Death Reigns (2) Clinging to Power
Once the children of Israel had crossed the Jordan, Joshua became vulnerable to the spirit called Death. Maybe he was already susceptible because he had led the Israelites into war on several occasions.
When the Israelites were close to Jericho, he encountered a man-like being in front of him with a drawn sword (Jos 5:13-15). Clearly, this was a spiritual being. Commentators argue about who this character was, but I believe he was the spirit called Death.
When Joshua asked if he was for or against Israel, he said “No”. An angel of the Lord would have said “Yes”, because they speak the truth. Death said “No” because he was not on either side. He would work with the side that inflicted the most blood and gore.
The sword is a symbol of war and Death (Rev 3:4).
This spiritual being told Joshua to take off his sandals because it was holy ground. This made it seem like a meeting equivalent to Moses encounter at the burning bush, but it was not the same. God spoke to Moses out of the bush, so the ground really was holy. Joshua encountered a spiritual being, not God, so this was the same. Angels do not make the ground holy, so we do not need to take off our shoes for them. The spirit deceived Joshua by appealing to his pride through an experience that was similar to Moses call.
The person claimed that he was the commander of Yahweh’s army. He was a commander of a spiritual army that had been created by Yahweh, but it had rebelled, so his claim was only a half-truth.
The Israelites turned Jericho into a massacre after the walls had collapsed, whereas God’s plan was that the residents would panic and flee (Deut 7:1). The blood bath occurred because the spirit of Death had got control over Joshua.
Joshua pronounced a curse against the defeated city of Jericho, although God had not asked him this to this (Josh 6:26). Joshua declared that the person who re-laid the foundation of the city would lose his eldest son, and the person rebuilding the city-gate would lose their youngest son to death. This curse was probably inspired by Death, but it also increased his power over Joshua.
The Israelites were defeated in the battle for Ai. Joshua did not seek God’s plan but took the advice of the people and sent only a small army to take it. They were defeated. Joshua did not take responsibility for this mistake. God revealed that Achan had taken some of the forbidden things at Jericho and hidden them in his tent. He said that they could not stand against their enemies because they had become “subject to doom” (Death). God told Joshua that the forbidden things must be destroyed (Jos 7:12). When Joshua spoke to the people, he said the person with them must be destroyed (Jos 7:15). The people went even further than what God had said and struck Achan and his entire family down with stones and burned them. This excess was the influence of Death, but it also strengthened Deaths influence in the new nation.
When Joshua finally conquered Ai, he blocked off the way of escape and did not allow the people to flee towards the desert. Yet this was what God wanted to happen (Deut 7). The people of Ai were slaughtered instead.
Judges
The spirit called Death continued to have a strong influence on the leaders of Israel during the season of the Judges because many of them engaged in violence beyond what God allowed.
Ehud stabbed Eglon, the King of Moab, who had gained control of Israel after they rejected God (Jud 3:21).
Abimelech murdered his seventy brothers to become ruler of Israel (Jud 9:5).
Before going into battle for Israel, Jephthah made a vow that he would kill the first person he saw when he returned. This resulted in him killing his oldest daughter (Jud 11:30-39).
Samson killed numerous Philistines for very little gain.
The Israelites fought against the sons of Benjamin and killed 18,000 of them in an unnecessary war.
The leaders of Israel led with unnecessary violence. This allowed Death to continue reigning, even though the law had curtailed his right to be active in Israel.
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