My God is Better Than Yours

Remember - Samuel is not the prophet of God for Israel, Eli is dead along with his two sons and a daughter-in-law, Israel was defeated by the Philistines and in that defeat the ark was taken and is no longer with Israel…

1 Samuel 5 (CSB)

1 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, 2 brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it next to his statue. 3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. 4 But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. This time, Dagon’s head and both of his hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso remained. 5 That is why, still today, the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on Dagon’s threshold.

Ashdod was the site of the most important worship center for the god the Philistines credited for the victory over Israel, Dagon.

Dagon was worshipped as a meteorological and military deity - in other words he controlled the weather and the outcome of battles.

The Philistines understood the theological realities of their world - remember they initially panicked because of the Ark being brought to the battle field because of Israel’s history with God and His deliverance. With the battle being won they wrongfully assumed it was their god who gave them the victory.

To honor Dagon giving them the victory the Philistines placed the Ark in a subservient place in the temple of Dagon.

As mentioned, the Philistines believed their god was stronger than Israel’s but it was the One True God who withheld His power to bring judgment on Israel and now it would be Yahweh who would show the reality of Who He is to the Philistines and Israel.

When they got up early in the morning - at the time of day prescribed in the Torah for the first act of worship toward the Lord - the people of Ashdod found their false god face down on the ground before the Ark of the Lord.

Check out the picture - Isreal is supposed to offer a sacrifice and worship Yawheh first thing in the morning but God is not in His regular place to be worshipped so… God demonstrates His power, dominion, and authority in this false place of worship by making the idol bow before Him.

God does this 2 days in a row but the second day is a little different.

This time Dagon’s head and hands were broken off - this is symbolic of what we have seen in military executions - in other words… Yahweh has defeated and symbolically executed the false god Dagon.

The people recognized what happened and instituted the policy of no longer stepping on the threshold.

6 The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod. He terrified the people of Ashdod and its territory and afflicted them with tumors. 7 When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of Israel’s God must not stay here with us, because his hand is strongly against us and our god Dagon.” 8 So they called all the Philistine rulers together and asked, “What should we do with the ark of Israel’s God?” “The ark of Israel’s God should be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they moved the ark of Israel’s God. 9 After they had moved it, the Lord’s hand was against the city of Gath, causing a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors. 10 The people of Gath then sent the ark of God to Ekron, but when it got there, the Ekronites cried out, “They’ve moved the ark of Israel’s God to us to kill us and our people!” 11 The Ekronites called all the Philistine rulers together. They said, “Send the ark of Israel’s God away. Let it return to its place so it won’t kill us and our people!” For the fear of death pervaded the city; God’s hand was oppressing them. 12 Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

God did not stop with the idol - He poured out judgment on the Philistine people as well.

God afflicted the people in Ashdod with tumors.

The Septuagint adds He brought up mice against them, and they swarmed in their ships. Then mice went up into the land and there was a mortal panic in the city.

The thought is that tumor were actually a symptom of the bubonic plague - it causes the swelling of lymph nodes in the armpits, groin and neck - the are very tender and painful and also vary in size from 1/2 inch to 4 inches.

The people in Ashdod petitioned the Philistine leaders to get the Ark out of their town - we have no idea why but their recommendation was to move it Gath so they did.

Once in Gath God did the same thing to them and again the people wanted it gone - it was moved to Ekron.

In Ekron the persecution grew to the point where people were now dying.

God’s hand of judgment was against them and the people cried out - the passage says the cry went up to heaven - heaven can be a generic term but as usual I lean to the simple understanding that God heard the people’s cry…

1 Samuel 6 (CSB)

1 When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory for seven months, 2 the Philistines summoned the priests and the diviners and pleaded, “What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we can send it back to its place.”

The Philistines had the Ark for 7 months - again this is mostly likely the literal amount of time but it is also symbolic being that 7 is God’s number.

They called on their priests and diviners - Mosaic law forbids the Jews from calling on diviners, again showing that even though the Philistines recognize the power of Yahweh they do not understand Who He really is.

3 They replied, “If you send the ark of Israel’s God away, do not send it without an offering. Send back a guilt offering to him, and you will be healed. Then the reason his hand hasn’t been removed from you will be revealed.” 4 They asked, “What guilt offering should we send back to him?” And they answered, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice corresponding to the number of Philistine rulers, since there was one plague for both you and your rulers. 5 Make images of your tumors and of your mice that are destroying the land. Give glory to Israel’s God, and perhaps he will stop oppressing you, your gods, and your land. 6 Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When he afflicted them, didn’t they send Israel away, and Israel left? 7 “Now then, prepare one new cart and two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8 Take the ark of the Lord, place it on the cart, and put the gold objects that you’re sending him as a guilt offering in a box beside the ark. Send it off and let it go its way.

The pagan religious leaders demonstrated a basic understanding of Jewish religious law and custom.

Even though they knew they needed to pay honor to God and present a guilt offering their methods and symbols were completely wrong.

First issue, it was the diviners who thought up the plan, next they suggested sending 10 fashioned images of gold (against the no idols law), the images were to be of ritually detestable animals - rats, God was also to be given 5 images of unclean portions of the human anatomy - tumors, and finally they suggested the ark be transported on a cart.

Now their idea with the cows was pretty creative - one the cows have never been yoked that means they do not know who to behave under yoke, then you add the fact that they were forcefully separated from their unweaned calves - so if a team of cows that had never been trained or yoked could work together to pull the cart straight for a stretch of several mile, all the while ignoring their maternal instincts to respond to the cries of their unweaned calves, then Yahweh would indeed be accepted as the source of all that had befallen them.

9 Then watch: If it goes up the road to its homeland toward Beth-shemesh, it is the Lord who has made this terrible trouble for us. However, if it doesn’t, we will know that it was not his hand that punished us—it was just something that happened to us by chance.” 10 The men did this: They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and confined their calves in the pen. 11 Then they put the ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the box containing the gold mice and the images of their tumors. 12 The cows went straight up the road to Beth-shemesh. They stayed on that one highway, lowing as they went; they never strayed to the right or to the left. The Philistine rulers were walking behind them to the territory of Beth-shemesh.

The test was set up just as they said.

The cows walked a straight path back home.

Keep in mind that God has heard a plan presented by pagan peoples and chose to make the pieces fall in place as they described thus proving His sovereignty even to the unbelievers.

13 The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed to see it. 14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people of the city chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites removed the ark of the Lord, along with the box containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. That day the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 When the five Philistine rulers observed this, they returned to Ekron that same day. 17 As a guilt offering to the Lord, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18 The number of gold mice also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities of the five rulers, the fortified cities and the outlying villages. The large rock on which the ark of the Lord was placed is still in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh today. 19 God struck down the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the Lord. He struck down seventy persons. The people mourned because the Lord struck them with a great slaughter. 20 The people of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand in the presence of the Lord this holy God? To whom should the ark go from here?” 21 They sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and get it.”

1 Samuel 7:1 CSB

1 So the people of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the Lord and took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill. They consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it.

The town of Beth-shemesh was a town of Levites who knew how things should be done.

While is seems like an act of worship if was actually reckless - the Torah taught that only make animals were to be used in burnt offerings so the heifers were not supposed to be used (side note - I feel bad for the calves who hadn’t been weaned who now would be without their mothers).

No Israelite outside the Aaronic priesthood were permitted to see even the exterior of the ark, much less its interior.

Their first priority should have been to hid the ark from view while avoiding any physical or visual contact with it.

The people of Beth-shemesh did the opposite - they displayed the ark on a rock and some even looked inside the ark.

This violation brought swift judgment from God on the people - the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint have the number of people who were stuck down as 50, 070 men but that number has been reduced by versions which chose to follow Josephus to 70 men.

Sure the large number would have some difficulties like the odds that even 50,000 people ever lived in Beth - Shemesh but still if the Philistines could kill 30,000 in one day surely the Lord could kill more than 50,000 with no issue.

Instead of mourning for their unfaithfulness to God the people are merely concerned for the degree of judgement brought against them.

As the Philistines those in Beth - shemesh called others to come and get the ark away from them so the people of Kiriath Jearim came and got the ark.

We are introduced briefly to Eleazar but more of that later…