Paula White cites Old Testament plague to urge believers to call on God: Coronavirus can be stopped

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Friday, March 20, 2020

President Donald Trump’s spiritual adviser, Paula White-Cain, called on Christians to continue praying for an end to the coronavirus pandemic Sunday and referenced the plague God sent on the Israelites for a failed rebellion against His chosen leader, Moses, and his brother, Aaron.

Trump proclaimed last Sunday the "National Day of Prayer for all Americans Affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic and for our National Response Efforts," which saw White and several other high-profile evangelical supporters offering prayers against the virus that has infected more than 14,000 people in the U.S. as of Friday evening and killed more than 200.

“When a civil leader of great authority calls for the church, calls for the church to pray, calls for the church to fast, we cannot sit in our seats as usual as if it’s another Sunday. We have an opportunity for God to divinely intervene. And I believe that God is the God of the supernatural, that God in sovereignty is not a God in panic or chaos or in confusion. God has answers,” White said in her message on Sunday.

She urged her congregation to pray for an end to the pandemic just like Moses prayed for an end to the plague in Numbers 16.

“We even see in the book of Numbers … a very different situation. There was a prayer that stopped the plague. Now the plague was different. It was a plague of rebellion. But no less it was still a plague. You see it in Numbers 16 and I believe in the same way if we call on God almighty to divinely intervene just as He does so many times, that the plague can be stopped,” she said.

In Numbers 16, referenced by White, Korah who is connected to the tribe of Levi, leads a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, accusing them of exalting themselves above the congregation of the Lord (Numbers 16:1-3). He gathered 250 other men to be a part of his rebellion, suggesting he could do a better job of leading the congregation than Moses.

Moses proposed a test to prove the source of his authority was God and Korah and his followers failed. God opened up the earth and swallowed the rebels, their families, and all their possessions. The people, however, remained unconvinced that Moses and Aaron were God’s chosen and began complaining that they had “killed the LORD’s people.” God threatened to destroy the people in the camp for their rebellion and sent a plague among them. Moses and Aaron interceded for the rebels, however, and averted the catastrophe. Still, 14,700 Israelites died before the plague was stopped.

“When the plague hits, watch what happens to real leaders. Real leaders don’t stand back and watch and say ‘Oh good’ and say ‘oh wel,l this is what’s deserved … Real leaders fall on their face for all people, for Democrat and Republican, for white, black and brown …,” White said.

In a follow-up message on Facebook Live Tuesday, White-Cain urged her audience to support the efforts of the government to stem the spread of the coronavirus. She also asked them to continue support the work of the church as well.

“I want you to say 15 days, 15 days because if we all do our part as churches, as businesses, as families, as people, and use just practical common-sense, in 15 days we can help flatten that curve instead of see it spike. We care about the well-being and health of all Americans. And while we are tackling and hoping we make rapid advances from the spreading of this coronavirus, it’s still something that we see very real, very tangible impacting us,” she said. “No one knows to the full extent but we certainly know that our leadership through President Trump, Vice President Pence and the task force, the CDC … and others are making a huge difference.”

She later added: “Churches do so much. Not just from a humanitarian standpoint but the greatest thing we do is bring spiritual truths that transform. What we do as ministers of the Gospel is so vitally important because every single day we are a hospital to the sick, not necessarily the physical sick, though we also help take care of that. Many churches have health centers, etc. But we are hospitals for those who are soul sick. Those who are spiritually sick.”