God's call to put Him First

1º Samuel 5:1–12 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. 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.

Just as dishonoring God brings consequences, honoring Him brings healing. Therefore, let’s choose to put God first in our lives and trust His grace to restore our family.

Dishonoring God Exposes our Folly

1º Samuel 5:1–5 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.

The Philistines just won a great battle that they thought they were going to lose.

1º Samuel 4:7–8 CSB

7 they panicked. “A god has entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us! Nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will rescue us from these magnificent gods? These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

Now that they have won, they started to pump up their chests and basically do a parade of the same Ark they were so afraid of. This is interesting because sometimes, we humans, as we defy something we are afraid of we become bolder and this frontier we have crossed is no longer an obstacle. In the case of the philistines they brought something amazingly holy to a hideous place. They brought God to the place of their idolatry.

We are seeing this as if we are seeing a movie, but feel a little bit in the shoes of the Philistines, they are not God’s people, they don’t know what to do an dall of a sudden, God is in the middle of their lives.

We need to learn that God is never neutral.

That means that with God, you are either with him or against him.

The Philistines brought the ark to one of their cities. Interestingly, this people were a “confederacy” of 5 kingdoms or cities.

The cities of the Philistines were: Ashdod, Gath, Ekron, Gaza, and Askelon

As a common practice in those days, they brought the defeated nation’s sacred objects under the feet of the victor’s god to symbolize dominance.

Dagon was the main god of the Philistines, some people think he was a man with the head of a fish.

Dagon fell 2 times, and the second time he was symbolically but also literally dismembered and placed at the feet of the Ark.

Here God is showing that He will not allow His Glory, represented in the Ark, to be dishonored by NO ONE.

Why do you think God showed His power over Dagon in such a dramatic way?

God is Supreme and Holy.

God is Jealous and will bring Justice.

Let’s think about this. When we face something Holy with blatant ignorance and bring it to “our” place of worship. God wins.

God arrives to our worst place and wins—smashing our idols not to punish us, but to show us their absurdity and draw us back to Him. Honoring Him means trusting this victory to heal us.

God shows up in our messes—maybe when we’ve chased the wrong things—and wins by wrecking our idols. Not to break us, but to free us. He lovingly laughs at what we’ve trusted, showing us it’s nothing next to Him.

This week, let’s spot where God’s already winning:

What ‘Dagon’ has He knocked over in our home—like tension from overpacked schedules or fights over small stuff?

Let’s laugh with Him at how silly it is, drop it, and put Him first instead—maybe by resting together in prayer or serving each other without a fuss.

Dishonoring God Invites his discipline

1º Samuel 5:6–7 NKJV

6 But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.”

The hand of the lord was heavy.

God strikes Ashdod with tumors; the people panic and decide the Ark can’t stay.

Keeping the Ark without reverence didn’t just topple their idol—it brought God’s “heavy hand” on them. This isn’t petty anger; it’s a holy God showing that dishonor has a cost.

The Philistines responded in the way every human responds to the presence of a Holy God, them being unrepentant sinners.

They wanted God OUT of their lives.

Imagine this, they weren’t atheists, they believed God existed, but they didn’t believe or knew he was merciful. God was the God of their enemies.

The Philistines wanted relief, not relationship.

When we dishonor God, we feel consequences—not tumors, maybe, but a weight in our hearts, a strain in our home.

Think about our struggles—could they be God’s way of saying, ‘You’ve let Me slip’?

His discipline calls us back to put Him first.

Ignoring God Prolonges the Pain

1º Samuel 5:8–12 CSB

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.

The Ark moves to Gath, then Ekron; each city faces tumors and chaos until the Philistines cry out to send it away.

Instead of repenting, they shuffled the Ark around, but God’s judgment followed.

Dishonoring Him isn’t fixed by dodging the issue—it demands a response.

We can’t outrun the need to honor God; ignoring Him only deepens our mess, like a family drifting further apart.

Are we just passing our problems around—blaming each other, avoiding the real issue?

God’s saying, ‘Turn back to Me.’”

Mateo 6:33 CSB

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Conclusion

1 Samuel 5 shows us God’s supremacy—Dagon falls, cities suffer—because He won’t be dishonored. The Philistines paid a price for pushing Him aside.”

Just as dishonoring God brought them consequences, we feel the sting when we let other things take His place. But here’s the good news: God’s supremacy isn’t just about judgment—He’s gracious.

2º Crónicas 7:14 CSB

14 and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Let’s put God first—pray together tonight, serve each other this week, trust His grace to restore our family. He’s supreme, and He’s for us.”

How do you think dishonoring God in small ways can accumulate into bigger issues in our lives?

What steps can you take this week to ensure you are honoring God in your daily routine?