The LORD's hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors. – 1 Samuel 5:6

Today's Scripture Reading (March 30, 2022): 1 Samuel 5

The Bubonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The plague often spreads through flea bites that jump to humans from dead animals, especially mice and rats. The first recorded epidemic of the Bubonic plague occurred during the reign of Justinian the Great from 541-549 C.E. The Justinian plague continued appears to have continued to break out throughout various European cities over the next two centuries. Death totals that can be directly attributed to the Justinian version of the Bubonic plague are unknown. Still, experts suggest that as many as 100 million people could have died between the 6^th and 8^th centuries due to the pandemic, or 60% of the 6^th-century population of Europe. The Plague of Justinian is thought to have been the deadliest pandemic that this world has ever known.

The Black Death has been with us for a long time. Archeologists have discovered the Yersinia pestis in ancient D.N.A. from Asia and Europe, dating back as far as possibly 5000 years. The Justinian plague of the fifth century was not the first appearance of the Black Death on this beautiful world of ours; it was just the first-time historians have recognized that it was the Bubonic plague that was causing significant deaths in a particular region.

Historians have long fought over what the illness might have been that broke out in Ashdod in 1070 B.C.E. or 3800 years ago. Some have suggested it was a severe outbreak of hemorrhoids, although that doesn't seem quite to fit the situation. The Septuagint adds a little more information to this verse. In the Septuagint, 1 Samuel 5:6 reads, "The Lord's hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors. And rats appeared in their land, and there was death and destruction throughout the city" (1 Samuel 5:6 Septuagint and Vulgate). It is a description that has led many modern experts to openly wonder if this outbreak that devastated the Philistines might have been an early outbreak of the bubonic plague pandemic.

The people would not listen to the warnings given to them when their God Dagon was found face down in the Temple at Ashdod. They simply put Dagon back into position. And so, God's hand was heavy on the people. He allowed the mice and rats to explode in the area, each carrying the bacteria that would cause the tumors accompanying the Black Death. Without understanding precisely what was happening, they knew enough to suspect that the cause of their discomfort was the mighty God who had come to the assistance of the Israelites. Now, it wasn't the army that was suffering; it was the citizens of Ashdod and other Philistine cities. Dagon literally could not stand in the presence of the God of Israel, and now the people were learning that they could stand in his presence either.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 6