God’s Three Arrows: “wars, pestilence, and famines” or “faith, hope, and love”?

I have been thinking about the recent pandemic.  When I was teaching in an old Cistercian monastery in Austria, I remember seeing a representation of the “Grim Reaper” in the small rural town of Gaming.  It made me think about Europe’s history and her dreadful encounter with various plagues.  I wondered to myself, “What would it have been like to live in times such as those?”  History has had its moments of such tragedies such as the Plague of Athens (5^th century BCE), the Plague of Justinian (6^th century CE), and the Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague (14^th century).    

I also asked myself, “How would I react if I ever lived through something like that?”  “Would I be afraid?”  Or “Would I be a sense of comfort for others?”  One way to approach the question is to engage an argument that the pandemic is sent from God.  For an atheist, this would be a moot point.  For those who believe in an Almighty God, however, the premise would be welcome to some, questioned by another, and rejected by others. 

In the 17^th century, William Gouge published a work entitled God’s Three Arrows: Plague, Famine, and Sword.  I do not intend to give a general or exhaustive account of this work, but only to borrow the title to raise the question “does God sent forth plague, famine, and war?”  There is evidence that the Hebrew prophets indeed did express views on such matters (Jer 28:8).  Furthermore, the prophet Jeremiah speaks of the LORD letting loose on the people sword, famine, and pestilence (Jer 29:17).  Moreover, the LORD sent a plague against the people who rebelled against Moses and Aaron, but in the end, Moses and Aaron made atonement for the people and the plague stopped (Num 16:41-50).  However, the clearest reference is found in the prophetic book of Ezekiel that refers to the LORD God who sends forth judgment (Ezk 14:21), which elsewhere are likened to deadly arrows (5:16-17; 6:11-12).  So yes!  According to prophetic writings of the Hebrew Scriptures, God sent forth these kinds of judgments.  This view appears in Second Temple Judaism (Sir 39:25-35; Sib. Or. 3.295-349; esp. 330; Pss. Sol. 15:5-11) and Jewish Christian apocalyptic literature (Rev 6:8; see also Lk 21:10-11).  Eventually, the Jews miserably suffered under the Romans with the destruction of the Second Temple during the First Jewish Revolt (CE 66-70).  Ultimately, Jerusalem was raised to the ground and all of Judah became desolate after the Second Jewish Revolt (CE 132-135).  The Roman historian Lucius Cassius would later describe how Jews perished by famine, disease, and war (Dio Cassius, Rom. Hist. 69:12:1-13:2).

On a more positive note, the Hebrew Scriptures also clearly express the hope that the people should and could stop these disasters through repentance and turning to God (1 Kgs 8:37-40).  If the people would humble themselves, seek and pray, and turn from their evil ways, God would hear from heaven, forgive them and heal their land (2 Chron 7:13).  Even to this day, Jews and Christians hold to this promise.  

Is the coronavirus one of God’s arrows sent in judgment?  As a human being, some could respond “yes” to others “no” and still others merely laugh.  What might be a better and alternative response?  There are “arrows” or perhaps better yet “olive branches” that we humans can offer Faith, Hope, and Love!”  Let us not be afraid!  In our hearts and minds, let us turn to God.  Let us turn away from what is evil to the Good.