Death Reigns (3) Tabernacle Divided

During the season of the Judges, the spirit called Death mostly worked through the political leaders of the nation. When Eli was the high priest of Israel, he released the spirit of Death more widely in Israel. His sons were wicked. They were sleeping with the women serving at the entrance to the tabernacle and stealing the offering brought by the people. They were threatened people with force if they did not give in to them (1 Sam 2:12-16, 22).

A prophet came and challenged Eli about the consequence of his son’s behaviour. The prophet warned that his strength would be cut off and he would be distressed by what he saw.

You will live long only to have eyes blinded with tears and a heart full of grief. Your descendants will die in the prime of life (1 Sam 2:33).

Eli will live long but will be filled with sadness and grief because his descendants will be cut off in the prime of life. They will become vulnerable to the spirit called Death.

Eli ignored the prophet and pretended not to see what his sons and their colleagues were doing. His eyes were weak, so he could barely see (1 Sam 3:1,11). Eli’s spiritual blindness gave Death greater freedom to work in Israel, despite his defeat by the law of Moses. When the Israelites went to war against the Philistines, they were defeated, and four thousand men were killed.

Instead of seeking God to find out why they were defeated, the Israelites decided to take the covenant box with them into battle. They made it into an idol, like those of the surrounding nations. This did not work, as the Philistines were emboldened and won a powerful victory. Eli’s two sons were killed, and the covenant box was captured. Thirty-thousand soldiers were killed.

The slaughter was very great (1 Sam 4:10).

This was the result of Death being given greater freedom. Death affected Eli when he fell off his stool with shock, and broke his neck (1 Sam 4:18). Taking the covenant box out of the tabernacle weakened the effectiveness of the tabernacle sacrifices because the place where God dwelt was broken. The human decision was made contrary to the instructions given to Moses on the mountain. The undermining of the process for offering animal sacrifices meant that Death was no longer constrained by the law.

God’s wisdom had been rejected, so his presence was gone from the covenant box. The spirit called Death went with it. I presume that he wanted to be the spirit that controlled the box once the people had made it into an idol.

Cancer Tumours
Once the covenant box had been carried to Ashdod, Death had the freedom to work there. The writer of Samuel says that God’s hand was heavy on them, but this is a two-agent world view. It was actually the hand of the spiritual powers of evil that was hard on them because they had no spiritual protection.

The spirit called Death brought devastation upon them and struck them with tumours (1 Sam 5:6). The covenant box was sent to Gath, but the same thing happened there. Death and his supporting spirits were heavy on that city too.

The city was thrown into a great panic. The people of the city, both young and old, were afflicted with an outbreak of tumours (1 Sam 5:9). These cancers affected young people. This is consistent with the prophecy to Eli warning that lives would be cut off in their prime. When the covenant box was sent to Ekron, the same thing happened. The cause of the events are described more precisely.

Death filled the city with panic/confusion; his hand was very heavy on it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumours, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven (1 Sam 5:11-12).

“Death” gained a hold on the city and released a pestilence amongst the people. Those who were not killed by the plague were afflicted with terrible cancers.

The Philistines had amazing spiritual insight because they knew how to put the situation right. They knew that they needed to get rid of Death and the spiritual powers that had attached themselves to the covenant box by making a guilt offering to attract and appease these evil spiritual powers. They made five gold tumours and five gold rats representing the rulers and people of the five cities that had come under attack. Sickness had attacked the rulers and people alike, so a solution that covered both was essential (1 Sam 6:4-5).

The Philistines knew that Pharoah was destroyed because he hardened his heart against God when plagues came upon Egypt. They did not want to make the same mistake, so they wanted to get the covenant box out of their territory (1 Sam 6:6).

When the Israelites offered the gold tumours and gold rats as a sacrifice, along with the two cows pulling the wagon carrying them, Death and his followers had to be satisfied and could not demand any more blood and death. This brought to an end the pestilence and plague of tumours that Eli had inadvertently released on the Philistines.

However, death had one last flourish. When the covenant box was at Beth Shemesh, some men looked into the box. Death took the opportunity and struck them down (1 Sam 6:19). When the frightened people moved the covenant box to Kiriath Jearim, Eleazer was sanctified to guard it, so Death was unable to do harm (1 Sam 7:1).