Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
“Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again.” (1 Samuel 5:3 NLT)
Observation
It’s an odd little story from 1 Samuel 5—and one of my Biblical favorites!
The Israelites have brought the Ark of the Covenant to the site of their battle with the Philistines assuming that, by controlling the Ark, they control the God of the Ark and can manipulate Him into assuring their victory. They learn differently when the Philistines not only win the battle but also capture the Ark itself!
Funny thing, though—when the Philistines proudly relocate the Ark into the temple of their false god Dagon, they come back the next morning to discover that Dagon has ”…fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD” (1 Sam 5:3). So they set their god Dagon back up again.
By the next morning, the same thing had happened again—but this time, “…his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway” (1 Sam 5:4). Given that in the ancient world, severed heads and severed hands were battlefield trophies, the implications of this little scene are just plain delightful—Yahweh’s authority over Dagon has been confirmed beyond question!
Still—it makes me wonder about myself. Specifically, it forces me to ask how many times…how many times…I’ve set the “idols” in my life back up again.
In the power of His presence, those false gods have fallen again and again. They have been shown for what they are—powerless and defeated foes. And still, I give them place. What’s up with that, exactly?
“Forgive me, Lord, for propping up what is false and powerless to save. Give me much grace by which to leave each fallen idol in the dust, and place my hope in you alone.”
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