Is the coronavirus God’s judgment?

A friend forwarded an article recently written by a Christian stating that the coronavirus is God’s judgment on the wealthy and decadent West. The argument goes something like this. God judged wickedness in the OT, both the sins of the Gentiles (e.g. Sodom – Gen 18:20; Gen 19:13) as well as Israel’s. God is sovereign and the OT is particularly emphatic that He is the agent who brings those disasters like the plagues on Egypt (Exod 3:20) and the curses on disobedient Israel (e.g. Deut 28:20-37). Therefore, so the argument concludes, it is clear that God is behind such events and He is bringing judgment on sinful people.

Whenever there is a disaster somewhere in the world, an earthquake, tsunami, wildfires or whatever, I suspect that the question of judgment comes up. When the 2010/11 earthquakes happened in Christchurch, New Zealand, there were Christians who stated that this was God’s judgment on that city (though in what way they were worse than others was never adequately explained). Depending on temperament, some Christians are in wholehearted agreement because it shows that God is active in the world. Others squirm but don’t always know how to answer this question. My thoughts on this are nothing new, but I offer my reflections here in the hope that they may be helpful for some. Please feel free to add further thoughts or questions in the comments section but be respectful of others even if you disagree with their views. Having this as a discussion is much better than what one person can put together.

Reading the OT selectively the principle seems to be simple: God rewards those who faithfully follow Him and judges those who don’t. Putting this into OT language, the righteous will prosper and the wicked perish (e.g. Ps 1:1-6). When God made a covenant with Israel, He summarised the choice between obedience and disobedience, life and death, blessings and curse (Deut 30:15-20). However, we quickly discover that the picture is not that straightforward. The psalmist’s confidence in the formula (Ps 73:1), for instance, turns to despair when he encounters the prosperity of the wicked (Ps 73:2-5). It is not until he goes to the temple that he perceives their end, which will be God’s judgment (Ps 73:17-20). In other words, there is a connection between obedience/disobedience and reward/punishment, but it is not an immediate reality. God delays the punishment of Israel and Judah for hundreds of years before the exile happens giving them the opportunity to repent at the prophets’ word. The NT affirms this principle: the delay in judgment may be an opportunity for repentance (2 Pet 3:9). When God’s judgment finally comes on Israel-Judah, the faithful few who did not disobey God suffer alongside the guilty, while evil generations before them have escaped punishment.

Further, there are a number of individual examples of those who are righteous and yet suffer. David is persecuted by Saul for years before he becomes king even though he is God’s chosen one. Jeremiah the prophet endures persecution, plots against his life (Jer 11:18-19) and imprisonment (Jer 32:2; Jer 38:6 cf. also Heb 11:36-38). Many of the psalms voice the cries of the suffering righteous (Ps 26:1-5, 9; Ps 22:1-2) and Job is the most prominent OT example, who is clearly suffering not because of his sins but precisely because his righteousness is tested (Job 1:8-12). It is exactly Job’s friends who come up with variations on the same argument that Job must have sinned since God is punishing him (e.g. Job 4:7-9). However, God condemns these friends for saying so (Job 42:7). Finally, Jesus is the ultimate example of the righteous sufferer whose vindication comes only after the grave. Ultimately the world will be put to rights, but in the meantime, the wicked sometimes prosper and the righteous suffer. Thus, the picture is much less clear-cut than the initial impression would suggest. Finally, we have a privileged perspective in Scripture that events are interpreted for us in God’s Word, whereas in our own lives they are not. Rather, we have to work out the general principles we know from Scripture.

Another point to examine is the emphatic expressions of God’s sovereignty in the OT, which seemingly take no account of human or natural causes. This needs to be understood against the cultural background of the ancient world. Sovereignty was not an inherent characteristic of the gods; rather, gaining the upper hand came about because one god outsmarted another, or supremacy was won by a fight. In such a context, it was important for Israel to remind themselves that their God, YHWH was sovereign over all. Thus, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exod 9:12), He sent the Assyrian army to punish Israel (Isa 10:5), etc. This is particularly problematic for us because it looks like they have no choice (God overrules their will), yet God holds them responsible (for a detailed reflection on this see my post on the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart here). The ancients were well-aware of human will (it is perhaps most apparent in Isa 10:5-7), but given their cultural context, they chose to emphasise God’s sovereignty. On the other hand, they did not understand the scientific cause and effect behind disasters such as earthquakes or drought, so again they assign all these to God’s direct agency. The ancients then emphasised God’s direct agency either because they were making a point about God’s sovereignty or because they were not aware of direct causes behind natural phenomena.

It is important for us to hold both these aspects of agency together, even if we cannot fully understand their relationship to each other. On our level, we recognise that human will (which may involve human evil) can cause things to happen. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers because they were jealous of him. They meant it for evil, but ultimately God meant it for good (Gen 50:20). Did God cause the evil? No. But He used it for His purposes. What if the brothers hadn’t sold him to slavery? God would have made a different way to save the family of Jacob. He was not surprised by what had happened and He was in control of how things were ultimately going to unfold.

Again, on our level, we are aware of discernible patterns and rules that explain the occurrence of certain natural events, such as earthquakes, tsunamis or drought. Are they then out of God’s control? Of course, not. God through Jesus Christ created the natural world and continues to maintain and uphold it (Heb 1:2-3). Thus, the natural world and the rules by which it operates are under God’s control and He ensures that it does so in a consistent manner (which makes scientific explorations possible in the first place). We cannot fully comprehend how the two agencies (human/natural and divine) work together but we can know that God is involved. Moreover, we who know Him can take comfort from the fact that He can and does work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28).

How can we apply all these reflections to the coronavirus situation? From what I understand, the virus probably started at a seafood market where wild animals like bats, snakes, birds, etc. were traded illegally. The slaughtering of animals onsite created an increased risk of virus transmission between species. Thus, there was a human factor involved. There is also a natural factor in that the virus was capable of making the transition from an animal host to a human and then transmit itself through humans. Whether God created the universe in such a way that such things were possible from the beginning or are the result of a creation corrupted by sin, I do not know. Nevertheless, we have to affirm God’s sovereignty in that He created a universe where such things originally or ultimately became possible. At the same time, God is not responsible for evil, but His sovereignty ensures that He can use even evil, pain and suffering for good.  

So, can we accept that the coronavirus is God’s judgment on the sins of the West? For one thing, we have seen in Scripture that suffering and disasters do not automatically mean judgment. Neither is the West a particular target. The virus does not selectively attack Westerners and is not localised, hence seeing the Western world as the target is difficult to maintain. After all, COVID-19 originated in China and there are a number of non-Western countries where the virus is having a particularly overwhelming effect (e.g. Iran). Also, we are still in the early stages of this developing crisis and some countries had less exposure (e.g. in Africa). However, once they get hit many of them will be very much worse off than the West. They will have little ability to halt the spread (how do you self-isolate in a small shanty where several generations live in close contact?) and fewer resources for medical help. It is questionable to argue that the Italians and Spanish are worse sinners because the infections spiralled out of control there. I suspect, it has to do with them being popular tourist destinations, so that they were more quickly affected than Eastern European countries, for instance, where the infected numbers are still tracking fairly low. It is likewise clear that how wealthy countries fare in the crisis has less to do with their purported sins and more dependent on how quickly their governments act ‘to flatten the curve’ and how much their people co-operate with the measures required.

What might be a more helpful way of viewing the COVID-19 crisis? We have seen that the picture the OT paints already cautions us from an easy identification of disaster with judgment. The NT adds to this a further aspect in a scenario (Luke 13:1-5), where human evil is reported to Jesus (Pilate killed some Galileans). Jesus immediately understands the assumption of the speakers: those people were judged for their sins. He, however, corrects that misconception. No, they were not any worse than the rest; all fall under God’s judgment and need to repent. He then adds his own example of a tower that fell and killed some people and repeats the same principle.

In other words, disasters and human evil happen to people and we should not be seeing this as God’s direct judgment on them as if they were somehow worse individuals or groups than others. Rather, we all fall under God’s judgment and disasters remind us of the fragility of life and that one day we have to give an account of our lives to God. Thus, these current events are opportunities to take stock and turn to God for the first time or again. Some are in danger of losing their livelihoods and their need might drive them to seek the Lord. For others, the removing of busy-ness will allow an opportunity for taking stock. For yet others, being thrown together with their spouse in self-isolation may become a wake-up call that their marriage has drifted apart. Some may realise how much they rely on their routines and comforts rather than on God to keep them going. Again, some who have been wrapped up in their work day-and-night and now can do nothing or little from home may realise how their identity has been swallowed up by work in ways that are unhealthy. For many in the church it will be a test whether they continue to be active despite restrictions on physically going to church when no one is checking on them whether they watch a sermon online or just sleep in on a Sunday morning. It will also test us whether we genuinely care for each other when it takes more effort to do so. Finally, the present crisis may provide unexpected opportunities to speak and show the good news of God’s grace and love for a fallen world.