When the Voice of the Dead Cry Out From their Graves

I was first introduced to mediums by Oda Mae Brown, Whoppi Goldberg’s character in the 1990 film Ghost. While Oda Mae Brown knows in her heart that she’s not real, the death of Patrick Swayze’s character opens Oda’s world to the spiritual realm. A few years later Crossing Over became a popular show on television providing a similar service. As an elder at Red Lion, I asked our senior pastor what he thought about the ability to speak with the dead. Based upon the account of the Witch at Endor, he believed that some people actually have this ability with many playing the role of con artists.

And the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper? ¹⁰ And [the Lord] said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground, Genesis 4:9-10.

When I recently read the passage above, I was reminded of the 1999 film the Sixth Sense. The little boy Cole played by Haley Joel Osment possessed a sixth sense to see dead people. When Cole’s mom hired a psychologist played by Bruce Willis, Cole starts to open up about his unique ability. To avoid a spoiler alert, Willis who plays Dr. Malcom Crowe shows Cole that these dead people are trying to speak to him actually need his help. This portion of the Sixth Sense is one of the best illustrations of what Moses details in the passage above. Somehow Hollywood depicted God’s words of the dead crying out from their graves.

When Saul inquired of the Lord, He refused to answer him, either by dreams or by Urim [a symbol worn by the priest when seeking the will of God for Israel] or by the prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, Find me a woman who is a medium [between the living and the dead], that I may go and inquire of her. His servants said, Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at Endor. ⁸ So Saul disguised himself, put on other raiment, and he and two men with him went and came to the woman at night. He said to her, Perceive for me by the familiar spirit and bring up for me the dead person whom I shall name to you. ⁹ The woman said, See here, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and wizards out of the land. Why then do you lay a trap for my life to cause my death? – 1 Samuel 28:6-9.

Samuel’s account of the Witch at Endor uses a similar style to Oda Mae Brown. When you place these mediums side by side for comparison, each appear to be unsure if what they are about to do will work. However, when Patrick Swayze’s and Samuel’s spirit are each called upon, both are astonished by their clear connection with the dead. If the Bible clearly suggests that the spirit of the dead can be communicated with, being able to hear and listen to the cries of the dead isn’t so far-fetched. I’ll let the words of the Bible help shape your own conclusion.

by Jay Mankus