Pandemics are not new.  They have taken the lives of many in recent history, as well as in Bible times.  One such pandemic or plague broke out when the Israelites were in the wilderness.

 

There is speculation today, as to how and why COVID-19 began, but there was no doubt why this plague began in the days of Moses.  The people were grumbling about Moses and Aaron, and gathering to oppose them.  It was more serious than that though, as their rebellion was against God.

 

As this plague spread and people died, Moses told Aaron to take a censer and fill it with burning incense from the altar.  He wasted no time!  Aaron ran among the people, waving the incense, pleading for mercy and making atonement for them.

 

Wait a moment!  Weren’t these the same people who had been complaining against them?  Yet Moses and Aaron were the ones who cried out to God for mercy.  Perhaps we have been criticised for our actions as believers, or spoken against, but this is the time when God wants to use us.

One night many years ago, the Israelites had locked themselves in their homes.  A plague was spreading across the country, a plague that brought death.  Isn’t that what is happening in the world today, as we face lockdown and COVID-19?

 

Although there was death and destruction all around, God had a plan!  “Take a lamb,” he told them, “and take some of the blood.”  The blood was then to be put on the doorframes of their homes, and the lamb roasted and eaten with unleavened bread.  If they did this, God promised he would ‘pass over’ them.

 

Did they remember how God had provided Abraham with a ram?  We don’t know, but they did exactly what God told them.  These events didn’t only point back to a significant time in their history, they pointed forward.  Another lamb, whose blood would be shed, would be given as a sacrifice. That one was Jesus.

 

The coronavirus can sometimes be deadly, but there is something that is far more deadly, and that is sin.  No-one can recover from sin.  The consequences according to God’s word is always death.

The borders of many countries have closed, with their citizens in lock down, as a result of COVID-19 that is spreading across the globe. 

 

Perhaps we can now understand how Noah must have felt, locked up in the ark!   During that time it rained for 40 days and nights, but Noah and his family were in the ark far longer than that.  It took many days for the flood waters to recede before they could venture out onto dry ground.  They were in the ark for about 364 days.  A whole year!

 

The meaning of Noah’s name is significant, as are many Biblical names.  His name means ‘rest’.  On the day Noah’s family entered the ark, the floodgates of heaven opened, and so did the springs in the ground.  It must have been a wild ride, yet inside the ark the family was safe and at rest.

 

In the midst of these uncertain times God is calling us to enter his rest.  “Come to me,” Jesus says, “all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”