None of the Hebrew prophets, up through and including Yeshua of Nazareth, ever apologized afterward for any of their pronouncements of judgment, catastrophe and doom that would lead to great suffering. Suffering must have a beneficial and restoring purpose in the mind and will of a loving, merciful God, for He is the One who moved upon those prophets and inspired them to speak these words. We have to remember this as we deal with the fallout and consequences of our current virus crisis. As Yeshua and His disciples were outside the temple in Jerusalem they asked Him what would be the sign of His next coming, and of the end of the age. And part of His response was “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:3,7-8. Yeshua did not say why or how these famines and plagues would occur, He simply said they would happen with out any apology for them. How well do we know the living and real God in the face of events and circumstances that could damage His character and lead to our estrangement from Him? The birth pangs of the Messiah will test us all.