- Jacob Chanikuzhy
Reports of infatuated young men brutally killing women for refusing to marry them occasionally appear in the media. We are shocked by such devilish acts. But what if the devil himself were to fall in love with a virgin? Contemporary minds can hardly imagine such a scenario. Yet, in the Book of Tobit, we encounter such a demon. His name is Asmodeus. He was so obsessed with a beautiful young woman named Sarah that he killed her seven husbands, one after another, on their wedding nights.
The existence of the devil and demons has long perplexed believers. How can a benevolent God create evil beings like Satan and his host of wicked spirits? Some Jewish thinkers proposed that demons were not created by God, but emerged from chaos and darkness. While the Hebrew Bible contains little about the origin and activities of demons, Rabbinic literature offers more details about their appearance, dwelling places, and behaviour. According to Chagigah 16a, their preferred habitats are rooftops, drainage systems, and abandoned houses. Their main activities include causing illness and death, disturbing the mind, fostering confusion and obsession, and inciting discord among people. They are described as having wings and bird-like talons for feet. Demons are said to resemble angels in three ways: they have wings, they can fly everywhere, and they can hear all that is spoken in heaven. Yet, they also share characteristics with humans: they eat, procreate, and die. Against the backdrop of such Jewish beliefs, a demon madly in love and going on a killing spree would have seemed plausible to the original audience of the Book of Tobit.
But what about today’s readers of Sacred Scriptures? Can we dismiss the existence and power of demons as outdated notions from primitive generations? During the time of Jesus also there were Sadducees who did not believe in angels and demons. But Pharisees believed in them. Jesus chose to follow the pharisaic tradition in this respect and spoke about angels, demons and Satan. The Catholic Church has consistently affirmed the existence of Satan and evil spirits in line with biblical, apostolic, and patristic teachings. The Church’s magisterium teaches that Satan and the demons were originally created by God as good angels. However, in their pride, they sought to be like God and rebelled, becoming fallen angels.
The Book of Tobit also presents the angel Raphael, the faithful companion of Tobit’s son, Tobias. Tobias was tasked with retrieving money left with a family friend, a journey that involved traveling to a distant and unfamiliar land. He did not know the route or the man from whom he was to collect the money. His father blessed him and assured him that God would send an angel to guide and protect him. True to this blessing, God sent the angel Raphael, who, disguised as a man, agreed to accompany Tobias.
During their journey, as Tobias was washing his feet in a river, a fish attacked him. The fish is often interpreted as a symbol of demonic forces seeking to disrupt the lives of God’s faithful. At Raphael’s instruction, Tobias caught the fish and preserved its gall, heart, and liver. They later arrived at the house of Raguel, the father of the ill-fated Sarah. Raphael had already advised Tobias to marry her. Following Raphael’s guidance, Tobias burned the heart and liver of the fish on their wedding night, which drove the demon Asmodeus away. Later, using the fish’s gall, Tobias restored his father Tobit’s sight.
The Book of Tobit is a beautiful narrative that illustrates how God guides and protects those who trust in Him. It also demonstrates how God can bring good out of apparent evil — as the life-threatening fish became the means of defeating the demon and healing Tobit.
Today, the Church does not often speak explicitly about demons, nor do its sacramental rites and prayers emphasize the threats of Satan. This is because, the church is to proclaime the Good News of salvation, rather than the terror of damnation. However, acknowledging the roles of angels and demons can help us better understand the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged. Salvation is not a finished story, handed to us without responsibility. We must make it our own by engaging in a mortal struggle against our spiritual enemy, empowered by the grace of Christ.
