READ: 1 Samuel 5:1 – 7:1
Chapters 5 and 6 finish the
story of the Ark of the Covenant. The Philistines had only a partial knowledge
of Yahweh. They had heard of the plagues the Egyptians had experienced, but
they didn’t understand the nature of the God of Israel. When the Israelites
bring the Ark of the Covenant into their camp in chapter 4, the Philistines
tremble; they believe the Ark is a god – presumably one of many gods in Israel.
In revealing Himself to
Israel, and to the world through the
nation of Israel, God made it explicitly clear that He was the one true God, the only God. This was vastly different from what all other nations
believed. The nations of the earth were polytheistic – many gods. The
Egyptians, for example, worshipped a long list of deities. Ra was god of the
son; Isis: goddess of marriage, magic and healing: Osiris was god of the
underworld and afterlife; and so on. A worshiper would attempt to gain favour
of his or her preferred god or goddess through gifts and acts of worship. The
gods themselves were thought to interact – they fought and manipulated each other,
engaged in sexual activity, and bore child-gods. Worship then, was essentially
a massive game; the gods were the players and the people were the pawns.
However; the polytheistic religions of the world, both ancient and present, are
nothing more than a veneer. They are a mask, behind which is one spirit, one
prince of darkness.
The nature of God – the truth
that He is one, and that He is the only God – was a vital truth to the Jews and later to Christians. This was a
key revelation to Abraham and later to Moses. God spoke personally to Abraham, not because Abraham had gifted him into a
generous mood, but because He was choosing
someone through whom He could bless the earth through the revelation of Himself.
Through Moses God declared His uniqueness to His people – that He alone was
their Deliverer. “I am the Lord and there
is no other!” He declared through the prophet Isaiah. (Isaiah 45:18)
Yahweh was not the sun or moon
to be worshipped. He was not a statue of stone made to represent a force of
nature or an aspect of healing. He was not a fickle spirit to be flattered and
lured into a good mood. No! Rather the sun, moon and stars declared His glory and proclaimed
His creativity! (Psalm 19:1-4) In fact, when we look closely at Israel’s
deliverance out of bondage, we see that with each plague, Yahweh was purposefully attacking specific Egyptian
gods. The plague of water to blood showed that it was not Hapi, god of the
Nile, who controlled the waters, but Yahweh, Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
When God brought death to the livestock of Egypt, He was showing that it was
not Hathor, the cow-headed goddess of love and protection, or Apis, the bull
cult god, that held power and showed love and protection – it was Yahweh, the Owner
of the cattle on a thousand hills and the One who is Love. The plague of darkness defeated the sun god, Ra, placing
the power of Yahweh infinitely above the strongest god in Egypt.
THIS is the God that Israel
could call their own! What a blessing! Though Israel had acted foolishly and
irreverently, Yahweh would not allow Israel’s enemies to believe that the God of
Israel was without power. God is glorious and He will receive the glory due His name. Immediately God shows Himself
incomparable to the Philistine god, Dagon. It was commonly believed that a god
was conquered when it fell into enemy hands. But not with Yahweh. Isaiah
44:6-11 says “This is what the LORD says
– Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the
last; apart from Me there is no God. Who then is like Me? Let him proclaim it…
All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless.
Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant to their own
shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit him nothing? He and
his kind will be put to shame…” Though these words were not yet spoken,
they are eternally true. And God proves His power before the Philistines. Dagan
has no power to protect his people… a lesson that is soon learned by the people
of Ashdod when they are afflicted with tumors. The Philistines have encountered
Yahweh, the undefeated, unconquerable God of Israel.
This is the God who is on our side – your side. As Paul wrote, “If
God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) Of course, we can set
ourselves against God, and if that is the case, He will not force His way into
our hearts or to the top of our priority lists. When we are not submitting to
God – when we are not giving Him the place of rule and reign in our lives, when
we are not seeking Him and listening to Him – we are putting our idols before
Him. Sometimes self is the biggest
idol of all. Let us seek to lay down our
idols before God. This act of humility will be a much easier course than
waiting for our idols to be struck down by the Lord and only then humbling our
hearts before Him. And let us remember that a life in submission to the Lord is
joy and peace and freedom.
JOURNALING AND PRAYER
1. Our
God is a MIGHTY God – the Almighty!
What are some ways that you have seen God display His might in your life?
Worship God for His power in your life. Thank Him that He is the same God today
as He was thousands of years ago when this story took place.
2. Ask
the Holy Spirit to convict you on any idols that you are placing above God. If you
are willing to submit this to Him, confess it and lay it down before Him. And
here is how you might lay it down:
a. God, how do I remove this as an idol in my
life? What steps do I take to realign myself to You?
b. God, I want to submit myself to Your authority
on this issue. Is there anything that You want to say to me regarding this idol
I have had?
c. Ask
God to fill you with His Spirit and to give you joy in your obedience.
d. Thank
God for His word to you. Thank Him for the joy and peace and freedom that is found
in following Him.
