Why Did God Allow the BLACK DEATH and So Many to Die?
There are several examples of the Almighty bringing pestilence on certain peoples at certain times as a judgment against sin/rebellion (e.g. 2 Samuel 24:15 wherein 70,000 died). When God’s judgment falls upon the Earth during the future 7-year Tribulation there will be plagues (e.g. Revelation 6:8 & 18:8). But this doesn’t mean every outbreak in history is due to divine judgment.
The black plague — aka the bubonic plague — swept across Europe and northern Africa from 1346-1353, killing between 75-200 million people, which makes it the deadliest pandemic in human history. Was the black death a judgment from God or merely the consequence of life in a fallen world and unsanitary living practices/conditions? Or both? It’s one of those mysteries of life we can ask the LORD about when we come face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12).
One thing I know is that Europe was in the midst of the Dark Ages at the time, 164 years before the Protestant Reformation would begin. In other words, the true Church was small and completely underground at the time and a spirit of powerless religiosity with the superstitions thereof reigned across Europe. I point this out because the true gospel teaches healing by faith (e.g. Mark 5:34 & Mark 10:52) and people couldn’t very well be healed by faith during a deadly pandemic if such truths are not known or preached.
It didn’t help that the Catholic Church conveyed the Word of God in Latin at services and so the common person couldn’t even comprehend it, which you can read about here. (The absurdity of having masses in Latin wasn’t corrected until 1969). The Bible offers sound advice on sanitation, quarantining and diet, as observed in Leviticus 11-13, which was well over 3000 years before germs were discovered in recent centuries, but what good is such knowledge if people are unaware of it? As it is written, “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).
As far as the specific threat of plague goes, the Bible promises believers:
5You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday…
9If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
Psalm 91:5-6,9-11
Unfortunately, believers can’t very well appropriate such an awesome promise by faith during a pandemic if they don’t know about it or don’t know how to appropriate it in their lives on a daily basis thru simple spiritual warfare. In short, ignorance can kill you. Just as bad, the social spread of fear in such a dire situation naturally kills faith but, thankfully, faith counteracts fear for those who boldly challenge it.
Also, consider this: How is the common person dying of the black death in the 14th century much different from innocent people inadvertently being harassed by a psycho mass shooter today? It could understandably be argued that neither deserved such a fate. In his book Disappointment With God, Phillip Yancey described such things as God’s “megaphone of pain,” quoting C.S. Lewis:
We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
In other words, the Sovereign LORD uses the various sufferings in this fallen world to get people’s attention and draw us to our Creator in humility/repentance and the salvation thereof — physical salvation as well as eternal salvation. David understood this, as observed in Psalm 119:71.
Christ addressed the topic when he ministered on Earth:
1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Luke 13:1-5
- The Galileans spoken of in verse 2 were evidently worshippers offering a sacrifice at the Temple and unjustly murdered by Roman authorities on Pilate’s orders.
- The Tower of Siloam in verse 4 is evidently a reference to one of the towers guarding the aqueduct in lower Jerusalem (John 9:7), which accidently collapsed, killing several people.
Bottom line, the pain and calamities encountered in this fallen world should spur the fear of the LORD, which over-and-over is said to be the beginning of knowledge/understanding/wisdom in the Bible (e.g. Proverbs 9:10). Of course, such negative things can also spur the opposite in some people, resulting in bitterness and hatred toward life or the Creator and the corresponding rebellion/hedonism.
Keep in mind that, if this current world wasn’t totally messed up beyond fixing, there would be no need for a “new heavens and new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13 & Revelation 21:1-4). Believers are encouraged to “look forward” to this coming eternal age wherein everything that’s glaringly wrong now will be made right. Read that again.
While it’s healthy to look forward to this new heavens and new earth, we can stay active in the meantime by doing our part to help the suffering in this fallen world one way or another, including teaching/preaching truths that will “set the captives free” and “heal the sick and brokenhearted.” Even something as small as giving someone an encouraging word or a hug is helpful. Or how about saving an animal, like a cat or dog?
Focusing on the countless great tragedies that have taken place throughout history is a dead-end street and one-way ticket to bitterness and mental illness. Instead of asking why God allowed this or that tragedy to happen, consider focusing on questions that might offer better answers, like: Why is this world so messed up? Is there a malevolent being or beings who have control to some degree and are working “behind the scenes”? What’s hindering the Almighty from legally saving people in tragic situations? How are some people effectively tapping into the power of God and miraculously being saved in deathly situations, like Paul when he was bit by a deadly viper (Acts 28:1-5)? I think we can learn something from the answers we discover.
The question “Why does a good God allow evil and suffering?” is a popular one. When talking to our neighbor a few years ago, this was the first question he asked when the conversation turned to deeper stuff beyond the weather and yardwork.
Consider this: Over and over in the Bible are statements that “the LORD is good” (e.g. Psalm 34:8). We see this verified in the opening pages of Genesis in which God creates the Earth and living things wherein Adam & Eve exist in a veritable paradise — no evil, no pain, no death, no grieving. This is likewise observed when the Creator’s plan of redemption is completed in the “new heavens and new earth” where “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4). These bookend scenarios show the way God wants it to be on Earth — a condition in which immorality, corruption, suffering and death are nowhere to be found. Chew on that.
For more insights, see this article.
Related Topics:
Why Is This World So Messed Up?
How to “FEAR NOT” in Perilous Times
REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation
Satan (the Devil) — Liar, Slanderer, Thief, Murderer
The Fall of Man (Humanity) and Slavery to Satan
The Five Earths of the Bible (and the Eight Ages)
SPIRITUAL WARFARE — Do You Know What You’re Fighting For?
ETERNAL LIFE (“Heaven”): Questions & Answers
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