On August 24, 1857, the New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company announced it was shutting down. Funds at the head office had been embezzled, leaving the company with massive debt. Banks quickly responded, and the federal government made efforts to forestall panic. Then, in the middle of September, the SS Central America went down in a storm. The ship was carrying fifteen tons of federal gold from the mint in San Francisco that was intended to stabilize financial institutions in New York. By October 3, there was a noticeable increase in bank withdrawals from people who were worried about the banks’ solvency. By Oct. 10, the United States was undergoing a full-scale national financial crisis. Numerous businesses went bankrupt. Businesspeople lost everything. It was a national catastrophe.
On Wednesday, September 23, a meeting transpired that no newspaper covered. Jeremiah Lanphier, a businessman, commenced a noon hour prayer meeting in downtown New York City. At noon, Lanphier began praying alone. Around 12:30, a man quietly joined Lanphier in prayer. By the end of the hour, six people had come. The following week, a little more than a dozen prayed. Forty people showed up the third week. Then the nation devolved into a full-scale financial panic. Scores of people lost their jobs. Major companies declared bankruptcy. People committed suicide. Soon, more than 10,000 people were praying daily. Similar prayer gatherings erupted in Chicago, Cleveland, and even Portland, Oregon. The movement swept into Wales and as far as South Africa. It is estimated that, in one year, more than one million Americans were converted and joined churches. At the time, there were only 30 million total Americans. This massive movement became known as the Layman’s Revival and is considered America’s third and final Great Awakening.
On April 12, 1861, on the heels of the awakening, shots were fired on Fort Sumter, SC, and the American war with the greatest number of military casualties commenced. Thousands of recent converts met their Maker on the battlefield.
Whenever there is a hurricane, economic crisis, drought, or pandemic, people immediately begin debating why God would allow something so dreadful to happen. Perhaps the best-known Scripture passage for such occasions is 2 Chronicles 7:12-14:
Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your
prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Although this passage is well known, we are wise to look closely at several important aspects of these verses.
1.The Preamble
Understanding the context is crucial. King Solomon, the youthful, brilliant king, had just dedicated a magnificent temple to God. After he prayed the dedicatory prayer, heavenly fire consumed the burnt offering and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Throughout the next 15 days, the people dedicated the altar and celebrated a magnificent feast. Twenty-two thousand bulls and 120,000 sheep were sacrificed. God’s people pledged their devotion to Him and He promised to bless, protect, and provide for them. The two parties were entering a covenant in which both sides had obligations to keep.
Then, one night, God gave Solomon a warning.
2. The Problem.
God said, “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour your land, or send pestilence among My people . . .” Notice, God did not say if but when. God knew even devout followers are not immune to the distractions of false gods. People can be red hot for God one week and backslidden the next.
God said He would do three things. First, He would send a drought. He was speaking to an agrarian society. During a drought, they would have no means of earning an income or feeding themselves. Second, God would send locusts. Like a stock market crash, people’s crops and wealth would be consumed before their eyes. Third, He would send pestilence, which would be an affliction upon the people themselves. The word pestilence implies that there is no known cure. It brings widespread suffering and death.
Not every drought, locust infestation, or pestilence is an act of divine judgment. These disasters happen in nature, often in cycles. When God sent punishment in the Bible, a prophet would typically arrive on the scene and instruct the people to repent and be saved.
When coronavirus hit the world, some people immediately assumed it was God’s judgment on an evil society. In truth, it might be. Biblically, when a crisis was unusual, on an unprecedented scale, or more deadly or disruptive than usual, people assumed God must be its author.
Whenever a natural disaster occurs, Christians should do two things. First, we must recognize that even if God didn’t author the crisis, He allowed it. God promised Solomon that He would bless and protect His people. But if they turned their backs on Him, God would remove His hand of protection. The prophet Isaiah described this action as removing the “hedge” of protection from His vineyard so wild animals could ravage it (Is. 5:1-7). Whenever a disaster strikes at devastating levels, people should turn to God for His word on the matter. Second, whenever a pandemic, drought, or locust plague afflicts a nation, people should take a spiritual inventory to see if they have sinned against God and are now facing His judgment.
Many people, even many Christians, resist this approach. They point out a sweet elderly woman who succumbed to a pandemic or a child who died from a hurricane and exclaim, “What sin did that person commit? Why would God kill an innocent person like that in judgment?” But such a response misses the point. 2 Chronicles 7:12-14 addresses corporate sin, nations that turn their back on God. As a result, God punishes an entire nation or region. He doesn’t send locusts only to sinful farmers. The whole nation feels the brunt of God’s displeasure. We must pray for revival, for if God sends judgment, people of all ages and backgrounds will inevitably feel the impact.
People also ask, “Why would a loving God send any pestilence or drought?” As soon as God’s people become prosperous, they inevitably forsake Him. So, God gets people’s attention through crises and disasters. C.S. Lewis famously said, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” When a pandemic strikes, God has picked up His megaphone.
3. The People.
People tend to think Washington, Wall Street, or Hollywood needs revival. But God clearly said, “If MY people . . .” Unbelievers cannot return to a place they’ve never been. The fate of a nation rests on God’s people. When Christians witness the nation’s moral and spiritual decline, firing off an angry post on social media or praying for God to change the heart of government officials is pointless. Christians should repent that they have not been the salt and light their nation needs (Matt. 5:13-16).
4. The Prescription.
When God judges a nation and His people recognize that judgement, they must do four things immediately.
First, they must humble themselves. Revival would come much more quickly if God’s people weren’t prideful. We must stop praying, “God revive them!” Instead, we ought to pray, “God revive me!” We must stop proclaiming how great we are and cry out, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Lk. 18:13).
Second, God’s people must pray. The common denominator for every major revival has been prayer. Are we praying? Are pastors across the nation calling their people to take inventory of personal and corporate sin? We will be closer to revival when the Church has as much prayer as it does preaching and Bible study.
Third, we must seek God’s face. Isaiah 59:2 states, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” When God is pleased with you, He shines His face on you and blesses you (Num. 6:25). But when you sin, He turns His face away so you feel the full weight of your broken relationship. Revival involves pursuing a mended relationship with God. God’s people need to spend less time seeking answers from politicians and more time seeking His face.
Finally, we must turn from our wicked ways. God sends pestilence when people are sinning. Until we stop sinning, we cannot expect God to stay His hand. American society has become so self-absorbed that it believes it can live in any ungodly way it chooses, and God will respond with blessing. According to scripture, God will continue to raise His voice until His people finally humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways.
5. The Provision.
God said that if His people meet His requirements, He will do the following: 1. Hear from heaven, 2. Forgive their sin, 3. Heal their land. Don’t assume that because you are praying, God is listening! If you pray and yet continue to sin, He will not hear your prayers (Prov. 28:9). But when you repent of your wicked ways, God will turn His face toward you and heed your prayers. Sin is always God’s chief concern. Once God deals with our sin, He will heal the land. Our land certainly needs healing!
Is the coronavirus God’s judgment on America? It could be. Does God send plagues to modern nations today? He said He would. Has He allowed the virus to wreak havoc on society? Certainly. What should God’s people do? Exactly what God said. And soon.
