Ransomed from the Shinigami
“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes.” (Hosea 13:14)
April 19
The Shinigami are referred to in the Japanese tradition as the spirits of death. What these spirits do to those possessed by them is immediately overcome people with the temptation to commit suicide. These spirits are also known as the Mrtyu-Mara, which are seducing spirits sent to deceive people into destroying themselves. Mara is the originator of these spirits and is known as the antagonist to enlightenment in Buddhism. He is said to have had three daughters. The first is Tanha meaning the craving of thirst, the second is Arati the bringer of discontentment and the third is Raga one who evokes lust and greed. The grave is tied to this same sense of ceaseless emptiness in Proverbs as one of the four things that never says enough. (Proverbs 30:16) The Lord Jesus Himself has promised to pay our ransom from this power of the grave. The grave itself is personified by Hosea as our captor. Death is a greater enemy than any worldly empire or demonic power. This enemy is totally insurmountable by any worldly means. All the wealth of the world could never pay the ransom death holds over us. It was this enemy that the Messiah was sent to destroy. He has conquered this enemy through His own death and resurrection that, “through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14-15) The grave who held complete power over us has been satisfied in full by the death of Christ. Death has been swallowed up in victory and His resurrection has secured our redemption, therefore Christ says, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Revelation 1:18) Our bonds of fear have been unlocked, the bars of our cell of certain doom have been opened to the light of the hope of eternal life in Christ. Assurance has blanketed the nakedness of shame. Forever our song shall be praise to the Lamb of God Jesus Christ who secured our ransom and redeemed us from the torment of our loathed captor by His own blood, “For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood.” (Revelation 5:9) Violence was endured by Christ, that our greatest enemy death itself might be ravaged and the destroyer would be forever defeated. Living hope abounds in our hearts today because the powers of death have been abolished through the victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Daily Prayer
Deliverer from the power of the grave,
spirits of death seek to entrap me in despair and
confound the living vibrancy of my hope.
You came and defeated the power of death
by your resurrected perpetual life.
Crush the lying serpent’s tongue and save your
people from his constricting fear.
Abolish all demonic influences from my life
through your same power that overcame the grave.