The world has been forever changed by the global virus, COVID-19. As a result of our worldwide connectivity today, the virus has quickly spread from person to person and from country to country. International travel has been halted for the most part around the world and many countries are closing their borders and restricting movement of their citizens in order to slow the spread of the virus. Over two hundred thousand people have been infected by the virus and thousands of people have died as a result of this virus as well. Although these numbers sound overwhelming, they are actually quite low considering that this virus is a pandemic. We are also already seeing positive signs of containment and a slowdown of the virus in places like China, South Korea, and Japan.

As with any international crisis, there are always questions and theories regarding why human tragedies such as these occur. There are some who say that God is bringing judgment upon the world for various reasons while others take a totally scientific approach. The truth is generally found somewhere in the middle. What does the Bible say about widespread illnesses that affect nations? We find a balanced answer to this question as we study this week’s Torah Portion.

Counting the Cost

We conclude the book of Exodus in this week’s reading from the Torah: Exodus chapters thirty-five to forty. In the final chapters of Exodus we read how the Tabernacle was completed and assembled. We are also given a tally of the amount of materials that were used in the construction for the Tabernacle which is introduced in Exodus chapter thirty-eight:

This is the number of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were numbered according to the command of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. – Ex. 38:21

The LORD had commanded Moses to take a contribution from the people that was to be given to the LORD for the purpose of building the Tabernacle and the people gave generously. In fact, the people gave so much that Moses had to restrain the people from continuing to give (Ex. 36:6-7).

Although the majority of supplies for the Tabernacle were given by the people as a free-will offering, this was not the only means of collecting the needed materials. As we look at the accounting of the materials collected and used for the Tabernacle, we read how the silver was collected from the people by a unique means. In the selected verses below we will just read the first few verses detailing the gold and the silver:

All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the wave offering, was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. The silver of those of the congregation who were numbered was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. – Ex. 38:24-26

The gold and the other materials which are listed is Exodus 38 are documented according to their weight in shekels which was given as an offering. The weight of the silver was also documented, however, we are given added information in connection to the numbering of the people, a type of census of the nation. Why was the silver given in connection to a census?

The Blessing of a Great Nation

Although it is never explicitly commanded in the Torah, it is understood by means of a few different Scriptures that the people of Israel were not to be counted. This understanding is arrived at based on the promise of God to make a great nation from Abraham (Gen. 12:2) and that this nation would be an uncountable entity:

Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. – Gen. 22:15-17

God gave Abraham the promise that his descendants would be greatly multiplied and He compared them to the stars of the sky and the sand of the seashore. It is this blessing of the uncountable nature of the Israelites that provides the basis for not taking a census among the people.

The Israeli Census

The only provision that God made for counting the Israelites was by means of giving a contribution to the LORD on behalf of the Tabernacle. God gave Moses specific instructions about this method of counting the people earlier in the book of Exodus:

The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD. Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD. The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves. You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.” – Ex. 30:11-16

It is important to note here that not everyone from the nation of Israel was counted. It was only those who were twenty years old and older and we also know from another Scripture that it was only the men who were able to go to war who were counted:

So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war in Israel, even all the numbered men were 603,550. – Numbers 1:45-46

Therefore, we see from the above Scriptures that the means of counting the nation of Israel was limited to the number of men aged twenty years old and older and who were able to go out to war. It is understood by putting these Scriptures together that the nation as a whole was not to be counted. It is generally believed that the reason for not fully counting the people of Israel was to keep the nation from trusting in the strength of their numbers. They were to trust in the LORD and not their own might or strength.

Preserving Life

Furthermore, whenever the children of Israel were counted they were to individually pay a price, a ransom for their life. The word for ransom is the Hebrew word כופר – Kofer which can mean ransom or atonement. God set the ransom price at half a shekel per person for those who were counted (Ex. 30:13). It was literally a matter of life and death as the LORD stated in His instructions to Moses:

When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. – Ex. 30:12

The people were to follow this instruction for taking a census to prevent sickness and death in the nation. The word for plague in the above verse is the Hebrew word נגף – Negef which means plague and it is the same word used for the final plague which God sent amongst the Egyptians, the death of the first born (Ex. 12:13). God warned His people that there would be deadly consequences if this command regarding counting the people was not obeyed.

It is understood from the instructions given in the above verses that the individual people were never counted, but rather that the census was determined based on the number of half shekels which were collected. There is no other reason given for this unique commandment regarding counting, however, the LORD made it crystal clear that each Israelite who was counted was to pay a ransom of half a shekel when a census was taken. This commandment was to be obeyed in order to prevent a plague among the people. Unfortunately, we have a clear record of this commandment being broken in the Scriptures.

The Census of King David

Towards the end of the reign of King David, we read of his decision to have the people of Israel counted. There are two separate accounts of this story in the Bible which provide two different initiators for this decision of King David: one being Satan (1 Chronicles 21:1) and the other being the LORD (2 Samuel 24:1). Understanding how these two influences affected King David in making this decision is beyond the scope of this article, however, I believe one understanding of bridging these two influences in his life is to understand that the LORD allowed Satan to prompt David to count the people in order to bring national discipline (2 Samuel 24:1). We read something similar when the LORD wanted to chastise King Saul for his disobedience and an evil spirit from the LORD was sent to torment him (1 Samuel 16:14).

We will look at the account of King David and the census found in the second book of Samuel and briefly highlight the significance of how the commandment to not count the people was broken according to the word of the LORD:

Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and register the people, that I may know the number of the people.” But Joab said to the king, “Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to register the people of Israel. – 2 Samuel 24:1-4

Joab, David’s general, warned King David to not go through with this census but King David would not listen. Joab obeyed the king’s order and, for whatever reason, the census was not carried out in accordance with the Law of the LORD in Exodus 30:11-16. The people were counted without the ransom given.

King David then acknowledged his sin of having the people counted and asked the LORD to forgive him, however, there was a huge cost to the nation of Israel:

So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.” – 2 Samuel 24:15-17

Seventy thousand people from the nation of Israel were killed by the pestilence which the LORD sent among the people. It was a staggering blow for King David to watch so many of his nation die and thankfully the LORD stopped the angel from destroying Jerusalem at that time.

This narrative of having the people counted and then suffering the consequences of seventy thousand deaths is very challenging and leaves us with many questions. One positive thing that came out of this great tragedy was the revelation of the location for the first Temple (1 Chronicles 22:1-5). This being true, how do we understand this issue of a national plague that struck the nation of Israel as well as national plagues in general?

Understanding National Plagues

As we read the account of King David and the nation of Israel, without understanding all of the details and motivations, we know two things for sure: King David ordered a census which was not in line with God’s commandment and God reacted by punishing the nation according to His Word:

As a result of King David not obeying this command, the LORD sent a plague upon the people and there was a great loss of life.

National Judgment

We learn from the situation with King David and the people of Israel how the decision of a king or leader of the people can and does have an effect on the nation as a whole. It was King David’s decision and act that brought God’s judgment but it was the people of Israel who suffered the results of the plague. King David himself pleaded with God for the innocent lives of the Israelites (2 Samuel 24:17). Many innocent lives are lost as a result of the words and actions of national leaders.

In the account of the plagues which were sent on the Egyptians we also see how the decisions and acts of Pharaoh affected the nation of Egypt as the ten plagues destroyed the nation and many lives. Even when Pharaoh’s own servants begged him to let the Israelites go, he still hardened his heart and his people continued to suffer as a result:

Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?” – Ex. 10:7

Kings and leaders of nations make decisions on behalf of the people which affect the whole nation. Innocent people are often tragically killed in national disasters and plagues due to leadership which does not walk according to God’s commandments.

Individual Judgment

There are times when nations are judged by God because of decisions that leaders make but we also need to understand that the main reason for national plagues and disasters is because of the fall of humanity and the simple result of sin in this world. The consequence of sin is always death (Gen. 2:16-17. James 1:15) and every one of us is guilty of sin (Rom. 3:23). On an individual basis, the only solution to the consequence of sin is found in the Messiah:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord. – Rom. 6:23

Repentance from sin and faith in Yeshua as the atoning sacrifice for sin is the only ransom that is able to keep one from the eternal plague of spiritual death and separation from God.

Global Judgment

On a national and global level there is also an expectation of God’s judgment on this world as a whole. God is holy and He cannot ignore the sins of the nations:

The earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled, for the LORD has spoken this word. The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left. – Isaiah 24:3-6

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished. – Rev. 15:1

There is a certain future expectation of God’s judgment on this world because humanity as a whole has broken the everlasting covenant of God. The Bible clearly tells us that God’s wrath will be poured out on this earth in the last days as a result of the sin of people and nations.

Plague Prevention

The promise of God to His people Israel as a nation was to listen to His voice and to walk in His ways as a means of prevention from the plagues which they saw displayed in Egypt:

And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.” – Ex. 15:26

As a general rule, the LORD promised to watch over His people Israel and keep them from harm as they would choose to walk in His ways and listen to His voice. I believe the LORD extends this promise to His people today, Jew and Gentile alike, who listen to His voice and walk in His ways.

At the conclusion of Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount, He invited His listeners to go beyond being mere hearers of His words to become active doers of His word for the benefit of the listener:

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall. – Matt. 7:24-27

The wise man and woman in this world, according to Yeshua, is the person who hears His words, which are recorded in the New Testament, and acts upon them.

As I write this article, I am in no way trying to minimize or over spiritualize the impact of the current COVID-19 global situation. It is a genuine global pandemic and we need to act with wisdom according to our circumstances but at the same time we need to recognize the spiritual impact and influence of this virus. We live in a world that has real physical and spiritual consequences. We need to be wise in how we live in this world and apply the word of God to our lives each and every day. Leaders and nations in this world can and will benefit from God’s protection and promises as they seek to walk according to His word. We need to actively pray that the leaders in our homes, communities, cities, and nations walk according to the word of God (1 Tim. 2:1-8). The most effective plague prevention for both individuals and nations is to live according to God’s Word!

If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

Shabbat Shalom!

If you enjoyed reading this article, share it today with friends! We also invite you to sign up for our weekly Torah Portion commentary on the sidebar to the right.

Help keep our weekly commentaries free and available to all. Click here to donate today:

**The Hebrew name “Yeshua” is used in the biblical quotations in place of the English name “Jesus” to give emphasis to the meaning of this name, salvation. The word “Messiah” is also used in place of the word “Christ” to bring clarity to the office of Yeshua.

Torah Portion: Ex. 35:1 – 40:38

Haftara: 1 Kings 7:51 – 8:21

Shabbat HaChodesh: Ex. 12:1-20

Return to Torah Portion Homepage

Plague Prevention – Vayakhel-Pekudei – Mar. 19