1 Samuel 5:1-12

Who is God’s Rival?

Last Sunday, we learned that the Ark of God was captured by the Philistines because the glory of God has departed from Israel. God’s favor was not with them because they did not treat God with respect and honor. They mocked God’s holiness and they received the just punishment for their wrongdoings.

Does the capture of the Ark means that God is defeated? and does it mean that the god of the Philistines is superior to the God of Israel YHWH? The answer to that is resoundingly NO! Never and it will not happen.

So today, we will discover how the Lord responded to the Philistines after the Ark was captured.

We will also discover the answer to the question, Who is God’s rival?

In our passage this morning, I hope and pray that God will knock down our idols so we will be able to treat God with the respect and holiness that He truly deserves.

I. Ark of God in Ashdod (vv.1-8)

A. LORD vs Dagon

Dagon is the god of the Philistines. Dagon came from the word “dag” which means fish. He is described as a deity with half fish and half human form.

The ark of God was brought to Ashdod and was placed underneath Dagon, symbolizing defeat and submission. (vv.1-2)

Ancient battles between human armies were also battles between their gods. The winning army assumed its god(s) to be superior. This explains why the Philistines take the ark to Dagon’s temple and place it before Dagon. This is meant to be a sign of Dagon’s superiority over YHWH.

The following day they were surprised to see that Dagon’s statue had fallen on his face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord (symbolizing defeat and submission). (v.3)

On the 2nd day, Dagon’s head and hands were cut off. Na paralyzed ang statue. (v.4). In their embarrassment, the priest of Dagon will go near the threshold or the elevated altar. (v.5)

What we’ve learned about the God of Israel:

• God is omnipresent and omnipotent. They have captured the symbol of God’s presence but they have not captured the Lord himself.

• God has no rival. YHWH is more powerful than the pagan gods.

What we’ve learned about Dagon:

• Dagon was exposed as a fraud.

• Idols are false gods who can’t defend nor fight for themselves.

• false gods need help from humans.

• false gods can’t do anything.

Isaiah 46:7 “7 “They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; It cannot deliver him from his distress.”

Reflection:

• To be in the presence of God is a weighty matter. We cannot take God lightly. God’s holiness is dangerous to the unholy.

“The ark and Dagon could not stand together in the same room; but if the ark stands, Dagon falls. (1 Sam. 5:4.) “Can two walk together, except they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3.) Christ and our corruptions are at no agreement: these two cannot dwell together under the same roof. If you would have Christ to take up his abode in your hearts, you must prepare a place for him.”

11 James Nichols, Puritan Sermons, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Richard Owen Roberts, Publishers, 1981), 514.

B. The Hand of God was Heavy to the Ashdodites (vv.6-7)

• The hand of God was repeated 4x in this passage. The hand of God is a figure of speech that speaks about the sovereign power of God.

• The author thought it was funny and witty to use the figurative language “the hand of God” to contrast Dagon’s hands which were completely cut off.

• The hand of God was heavy - it means burdensome, difficult, crushing.

• Why is it burdensome? Because God brought a plague to the cities causing a swelling/tumor/hemorrhoids.

• It was so burdensome that they decided to meet together all the leaders of the Philistines and devise a plan to get rid of the Ark of God. So they decided to send the Ark of God to Gath.

II. The Ark of God in Gath (vv.8-9)

• The Philistine leaders decided to Bring the ark of God to Gath. They are afraid of it. They don’t want YHWH to be in their midst.

• The same issue occurred. The hand of God was heavy against the citizens of Gath. There was confusion/panic and tumors broke out.

Reflection:

a. Different place but same unbelieving heart. They will experience the wrath of God because they rejected the God of Israel.

b. People will try to run away from God’s presence thinking they can escape God’s wrath.

c. On the other hand, the people who love their sin so much and are not willing to change, so they want to change the god they follow.

III. The Ark of God in Ekron (vv.10-12)

• The Philistine leaders decided to Bring the ark of God from Gath to Ekron.

• The Ekronites cried out and blamed the Gathites saying “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel to kill us!

• The hand of God was very heavy - confusion/panic, death, tumors.

• They cried out to heaven for help but no one was able to help. Their gods can’t help them from justice and wrath of the one true holy God.

Reflection:

• They have no one to cry out to because YHWH had already demonstrated His power against Dagon and the people.

• They have seen God's power and yet did not submit and worship Him! They have not repented. Still, they have not surrendered and believed in YHWH. They refused to bow down to YHWH.

• That’s how blinded they are. They are enslaved to their idols.

Illustration:

Someone said that when I see and witness that God is real and powerful and I witness a miracle, I will believe!

But you know what, the truth is, “No! you won’t unless the Lord gives you faith to believe! Because you are dead in your sins and sinful desires.

Ephesians 2:1–3“1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

Ephesians 2:4–9 “4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The Gospel:

The bad news: The sinner and idolaters will receive the justice and wrath of God.

The good news: Praise God for the Gospel that fulfills His justice and removes His wrath.

The Gospel of Jesus reveals our idols. The Gospel strips us from relying on our man-made idols.

What Idols give is short-lived happiness and long-lived pain.

The Gospel is for those who submit to God!

The good news is that God resides in the hearts of those who believe in Christ. The Holy Spirit has made his dwelling in our hearts.

1 Corinthians 3:16 “16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Application:

1. Let us not treat God like an idol (a man-made worthless being)

• How seriously are you in following God?

2. Let us examine whether we have idols in our hearts right now.

Idols that cause us to reject and forsake the Living God.

Remember this, Christ and Corruption can’t be together in the same heart.

2 Corinthians 6:16 “16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

For believers, we have been freed from the wrath of God. But let us avoid the discipline of God. Discipline is still painful.

3. Let us continue praying and seeking God’s help in knocking down the idols that will rise in our hearts!

Sanctification is a partnership between you and the Holy Spirit.

You are accountable for submitting to God and God by His power will knock down your idols.

1001 Illustrations that Connect Illustration 260: Prisoner of Appetite

PRISONER OF APPETITE

Topics: Addiction; Appetites; Bondage; Food; Foolishness; Gluttony; Greed; Limitations; Self-control; Temptation

References: Proverbs 23:1–3, 21; John 8:34; Galatians 5:1; Philippians 3:19; 1 Timothy 6:9; 2 Peter 2:19

Raynald III, a fourteenth-century duke in what is now Belgium, was grossly overweight. His Latin nickname, Crassus, means “fat.”

Raynald’s younger brother Edward revolted against Raynald’s rule. Edward captured Raynald but did not kill him. Instead, he built a room around Raynald in the Nieuwkerk castle and promised him he could regain his title and property when he left the room. This would not have been difficult for most people, since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size, none of which were locked or barred. The problem was Raynald’s size; to regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight.

Edward knew his older brother. Each day he sent a variety of delicious foods into the room. Instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter. When Duke Edward was accused of cruelty, he had a ready answer: “My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave when he so wills.” Raynald stayed in his room for ten years and wasn’t released until after Edward died in battle. By then his health was so ruined that he died within a year—a prisoner of his own appetite.

—Thomas Costain, The Three Edwards (Popular Library, 1964)