Articles
God's View on "Missing Services"
This is a trying time for all of us. Our everyday routines are changing. When it comes to worship assemblies we are finding ourselves at home and worshipping the best we can. It is a strange and uncomfortable feeling to not be at church assemblies which have always been part of our regular routine. This following article I thought best stated God’s view of the present situation that Christians find themselves in.
Since I know many people are struggling with the concept of "missing church services", let me say I understand. I grew up as a preacher's kid in Alabama in the 1970s, so believe me. I understand.
But allow me to offer a little perspective on the common ground where science and scripture intersect, giving us direction in our decision making during this time of anxiety.
Remember that Jehovah God was and is a God of quarantine in times of illness, even before we had the ability to understand why.
- Numbers 5:2 outlines an isolation protocol for lepers and those who contacted a dead body.
- Leviticus 14:36 states those with infection were labeled unclean and sent to live outside the camp.
- Leviticus 13:4 gives directions for dealing with apparent staph skin infections, before anyone could have possibly known what that was.
The bottom line is, God knew the value of quarantine and gave us no less than 16 examples of when this is appropriate. It is certainly not unscriptural to follow His blueprint and take steps to ensure our physical health and safety, regardless of our religious beliefs.
Please be safe people. And remember, the quarantine may not ultimately change the number of viral infections, but it may spread them out long enough to keep our hospitals from being overrun with more patients than we can handle.
Thanks,
David B. Wilhelm, MD
