The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Samuel 5:7,
"When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, 'The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.'"
After the Philistines had captured the ark, the Lord brought his judgement upon whatever city the Philistines put it in. It went from Ashdod, to Gath, to Ekron. Eventually the Philistines sent the ark back to Israel.
While the ark was at Ashdod, they placed it in an idol's temple, "Dagon". The morning after they placed the ark in this temple, they found the idol fallen on its face on the ground. The Philistines put Dagon back in his place (some god!) and the following morning the same thing happened with the statue's head and hands broken off, a poignant turn of events displaying the fact that a worthless stone idol can't use it hands or its head.
The verse quoted above demonstrates just how irrational people become as they pursue things other than God. These Philistines should have been able to recognize the worthless state of their worship of the false deity Dagon, something only existing in their minds. The other thing they should have been able to recognize, and they did to an extent, as they recognized God's heavy hand on them while they possessed the ark, was that the God of the Israelites is the one and only true God."
Their concern was for themselves "his hand is heavy on us" as well as for this figment of imagination they called their "god", Dagon, "his hand is heavy ... on Dagon our god." Why not dump this worthless notion of a "Dagon" god and worship and serve the Creator of all people, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Why settle for this second rate nothing to worship?
As we read in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Such was the heart of the Philistines in that day and such is the heart of so many today.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, 'The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.'"
After the Philistines had captured the ark, the Lord brought his judgement upon whatever city the Philistines put it in. It went from Ashdod, to Gath, to Ekron. Eventually the Philistines sent the ark back to Israel.
While the ark was at Ashdod, they placed it in an idol's temple, "Dagon". The morning after they placed the ark in this temple, they found the idol fallen on its face on the ground. The Philistines put Dagon back in his place (some god!) and the following morning the same thing happened with the statue's head and hands broken off, a poignant turn of events displaying the fact that a worthless stone idol can't use it hands or its head.
The verse quoted above demonstrates just how irrational people become as they pursue things other than God. These Philistines should have been able to recognize the worthless state of their worship of the false deity Dagon, something only existing in their minds. The other thing they should have been able to recognize, and they did to an extent, as they recognized God's heavy hand on them while they possessed the ark, was that the God of the Israelites is the one and only true God."
Their concern was for themselves "his hand is heavy on us" as well as for this figment of imagination they called their "god", Dagon, "his hand is heavy ... on Dagon our god." Why not dump this worthless notion of a "Dagon" god and worship and serve the Creator of all people, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Why settle for this second rate nothing to worship?
As we read in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Such was the heart of the Philistines in that day and such is the heart of so many today.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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