Psalm 57:1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusts in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
In this verse David had fled from King Saul and had taken refuge in a cave. He cried out to the LORD for His divine protection. He desired to be sheltered under the “shadow” of His wings. This would denote that the Most High “passed over” or was “hovering” over David providing His protection.
We find many such verses in scripture denoting the protection of the wings of the LORD.
Psalms 91:1 He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
In the Newer Testament we read that Yeshua desired to take Jerusalem and place them under His wings as a mother hen does her chicks; but they would not permit Him to do so (Matthew 23:37). Because of this they found themselves falling into great calamity.
As I pondered over these scriptures many things entered into my mind regarding the current situation that the world now finds itself in. Before I get into those areas I first wanted to bring out something that I had never noticed before.
I quoted verse 1 of Psalm 91 above but verse 3 goes on to state, “Surely He shall deliver me from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence (KJV). The word pestilence means plague, but I had never noticed the word noisome so I began to do some digging. This word means calamities and is used in Psalm 57:1 above where David was hiding in the cave from Saul. However, it comes from the Hebrew word meaning “rushing upon or falling”. In other words, David was running from Saul and he was looking for a place to hide and ran into this cave. He cried out to The Almighty for protection. Saul was on his heels and he expected him to “rush” or “fall” upon him quickly and overtake him. Hence, David, in Psalm 91:3 states that Elohim will deliver him from the plague (pestilence) that is sure to “fall” upon him quickly.
Do you get that point? David is crying out for protection for not what he thinks may come in the future at some point, but he fears for his life “right now”. A calamity is at hand. Save me LORD now!
In Psalm 91:3 David then speaks of being delivered from a “calamitous (quickly falling upon you) plague.
When I look around the world I see a calamitous plague happening “right now”. How are you responding to it? There are several options available. You can fall into the hands of the Almighty and come under the shadow of His wings or you can fall into the hands of the medical community, the CDC, WHO, the NIH or whatever government (and its leaders) of the world. Let me state here that I work in the medical field so I am not anti-medical; per se. But the important thing is: in whom are you trusting? Do you fear death so much that you will do whatever it takes to preserve your life; or the lives of your loved ones, even if you lose your soul?
Are you taking everything that is going on at face value or have you sought God and asked Him to show you His unfolding plans at work? Have you asked Him to give you eyes that can see and ears that can truly hear what is going on? Are you relying on your doctor, the media, your national leader, or anyone else for your safety more than you are the Almighty God and coming under the shadow of His wings? Need that I remind anyone that death is not the worst thing that can happen to an individual who knows about and has accepted the atoning work of God's Son; Yeshua (Jesus). We must not let fear overtake and be the wings that we are under so that we make bad decisions during this difficult time.
This is not the first pandemic that the world has ever experienced. Pandemics have come and pandemics have gone, but man is still around. Bet you didn't know, or forgot, that there was a pandemic in 2009 (H1N1) did you? Yep, didn't hear much of anything about it, did you? Just wondering: did you wear a mask, get quarantined, get forced to take a vaccine, get told to lockdown at home, get made to close your business, not be allowed to visit a loved one or friend in the hospital or nursing home, not be allowed to have a funeral for a loved one, etc? Let's see, straight from the CDC website here is another pandemic that I lived through: 1968 (H3N2 virus). If I were to throw in pandemics that my older siblings, parents and grandparents lived through we would also have: 1957-1958 (H2N2 virus); 1918 (Flu pandemic).
I am not saying that pandemics don't cause sickness or bring death, I am simply saying – THE FEAR FACTOR HAS TAKEN OVER! In whom do you trust?
Funny, growing up and honestly up until this stupid coronovirus, we went to church, period. If we were sick we were told to come to church and get prayed for. We anointed with oil and prayed over the sick (by the way-this is a Biblical command). If a person was too sick to come to church or in the hospital then someone usually went to their home and prayed over them or went to the hospital and prayed over them. Now, what do we hear instead? Quarantine. Visitation denied. No access. Stay home by yourself.
What about the first Biblical pandemic? It was truly terrifying and reminds me a lot of what we are going through right now. What was God's remedy for this pandemic? What caused it and how was it cured? What did they do to those who were infected? How can all of this possibly relate to us in any way during this time? Could any of this have anything to do with a DISTRACTED Bride of Messiah? Could any of this have anything to do with being drawn “outside the camp” or “into the wilderness” for specific reasons, which will ultimately bring our good?
In the Word we read about a plague that most Bible translations call leprosy. However, this disease (plague) is not really Hansen's disease and it in no way resembles Hansen's disease. In Hebrew it is called tzaraat. Instead of requiring medical attention from a physician, it required examination from the priest. It was a spiritual condition. It not only affected a person's skin, but could also infect garments, belongings, and houses. Interestingly, if the plague had covered the entire body, the person was declared clean, not unclean.
The treatment for this plague was total social isolation from the rest of the community. The person infected had to live totally separated and cry out, “unclean, unclean” if anyone approached them.
So, what caused this plague to fall upon a person? Rabbi's teach that it is not a physical, or medical, problem but a spiritual problem. They teach that the disease is brought upon a person because of sin. It is a warning from Elohim that they need to mend their ways. Now, please understand that I am not saying that everyone that gets sick or dies of covid that it happened just because they were wicked. I am planning to just draw some things out here in similarities between tzaraat and covid. The Rabbi's teach that the sins that were most likely to cause this condition were anti-social sins such as: gossip, murder, sexual immorality, pride perjury, arrogance and envy. They specifically focused on evil speaking or derogatory speech against another; in Hebrew this is called lashon hara; evil speaking.
Who was the first person in the Bible who was recorded as having this plague? Miriam, the sister of Moses. What caused her to get this disease? She spoke out in criticism against Moses.
So, let's compare some things between covid and this anti-social plague of tzaraat for you to consider.
First, Miriam got it because of her evil speaking mouth. Many scriptures declare that Elohim hates an unruly tongue. If there has been one thing that I have noticed during this whole covid thing it is how it has sought to divide the human race. Our tongues have gone wild. We have been encouraged to report those who have too many people over to their homes during lock downs. We have been encouraged to report or affront those not wearing masks. We have been bashing and criticizing those who don't agree with us about whether or not to be vaccinated. Facebook has even encouraged that you report your friends for any activity which would go against the accepted practice for covid. I have noticed the snarls, slanders, etc that go forth from people's mouths just because another person is not performing the way they think they should in regard to masks, social distancing, and vaccinations. Instead of decreasing, the insults are increasing daily. Name calling, murmuring, and gossiping are not of God. Christians are doing this as much as anyone else.
Having an unruly tongue is evil. If you cannot control your tongue and continue to live civilly with your neighbor then something is wrong with you spiritually. I used to wonder how “father could turn against child” and friends could turn in other friends but now I completely understand these scriptures. This plague has truly brought out the worst in people and how they care for no one but themselves. They are willing to turn on anyone – friend or family member.
While on this topic let's look at a scripture about someone who has tzaraat (leper):
Lev. 13:45 And the leper (tzara) in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be torn, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, unclean, unclean.
Wow, that person has to wear something that covers up their mouth. Sound familiar? Only we have been commanded to cover our nose so we can't breathe also. This person with tzaraat was to cover their nasty speaking unruly mouth. There is no indication that tzaraat was spread by air so they didn't cover it for that reason. The rest of the above scripture indicates why they covered it. They were in mourning for their condition. Ancients ripped their clothing and let down their hair, or uncovered their head, when they were in mourning. See Ez 24:1 They covered their face in their shameful and mourning state.
Have you even noticed that we are in mourning during this pandemic. We cover our faces. Our faces express who we are as individuals. People recognize us by our face. We understand each others moods and intentions by their facial expressions. A frown or a smile can say a thousand words. That is all covered over in this pandemic. I cannot recognize people who I have not seen in a while when they are wearing a mask. Children, and especially infants, need facial recognition to thrive. We have taken that from them. The first thing an infant learns to recognize is the human face. In fact, it has been said that all humans are cued to see the human face in many objects around them. We tend to make a face appear in objects. Our faces are now covered. What does this make for?
Isolation and mourning! (and more fear)
Tzaraat caused a person to have to live outside the camp in isolation from the rest of the people. Covid has conditioned us to “social distance”. Like the tzara we cover our faces and social distance from one another. God did not design us to live our lives this way. We are social creatures. We need to feel the human touch. Thousands of elderly and sick people have been forced to die alone; unable to have their loved ones around them during some of the most critical times in their lives. Many elderly have died of loneliness during this pandemic. Suicides are on the rise, even among mere children who should not even know of such things. The reason that tzaraat was so bad was because they had to live away from the others. I have had friends die during this pandemic. They died alone. They were in nursing homes alone. Many didn't understand why their loved ones had stopped coming to visit them.
Tzaraat caused people to have to live outside the camp so that they would consider their ways and repent. They didn't need a medical doctor but a priest to declare them clean. Have we been driven into the wilderness because we have been a distracted bride? Is this the time when the bride is supposed to be making herself ready? Are we examining ourselves? Has the social isolation taught us anything? Have we spent time with God? Or have we just complained? Complained about the virus, complained about the masks, complained about our neighbor who isn't wearing a mask?
Hard times are here. The calamity is here “right now”. I believe tribulation is upon us. It will get worse. There is a bigger agenda here than just a virus.
Where is this pandemic taking you? Under the wings of The Almighty, or do you just want a medical doctor for your physical condition, or a prophylactic so you won't get a physical sickness? Can you even see the greater spiritual thing that is happening all around the world?
As much as this pandemic has caused physical sickness, it has caused even more of a spiritual sickness to be revealed. Maybe that is a God thing for many who will accept the challenge of being drawn into the wilderness to prepare themselves for the coming of their bridegroom.
Oh, and by the way, it is a priest, our High Priest, Yeshua the Messiah, who will declare His bride to be clean!
.
Any feedback appreciated, so long as you are kind.
Shalom,
Leisa
