QUARANTINED!

“Every cloud has a silver lining.” As trite as this often seems to us, there is for the Christian a very large kernel of truth in this cliché.  Theoretically, most Christians have believed that God’s sovereignty overrules everything.  Even horrible events, like Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery, serve a greater purpose under God’s superintending rule (see Genesis 50:20).  But when we are practically and personally involved in the dark clouds of what our Puritan forbears would have called a “frowning” providence, it is sometimes harder to detect let alone appreciate God’s beautiful and good design.  During our confusion and suffering, we rarely prioritize the discipline of praising God for what he is doing.

Right now, we are all in a state of quarantine – federal and state guidelines urge us to “shelter in place” and practice “social distancing.”  For the foreseeable future, these terms will now be a part of our culture’s vocabulary.  The Bible has little to offer in the way of specific rules or guidelines for our experiences of such times.  There is material in the Old Testament giving instructions for those with contagious diseases to be put “outside the camp;” to be “quarantined.”  (See Lev. 13)  But there is not much material on how those who are put outside the camp might respond in a gracious and God-honoring manner.

In 2 Kings 7:3-16 we read the story of four lepers who were “outside the camp.”  These were contagion laden souls whose poor fortune required that they be outside the city of Samaria on the eve of the Syrian’s siege.  As a result, these men were caught in the proverbial no-man’s land.  Behind them are the closed gates of Israel’s capital; before them lay the camps of the Syrian host – determined to eradicate the northern tribes of Israel.  The four lepers have nowhere to go and nothing to do.

The point is finally reached at which the lepers say to one another, ‘Look, if we remain here we will die of starvation.  If they let us into the city we will die of starvation there.  But if we go over to the Syrians, they might let us live.”  So, first thing in the morning they head over to the Syrian camps and discover that the enemy had fled – and left everything behind!  Equipment, horses, and, most importantly, food.

In the city of Samaria, the people were experiencing acute famine.  In 2 Kings 6:26-29 we read that people have already begun eating human flesh to survive.  But because these four lepers were isolated, their suffering companions were able to learn about their deliverance sooner than they might have.  These four quarantined individuals became a means of blessing to the entire population of the city!

In some respects, they used their isolation well – they acted prudently and considered the needs of the city when they discovered the empty camp full of provisions.  God was at work.  Despite the great human suffering and the traumatic experiences people had to deal with, redemptive history was advancing.  And God used a horrible famine, a terrible enemy, and four cast-away lepers to bring us one chapter closer to the coming of Messiah.

God is doing something in our Coronavirus conundrum too.  Just this morning I read that the shuttering of the Chinese economy has greatly damaged Mexican cartels!  How many other things might God be accomplishing?  What silver linings are there to your current inconvenience or illness?  Are there any ways that you can discover some great thing that will bless those around you?  I would dare to say that if you approached God as boldly as those lepers approached the Syrians, and if you search the scripture as earnestly as they searched the abandoned camp  – you will find much to share with your friends and family!

I love that account of the siege of Samaria!  When those four lepers woke up that morning they were sure that they would be dead by noon.  Instead, they were used to save countless lives!  And it all began with a quarantine.

Your Pastor,

Bob Bjerkaas

The artwork is a print that was included in the People’s Commentary on the Gospel According to Luke (Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, 1889). Unfortunately, the artist is not noted.