In Part I, we only looked at some of the verses regarding plague(s), pestilence(s) and famine(s) from the 5 books of the Torah which were written by Moses, and showing that God indeed has sent such chastisements on His People. In Part II below we’ll look at some of those same word references in the books oriented to the history of Israel as recorded in Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. Reminder: What is the ‘hierarchical heresy’ we are refuting? It’s the opinion publicly proclaimed by some prelates that God does not and would not ever send plague or pestilence or famine on His People (Israelites or Christians.) Extra verses added 5/11/20.
Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.
“Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, ‘There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gib’eonites to death.'”
“So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, ‘Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.’ Then David said to Gad,’I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.’ So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time; and there died of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men.”
And Arau’nah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor of you, in order to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be averted from the people.”
And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD heeded supplications for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.
“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besieges them in any of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is;
“And Eli’sha came again to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. And as the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, “Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.”
“And there was a great famine in Sama’ria, as they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.”
“If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians; if they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.”
Now Eli’sha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, ‘Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.'”
“On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.”
And David said to God, “Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Let Thy hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be against me and against my father’s house; but let not the plague be upon Thy people.”
And David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of the threshing floor that I may build on it an altar to the LORD–give it to me at its full price–that the plague may be averted from the people.”
“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in any of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is;
“… behold, the LORD will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions,….”
“Is not Hezeki’ah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, ‘The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria’?
What else do we learn from Kings and Chronicles (1 and 2 Samuel are called 1 and 2 Kings in the Septuagint)? When God gave Samuel permission to yield to the people’s demand for an earthly ruler like the other countries, He did not surrender the power He always held to warn and to discipline through the sword (wars, which continue even today), plague/pestilence, and famine. Nor has God ever conveyed to mankind the power to change climate and weather, over which He has sole control. Some are amused today that when people lived closer to the land, it was common to offer Mass and prayer for good growing seasons, and nurturing weather. It is easy to forget that those needs are just as important today as they ever were. We are just less aware.
Then, suddenly, flash floods and wildfires out of control remind us of our own lack of power. If there is something deserving of amusement, it is the belief from the so-called intelligentsia among the globalists that by using up the resources of the world, and killing billions of people alive today to reduce total population, that somehow the world would be saved. Let us say to them: “The world has already been saved — by Jesus Christ. We have no need of a tutorial in how to live together AND care for the environment by some wooden idol. We have no need of being instructed by those who would miss even the first couple questions in a first-grader’s catechism: “Who made me?” “Why did God make me?” and “Who is God?” People who don’t truly know the answers to such questions have no right to lead others.
We also see in God’s promises that it is possible to stay His Hand against the people if they convert and repent of their sins. Can we even imagine what the world would be like if everyone prayed for an end to abortion? There is much argument about whether or not the current pandemic is punishment by God for our sins. I would say ‘no,’ because what we are going through in no way approximates the justice required for punishment of the very great evils perpetrated. But it seems more likely that this is a caution to us to stop what we are doing, and get back to the catechism, to worshiping God and to true repentance.
So Part II above supports the point made earlier that God does use plagues, pestilence and famine, in the long run, to save His flock.
Luke 13:2-5: “Jesus said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”