Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. – Psalm 91:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 21, 2015): Psalm 91

Officially, World War I began on July 28, 1914 with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia, the mobilization of Russia and The Netherland declaring their neutrality in the conflict. The next few days would basically just feature the posturizing of the nations with warnings, declarations of neutrality and declarations of war. It wouldn’t be until August 2 that the first shots would be exchanged in the “Skirmish at Joncherey,” a fight on the Western Front. But by the time the war ended on November 11, 1918, nine million combatants and seven million civilians were dead as a direct result of the war making it one of the deadliest conflicts in history.

As if that wasn’t enough, January 1918 brought with it the first of the two major H1N1 Flu pandemics. Because of the war, the extent of the H1N1 outbreak was a secret throughout much of the world. But as a result of Spain’s neutrality, the extent of the pandemic’s reach in Spain, including the illness and subsequent recovery of King Alfonso XIII, was common knowledge throughout much of the world giving the false impression that the pandemic was worse in Spain than it was anywhere else in the world – and giving the flu its popular name, the Spanish Flu. But the reality was that the 1918 pandemic was worldwide, infecting more than 500 million and killing between 50 and 100 million people, dwarfing the number that had already been lost because of the war. It must have seemed that God had left the neighborhood as the world suffered under an unbelievable weight.

Jewish tradition says that Psalm 91 was written by Moses, most likely late in his life. The Psalm promises good things for those who will follow God. And in verse 3, two different perils are mentioned – the fowler’s snare and the deadly pestilence. One is human in origin and the other is something handed out by nature. It might be an apt description of what happened between 1914 and 1920. It started with the fowler’s snare (World War I) but ended with the deadly pestilence (the H1N1 pandemic.) The problem as we look at the events of the second decade of the 20^th century is simply this, did God keep us safe. I mean, there were Christians and God-fearing people that died both in the war and in the pandemic – exactly how were they kept safe.

Maybe the best way to bridge the tension and to interpret the Psalm 91 might be that Moses is talking about our eternal disposition. The reality is that there is nothing that happens here, outside of the will of God, which has any effect on our eternal destiny. Our souls are safe, even when our bodies are not. And that is where our focus needs to be. Jesus taught his disciples something very similar - Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). The designs of the enemy might be able to kill the body, but what really matters God holds closely in his hands – and there it is kept safe.       

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 1