What are the
Lockdowns from history? As we remember 75 years since the end of World War II
do we think of the Nazi Concentration camps? The Gulags of Russia? The ghetto
of Warsaw? Japanese POW camps? Present day refugee internment facilities?
Slavery?
Our Pandemic
Lockdowns seem soft in comparison…
What about
individuals in The Bible who experienced Lockdowns? How did they cope? What can
we learn?
Noah locked
in the Ark? Daniel locked in the lion’s Den? Joseph the dreamer thrown down a
well? Esther locked in the harem? Samson, Jeremiah, the apostle Paul all locked
in prison. John the apostle’s Lockdown on a remote island? Jonah locked inside
the belly of a big fish for 3 days. Different kinds of Lockdown.
What about
Jesus – the ultimate Lockdown? Dead. Buried. 3 days in a tomb. A stone rolled
across. Then…the Resurrection. Coming alive. Bursting out of the tomb. The
ultimate triumph over Lockdown. The Lockdown of death. The opening up of Life.
What do all
these individual stories have in common? They went through difficulty. Pain. Suffering.
Sorrow. Periods of waiting and wondering...and for The Bible characters
trusting God in their Lockdown. Waiting for Him.
Let’s learn
the lessons of Bible Lockdowns – Be patient. Be thankful. Trust God.
(This article appears in Newbury Weekly News this week)
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