Yersinia Pestis Outbreaks of Biblical Proportions

Yersinia pestis is a bacterium which is classified as a nonmotile, nonsporulating gram-negative coccobacillus. If you haven't taken a class in microbiology, you probably didn't understand any of that. That is okay; just know it is a bacterium. The first Biblical recording of an epidemic of this disease is described in 1 Samuel when the Lord strikes five Palestinian cities with what is described as "tumors." Also, the Septuagint and Vulgate copies of scripture include the recorded detail that many rats appeared in the land. This is an important detail because Y. Pestis is not foremost a disease that infects humans. Instead, it infects rodents and (should the necessary mutations occur) can be transmitted to humans through fleas that have bitten an infected rat, prairie dog, or other such vermin. Obviously sanitation is a plus when one wishes to avoid this nasty disease.

Returning to the first recorded details in the fifth chapter of 1 Samuel, we open the scene in Ashdod after the Philistines have captured the ark of God from Israel in battle. This is the first city that the ark is taken to. After God uses His particular sense of illustration in Dagon's temple to show the Philistines that no other god can stand before Him, He sends in the rats. Infected rats carrying the mutated Y. Pestis bacteria surge into the city, flea ridden as rats usually are. The people of Ashdod begin to develop "tumors" over their bodies, which would have been extremely painful, pus-filled buboes of varying sizes. They would have been feverish and hard to the touch. Many times, these turned black. History, you see, has given this particular disease several goose bump-worthy nicknames due to its characteristic symptoms. It can take manifest in different forms, depending on the route of infection and the particular strain of the bacteria that the individual contracts. The disease described here in 1 Samuel is Bubonic Plague, sometimes referred to as the Black Death or merely the Plague. The 1947 science fiction novel The Plague by Albert Camus describes well what an epidemic of the bubonic form of Plague would look like. Untreated, the mortality rate is between 50-90%. Other strains can infect the respiratory system, causing the emission of blood laden sputum. Untreated with modern medicine, this strain has a 100% mortality rate. It can be seen famously described by Edgar Allen Poe as the Red Death in his work The Masque of the Red Death.

Now that I have revealed to you the common names for what we are dealing with, it is important to take note of this particular detail: God used biological warfare against the enemies of Israel even though He allowed her to be defeated in battle. This is not the first time that God has fought the battle for Israel with biological weapons of mass destruction. Many of us are familiar with God's mighty hand against Egypt when He sent the "Ten Plagues" against Pharaoh's kingdom. At that time, Israel was oppressed by slavery and could not fight the battle themselves. God came through for them, breaking the spirit of the Egyptian pharaoh with his final plague that selectively brought death to each of the firstborn among men and beasts. What is different in 1 Samuel, and what is the same? Obviously, God uses disease as a means to bring death to the enemies of Israel. The contrast is seen in the circumstances and in the precise reason that Israel was not fighting their own battle. Isaiah 42:13 states: "The Lord will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior He will stir up His zeal; with a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies." The imagery of God as a warrior is not new. Israel was fully aware of this aspect. This is part of the reason that their secret weapon in battle was to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the frontlines as the marched on their enemies. With the Lord before them, how could they ever fail? Until this time, they had not.

In the second chapter of 1 Samuel, a prophecy is given against the house of Eli, the current presiding judge over Israel. His two sons, serving as priests, have made a habit of treating the sacrifices and offerings in the temple with contempt. They abused their spiritual authority; they took from the offering before the fats were even completely burnt. They took the meat while it was still raw and fatty, before it had been boiled. They plunged their greedy hands into the Old Testament offering plates and came out with whatever amount they desired. Eli, upon hearing rumor of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel, verbally rebuked his sons for the bad report against them. He did not, however, relieve them of their priestly duties. He did not punish them in any way. God does not joke about such things. He takes the running of His house and the jobs of those in authority seriously. As a result of their sin, the house of Eli fell at the same time that the Ark was captured. Eli's sons were killed by the Philistines; Eli fell and broke his neck upon hearing the news of the ark's capture; and his daughter-in-law died in childbirth all in the same disastrous day. God does not allow Israel to claim any victory this day. The departure of the glory of God from Israel is part of the broken relationship between God and the anointed priests. There is a Spiritual disconnect, and God cannot honor those who blatantly dishonor Him. Thus He fights Israel's enemies Himself, in no less than five separate cities occupied by the Philistines. Death and destruction by Bubonic Plague follow the Ark for seven months. Wherever it is taken, the rats and the disease follow. By the time the Ark has moved through five separate (and equally devastated) cities, they rulers of the Philistines finally decide to send the Ark back with some guilt offerings of their own, in the form of golden buboes and golden rats. How lovely. God proved to the enemies of Israel once again that He is the one true God. He is a triumphant and mighty warrior who has no issue pulling out the big guns of biological warfare when He deems it fit.

Blessed

Sometimes I'm amazed at how blind I can be to the blessings in my life.  God has surrounded me with people who love me and who have been given instructed tongues (Isaiah 50:4) which they use when speaking to me.  And to think that I don't even notice most of the time!  It astonishes me that I do not see the active hand of God on their lives, shaping them into mighty men and women for His Kingdom.  Sometimes I think I walk around with my eyes closed, for surely He gave me sight many years ago.  It's my fault alone if I do not choose to make use of it.  How smart would someone look walking around with a blindfold on just because they decided that they didn't feel like seeing today?  Thank you Jesus for all of the many companions and friends you have placed in my life.  I thank you because I know that a three-stranded cord is not quickly or easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)