Jeremiah chapter 5
Jeremiah 5:6-7; Therefore, a lion from the forest will kill them, A wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many, Their desertions of faith are countless. “Why should I [overlook these offenses and] forgive you? Your children have abandoned (rejected) Me And sworn [their oaths] by those who are not gods. When I had fed them until they were full [and bound them to Me by a promise], They committed [spiritual] adultery, Assembling in troops at the houses of prostitutes (idols).
Punishment can be defined as the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense. Punishment can also be described as painful or rough treatment or handling inflicted on or suffered by a person or thing. It can also include or be accompanied by the denial of some human rights’ basic freedoms (such as movement, food, water, shelter and health) previously enjoyed by the individual. Punishment has five recognized purposes: deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution, and restitution.
Deterrence prevents future crime by frightening the defendant or the public. The two types of deterrence are specific and general deterrence. Specific deterrence applies to an individual defendant. When the government punishes an individual defendant, he or she is theoretically less likely to commit another crime because of fear of another similar or worse punishment. General deterrence applies to the public at large. When the public learns of an individual defendant’s punishment, the public is theoretically less likely to commit a crime because of fear of the punishment the defendant experienced. When the public learns, for example, that an individual defendant was severely punished by a sentence of life in prison or the death penalty, this knowledge can inspire a deep fear of criminal prosecution. Incapacitation prevents future crime by removing the defendant from society. Examples of incapacitation are incarceration, house arrest, or execution pursuant to the death penalty. Rehabilitation prevents future crime by altering a defendant’s behavior. Examples of rehabilitation include educational and vocational programs, treatment center placement, and counseling. The court can combine rehabilitation with incarceration or with probation or parole. In some states, for example, nonviolent drug offenders must participate in rehabilitation in combination with probation, rather than submitting to incarceration (Ariz. Rev. Stat., 2010). This lightens the load of jails and prisons while lowering recidivism, which means reoffending. Retribution prevents future crime by removing the desire for personal avengement (in the form of assault, battery, and criminal homicide, for example) against the defendant. When victims or society discover that the defendant has been adequately punished for a crime, they achieve a certain satisfaction that our criminal procedure is working effectively, which enhances faith in law enforcement, our government and most important of all, in God. Restitution prevents future crime by punishing the defendant financially (think of current global economic meltdown). Restitution is when the court orders the criminal defendant to pay the victim for any harm and resembles a civil litigation damages award. Restitution can be for physical injuries, loss of property or money, and rarely, emotional distress. It can also be a fine that covers some of the costs of the criminal prosecution and punishment. What about when the injured party is God?
God is the final judge and arbiter in the case of mankind versus God, mankind is the defendant, the accused, and the evidence though overwhelming, has evinced denial and refusal on the part of the defendant in recognizing or identifying the crime, not to talk about acknowledging culpability of the charges levelled against him. So where is the possibility of penitence. And without penitence, there can be no rehabilitation. Therefore, when we pray to God about COVID-19, and refuse to change, refuse to be penitent, refuse to acknowledge our wrong doings, our idolatry, worship of money (economics), faith in our own capabilities, rejection of God, and so on. And expect God to just heal us, relent and go back to heaven and leave us to continue with our lives the way we’ve been doing without changing. Then we are saying that God should change His character, while we are not willing to change. Well, I guess, we are going to have to play a waiting game with God to see who blinks first, though He has time on His side, He created time, a thousand years is like a day in His sight, and I’m not sure any of us has the wherewithal to live for a thousand years, so there is going to be one loser in that game, and it isn’t God.
