“False gods patiently endure the existence of other false gods. Dagon can stand with Baal, and Baal with Ashtaroth; how should stone, and wood, and silver, be moved to indignation; but because God is the only living and true God, Dagon must fall before His ark; Baal must be broken, and Ashtaroth must be consumed with fire.” - C.H. Spurgeon
Morning Prayer: “Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”
Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 5
Summary: After capturing the Ark of the Covenant in battle, the Philistines bring it back to Ashdod and place it in the temple of their god, “Dagon.” When they return to the temple the following day, the statue of Dagon is face down on the ground in front of the Ark. They set it back up, but the following day, it is again found face down on the ground before the Ark, this time with its head and hands broken off. Having stolen the Ark from the Israelites, the Philistines are visited by plague and pestilence, and decide to move it to the city of Gath, only to face more plagues there. The Philistines ultimately realize that the calamity will not subside until they return the Ark to its rightful place with the Israelites.
Quick Hits For Those Short on Time
God’s Glory Is Not Dependent On Any Man - Throughout Scripture, God uses the most unlikely of men to shame the arrogant, humble the proud, and accomplish His purposes. But in today’s chapter, we see that He is not reliant on any man; when the Ark, the physical representation of His presence, is placed in Dagon’s temple, God displays His uncontested dominion over the pagan idols of wicked men, literally and figuratively putting Dagon in the dirt and knocking off his head and hands. He is superior to the lifeless, powerless idols of man in every way.
Ignorance Is No Excuse For Blasphemy - There is no indication that the Philistines had any idea that they were blasphemous idolaters. Taking enemy artifacts like the Ark of the Covenant following military conquest would’ve been culturally normal and expected. And yet God did not give them a pass for their ignorance, but sent plagues upon them until they realized their mistake. Ignorance is no excuse for idolatry.
Consider
v. 4: But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.
This verse always makes me laugh so hard. Just the thought of the Ark of the Covenant, the physical representation of the presence of the invisible God, sitting in the temple of “Dagon,” this lifeless, powerless, rock statue who probably looks like the Maoi emoji (below); it’s all so comical.
The Philistines truly thought they had done something here, placing the captured Ark of the Covenant in the temple of their counterfeit, pagan god, only to come back in the morning to find him toppled over. Their idol couldn’t even pick himself back up. It’s truly funny if you think about it. God made absolute fools of them and their fake gods. And yet how often do we put the same amount of faith in equally worthless, lifeless, powerless things.
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