After the Philistines defeated the Israelites, they took the captured Ark of God to Ashdod. They believed their god, Dagon, had defeated Yahweh. The evidence of the defeat was the capture of the Ark and the large number of dead Israelites.
God contended for His reputation, when they placed the symbol of His presence in the temple of Dagon.
Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon.
When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place.
But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained (1 Samuel 5:2-4).
The reaction of the idol would not be lost on the Philistines. First, Dagon’s idol fell on its face before the Ark of the Lord. After being set upright by the Philistines, the next day the hands and head were broken off.
The humbling of Dagon before Yahweh involved the inability of the pagan god to stand before the symbol of God’s presence. In addition, the idol was not able to right itself. The Philistines had to put their idol back in place.
A Plague for the Philistines
Scholars believe God used something like the bubonic plague to afflict the Philistines.
The LORD’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors (1 Samuel 5:6).
Like playing a game of “hot potato,” the Philistines moved the Ark of the Lord from city to city. It was moved from Ashdod to Gath. When the good citizens of Gath wanted the Ark to move to Ekron, they received a “no” vote from that city.
So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people” (1 Samuel 5:10).
Return the Ark
After seven miserable months, the Philistines decided the best course of action was to return the Ark to the Israelites.
The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”
They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”
The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?” They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land (1 Samuel 6:2-5).
The Philistines knew that you never go before a God or a god empty handed. Their spiritual advisors counseled them to construct five golden tumors and five golden rats.
- Five represented the number of Philistine kings.
- Tumors were present in the plague. If it was the bubonic plague, tumors of the lymphatic system were symptoms.
- Rats carried the disease of the plague.
Reflections
There are several insights in this account of the Philistines and the Ark of the Lord.
(1) Both the Israelites and Philistines were wrong to believe that they could put God in a box. The Israelites were wrong to believe that God would fight their battles, simply because they carried the Ark into battle.
Making God equivalent to a lucky “rabbit’s foot” without any devotion or faithfulness was a serious error on their part.
The Philistines’ belief that they could present the Ark of God as a trophy to their god, Dagon, was blasphemy.
(2) Idolatry is exposed for what it is in these verses. It is tragic and comical that the Philistines had to physically set their god on his feet. The emptiness of idolatry is exposed in this passage.
Look at the lives of fading stars and you will see the vacuity of the quest for power and privilege. People who once had fawning crowds are reduced to a mere shadow of their once vaulted glory.
Rudy Ross is right when he reminds us in our videos that there is only One who is worth to reign. It is the Lord Himself.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 