I’m sure many of you saw TV news pictures of crowds in Asian countries re-acting to the threat of COVID 19 by fleeing en-masse to their home countries,  providing an ideal scenario for the virus to spread to their homelands. I was not alone in suggesting that this would result in huge death statistics, but it did not happen.

Instead, it has been in the US, Britain and Italy that we have seen the rapid spread of this plague, despite their best efforts, and Asia and the Third World has  (So far) been spared  the expected results.

That could change, but it is still remarkable that the US,  Britain and Italy  have been hit so much harder, while closely related nations to Britain,  Australia and New Zealand, have seen much lower death rates. Does the Bible provide a reason?

Long ago God chose one man to be the father of a nation which would be His example to the world. That man was Abraham, and the nation was Israel. Do not confuse Israel with the Jews, who are just one of the 12 tribes of Israel.

God fulfilled all the promises he made to Abraham and his descendants Israel, which split from the Jews. As promised, it became the single great nation and a company of nations, Genesis 35:10-11,  ‘And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.’

And Genesis 48:19-20, ‘But his father said, “Son, I know what I am doing. It’s true that Manasseh’s family will someday become a great nation. But Ephraim will be even greater than Manasseh, because his descendants will become many great nations.” CEV.

While God fulfilled His promises to Abraham, Israel failed  to provide the example God expected and required, and so He has gradually been taking away His blessings because of the evil choices and rejection of God’s Laws the US and UK have made. Only the company of nations (British Commonwealth) have not followed Britain so deeply down the path of homosexuality, abortion, drugs and violence.

Italy led the whole Protestant world into breaking God’s Commandment about the 7th day Sabbath.

Justice requires that further punishment can be expected with no repentance;  that COVID-19 is just the start, but the whole wold is also guilty, so the rest of the nations will not escape, though individually we can be protected, if we will personally repent.