness.
What Lessons Can We Learn from Pestilences in the Bible?
We learn that God does not want to send pestilence. Unfortunately, pestilence is effective in bringing people back to God. There is nothing worse than being sick. Some sicknesses can lead to death. You can recover from financial setbacks. You can recover from relational setbacks. Yes, all of these things take time. Sickness and disease will take your energy for a moment depending on the severity of the illness. From what I have read in the Bible about pestilence, it was quick and wiped people out quickly.
If you remember Moses and the children of Israel, God sent different plagues and pestilence until the Pharoah let the people go. Only until someone in Pharoah’s house died, did their release come. Some people are really stuck in their ways and hard in their hearts. The Bible says that obedience is better than sacrifice.
What can we learn about pestilence in the Bible? We know that God has no problem in sending pestilence. We know that in many situations’ pestilence was swift and highly effective. Fortunately, we have an intercessor through Jesus Christ. I am thankful that we are alive during this time period after Christ. We can go to God in prayer to obtain grace and mercy in a time of need. If you feel that there is pestilence in the land, ask God to take it away. The Bible says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”(2 Chronicles 7:14) I take God at His Word because He is not a man that He should lie nor a son of man that He should change His man. Will He speak and not act? Will He promise and not fulfill (Numbers 23:19)?
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