Get That Thing Out of Here II

Background to passage: Pretty basic bible story. To catch up in the book of Samuel, it begins with Hannah praying for a son, Samuel being born, him becoming a prophet, Eli’s wicked son’s corrupting Israel and inviting judgment, they die, the ark is captured, Israel is defeated, and the “glory of the Lord has departed” from Israel.

So this is what the Philistines do with the Ark of the Covenant or Ark of God. Bring it back to their main religious center to demonstrate Yahweh’s inferiority to Dagon. This passage serves to demonstrate the absolute supremacy of the One True God. I am going to approach this text with an allegorical approach to try to gain as much application as we can glean.

1 Samuel 5:1–12 ESV

1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6 The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” 11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Opening illustration: DOC, they were treating a malpractice lawyer with an intercranial amoeba. Don’t know how accurate the true medicine was because I am not a doctor, but they had to put him into hypothermia to kill the amoeba. It was risky, and the read him the risks off the bottle so to speak including psychosis and death. They let him make the call, because they were “pretty sure” it was this amoeba.

Main thought: There are idols in our lives that God will root out

Preliminaries: The bible teaches, and there can be no other way to have God, his perfections. He is absolutely sovereign over everything in the universe. He is superior to all things. His supremacy is uncontested. His providence is always weaving the tapestry of his divine will to bring about the greatest good a and the most glory. He has absolute power and unrivaled glory, and he promises ultimate glorification of Himself throughout all of creation. So, as the Philistines learned hard, thou shalt not mess with Almighty God.

That having been said, we live under the delusion that we can experience fulfillment and satisfaction through power, self-glory, all sorts of created things, relationships, status, possessions, etc.

If we are to see the sweeping move of the Spirit of God in our midst, reviving and revitalizing the bride of Christ at Western Heights, we must tear down the idols.

Application: We “worship” what brings us what we want. Nothing new under the sun. If we are desiring pleasure and joy, and we seek it in Christ alone, worship as an expression of his worthiness and wellspring of joy that is different, but seldom the reality in our lives. So let us think about common gods that must fall. Some are obvious, but some are inconspicuous and just as dangerous.

The god of work

The god of money and/or possessions

The god of sexual immorality

The god of power

The god of politics

The god of convenience

The god of ministry

The god of routine

The god of tradition

The god of family

The god of leisure

The god of technology

The god of self-sufficiency

The god of self-determination

I know this may sound like a laundry list of do better, but holiness is not something we strive for at a high level often anymore. If we want to see God move in our personal lives or the life of our church, we must take a fresh look at our pursuit of holiness and the things that assault and hinder it in our lives.

2) What will it take for you (v. 6-7)

1 Samuel 5:6–7 ESV

6 The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.”

2) What will it take for you (v. 6-7)

Explanation: Again, straight forward bible story; again, similar to the Exodus. Tumors, terror, panic, fear of certain death, and death itself. Their cry went up to the heavens. Like Egypt, the Philistines had hard hearts and rejected the obvious evidence of the superiority of Yahweh. Distinguish between judgment and discipline.

Exodus 12:30 ESV

30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.

Hebrews 12:5–7 ESV

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Hebrews 12:10–11 ESV

10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:14 ESV

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Illustration: Dave Ramsey has shared that early in his adult life, he built an apparent fortune in real estate — but because it was heavily financed, when his loans got called, he and his wife had to file for bankruptcy in 1988. That collapse was the turning point that caused him to re-evaluate his priorities and faith.

Application: God uses various means to judge, punish, teach, reproach, discipline. All of us are built differently to reflect beauty in creation. Some of us are more clueless, some are more stubborn, some are more rebellious, some are more determined, some are more ignorant, and so forth. So what will it take for you?

Family crisis

Health crisis

Answered prayer

Crushing loss

Financial disaster

Betrayal

Injustice

Indecision

A book, a sermon, or a podcast

False accusations

We must not look at everything in our lives that we see as bad or unfortunate and say God is trying to correct something. Sometimes we just live in a fallen world, and God is doing 10 billion things at the same time that we don’t know or would never think. However, we should always consider the fact that God may be working in our lives through ways that he wants us to see. Sometimes the most life-altering times in our lives are when God rips idols out of our lives.

3) How do you surrender (v. 11-12)

1 Samuel 5:11–12 ESV

11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

3) How do you surrender (v. 11-12)

Explanation: The people of Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron are not the example of how to react when your deity falls down and worships the neighbor’s deity. The example and symbolism were pretty thick. People looked at these kinds of things as signs to them.

The bible teaches that Jesus Christ is Lord! This means that He has ultimate authority in your life. You don’t make Him Lord, He is Lord already, you just recognize His Lordship. The NT never separates Savior and Lord.

Romans 10:9 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

2 Chronicles 15:12–15 ESV

12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, 13 but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. 14 They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. 15 And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

Matthew 18:9 ESV

9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

Illustration: “It is not easy to relinquish an inadequate understanding of God. Even today when our little gods fall, our first instinct is not to abandon them but to prop them up again. The prophets constantly reminded Israel (and us) that the gods we make are always impotent when they face the living God.”

Application: The way we surrender now is the way they surrendered then: repentance and belief. We turn from sin and self, and turn to Christ. The gospel is not just the entrance into the Christian life, it is the daily living vehicle for believers. We don’t “do better,” we believe the gospel that God has saved, will transform, and is faithful because he raised the dead ones to life. Our identity is in Christ. We bow in humble submission to his will and way. We joyfully, thankfully, fall in line with what he wants for us. Examples:

Trust in God and his Gospel - pray scary prayers

Tear out the idols - identify them. Call them by name

Figure out practical ways to kill sin - but you must fight with joy

Relinquish control - of your life to Jesus - his way is the best way

Loosen your grip - on things of this world, possessions, relationships, materials

Fresh allegiance - recommit your life - confess the drift - make a covenant of love

Absolute willingness - to do hard things that scripture calls us to do

Decisive action - what starts on day 1

Relocate your greatest joy

Ensure that Christ is the sun in the center of your solar system

Closing illustration: leaving Maine?

In light of the most powerful demonstration of God’s superiority over other gods since the Exodus, the Philistines, like the Egyptians, missed the point. They rejected the One True God and sent Him packing. God’s grace always invites repentance and faith, but you have the opportunity to send Him away today. Jesus says, he has an ear to hear, let him listen.