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1. The Vilification of the Lord’s Glory – 5:1-2
   
   
1. The Repercussions of Waywardness – v. 1
   
   
1. In the previous section, we saw the way that the disobedience and waywardness of Israel resulted in triumph of the wicked over God’s people.
2. Israel, in seeking the power of God through a reliance on superstition and symbolism instead of on God Himself, was brought low, painfully defeated, and forfeited the Ark of God.
3. As a result of their spiritual waywardness, not only did they suffer, those who were outside the faith in God were emboldened and "justified" in their sinfulness – "Now the Philistines too the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod."
4. We ought to pause and remember that our disobedience affects people around us everyday (illustrate with G. Robinson’s conversion).
   
   
2. The Reassurance of the Wicked – v. 2
   
   
1. Thus, because of Israel’s disobedience and spiritual failure, the Philistines felt as though their spiritual condition was just as good or even greater than that of Israel.
2. In estimation of their religion, their conclusion was that their god – Dagon – had provided them the victory over the God of Israel.
3. Remember how the Philistines had been fearful – having heard of the power of Jehovah over the Egyptians (cp. 4:7-8) now they concluded that Dagon was more powerful than Jehovah – "Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon."
1. This was in part to allow the Ark of God to be placed in a position of homage to their god, and,
2. In part this was to claim that the God of Israel Himself had favored them over the people of Israel.
4. In this twisted way, the Philistines felt vindicated and favored by God – thus reassuring them that their lives were acceptable even to Jehovah.
   
   
2. The Vindication of the Lord’s Glory – 5:3-5
   
   
1. The Homage Due to the Lord – v. 3
   
   
1. The Lord, of course, would do two things.
2. First, He would refuse the worship of those who have not been cleansed by faith in Him
3. Second, He would elevate Himself above the false gods with whom He is compared – "When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord."
4. The natural response of the people is to see this as some accidental event and therefore, "they took Dagon and set him in his place again."
5. Dagon was the principal god of the pantheon of Philistia – a combination fish and man who supposedly fathered Baal.
6. It is interesting to notice the help that this pagan god received - he was dependent on those who worshipped him to put him back into position.
7. This underscores the reality of the fact that there is no God beside Jehovah – no idol is of anything at all – cp. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6
8. Any idol is infused with life fallaciously by those who created it – Isaiah 40:18-20, 25; Isaiah 45:20-23
9. Only the Lord God Jehovah can save!
   
   
2. The Humiliation Dealt by the Lord – vv. 4-5
   
   
1. However, the Philistines persistent fidelity to Dagon caused God to go further.
2. God’s insistence on being honored and exalted above some false god was not incidental - God caused this idol to fall once again – "But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord."
3. This time, the fall resulted in the humiliation of the Philistines’ god - "the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him."
4. This was a clear act of judgment to convey the absence of wisdom (head) and power (hands) from this false deity.
5. In this era, the cutting off of an enemy’s head or hands, was a common proof that an enemy was dead – cp. 1 Samuel 17:54.
6. Consequently, the Lord humiliated the false god trusted by the Philistines and proved that it wasn’t his power that brought them victory over Israel.
7. However, instead of getting the message, they merely became superstitious – "Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day."
8. They continued their allegiance to Dagon – although we are not told that they took the time to set him back up or even repair him – at least until after they had rid themselves of the One to Whom Dagon could not stand up
   
   
3. The Vengeance by the Lord’s Glory – 5:6-12
   
   
1. The Heaviness of God’s Hand – vv. 6-10
   
   
1. Since the Philistines refused to listen to the message of God’s judgment on their false God, God intensifies His judgment.
2. There is a certain irony to the fact that "the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites" – when Dagon had lost his hands in God’s statement of sovereignty.
3. God "smote them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories."
4. It is possible that God used a plague similar to the Bubonic plague to bring judgment on these people for their sinfulness and idolatry – cp. 6:4.
5. In essence, the Philistines concluded that there was no way that they, or the god they had invented, could stand up to the power of Jehovah – "When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, ‘The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god’."
6. They decided that the best course of action, was to send the ark to another city – Gath, were the inhabitants were reportedly mightier and stronger than those in Ashdod (Goliath was from Gath) – "So they sent and gathered all the lods of the Philistines to them and said, ‘What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?’ And they said, ‘Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.’ And they brought the ark of the God of Israel around."
7. However, this location was no better for the Philistines than the previous – the superiority of the humanity of Gath did nothing at all to prevail against God – "It came about that after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city with very great confusion; and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them."
8. They decided to get rid of it and pass it along to someone else – like a "hot potato", sending it to those closest to Israel’s border to see if that location was better (in that it was close to Israel) – "So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it happened as the ark of God came to Ekron that they Ekronites cried out, saying, ‘They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people’."
9. Simply stated, God demonstrated that neither their false god, their superior humanity, nor a better location could stem the wrath of God’s judgment from being heavy upon them.
   
   
2. The Hostility toward God’s Hand – vv. 11-12
   
   
1. Instead of repenting and embracing the glory of the God of Israel, the Philistines decided to send the ark back to Israel – "They sent therefore and gathered 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 deadly confusion throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy there."
2. Carnal hearts, when they smart under the judgments of God, would rather, if it were possible, put him far from them than enter into covenant and communion with him, and make Him their friend.
3. Until they dealt with the problem of God’s wrath, "the men who did not die were smitten with tumors and the cry of the city went up to heaven."
4. In the face of Israel’s failure to bear witness to the power of God working in benefit to the righteous, it was necessary for God Himself to display His disadvantages of His power in judgment of the wicked.
5. How important it is for us to see the fallen faces of false gods resulting from the great display of God’s grace upon our lives, bearing witness of God’s love and mercy.
   
   

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