Every experience that David had with God reminded him that he served a living God.
The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation. (2 Samuel 22:47)
Isaiah knew that the idols of Israel’s contemporaries could in no way be compared to the living God.
To whom, then, will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
An idol? A workman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
As a gift one chooses mulberry wood
—wood that will not rot—
then seeks out a skilled artisan
to set up an image that will not topple. (Isaiah 40:18-20)
When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they discovered the utter impotence of their god, Dagon.
The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon.
When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.
But when they rose early on the next morning, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him (1 Samuel 5:2-4).
Dagon fell to the ground before the ark. It was necessary for humans to pick up the god they served and put him back in place.
The next day, Dagon was once again on his face before the ark. This time, in addition to being on his face, Dagon showed the typical symbols of defeat in battle.
Jürgen Moltmann’s book on the crucifixion had an attention getting title many years before the term clickbait came into popular parlance. He titled his theology of the cross, The Crucifixion of God.
How do you crucify the living God? Is it possible for a living God to die, like the Canaanite idols?
Only God’s love allows His beloved Son to die on the cross for humankind. Only the power of the resurrection reveals the power of our living God.
Today, is a good day to recall the fact that we serve a living God.
As we praise God, let’s remember Jesus’ controversy with the Sadducees about the resurrection. He made it clear to His opponents that we serve a living God, who also gives life to His followers.
“And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead but of the living” (Matthew 22:31-32).
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, Bruce’s son-in-law Alex, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 