Mr. Whipple Was A Very Busy Man

# 74 – Today's Du-votional comes from 1Sa 5:6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god." (1 Sam 5:6,7) The Philistines still did not make the connection between the power of God and the powerlessness of their god, and so they invited the heavy hand of God upon themselves. The New King James is a little too kind here using the word tumors, the King James calls these tumors “emerods,” which means hemorrhoids. Obviously, these were severe cases and the entire city was struck with them. Mr. Whipple was a very busy man. It seems like a strange punishment from the Lord but it is not without precedence. In Dt 28:15, He warned His people of such a plague if they chose to live in disobedience to Him De 28:15 "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Then in De 28:27 He lists these hemorrhoids among the curses. "The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. The last time I checked, hemorrhoids are not a contagious disease. Such a striking of an entire city could only be a punishment from the Lord. A national punishment delivered to each individual. There should be no doubt among those stricken where the curse came from. And there should be no doubt for the reason.....disobedience to the Lord. This should serve as a warning to all that there are consequences to shunning the Lord.