Dagons of My Life

The Israelites had treated the Ark of the Lord as a good luck charm in chapter 4, and today in 1 Samuel 5 we see the Philistines creating a religious ritual of not treading on the threshold of Dagon’s temple. There is a vital element missing in the choices that the Israelites and the Philistines made regarding the Ark of the Lord...God Himself...I certainly don’t want to miss it!

Though the glory of God may have departed from the midst of Israel, God’s glory did not cease to exist! While the Ark of the Covenant stood as a trophy in the temple of Dagon, God’s glory began to shine.

God is not simply trying to show that He is better than Dagon, but He is reaching out to the Philistines themselves. Yet, even after the Philistines recognize that the Lord God of Israel is superior to their headless, handless Dagon, they refuse to turn to the Almighty.

Instead, they make a religious tradition of it. They would rather glue the pieces of their god together than worship the Lord and have their lives and thinking changed.

How often do I do that with my pet sin? How often must the Lord demonstrate the weakness and insufficiency of my choice idols? What do I do with my little powerless, witless little Dagon? Why do I keep erecting it in my heart, thinking it is as necessary to life as air itself? What a mercy it is that the Lord dealt with the idol.

But when we close our ears to God, He often finds another way to speak to us. And it wasn’t a pleasant form of communication!

So even the tumors, hemorrhoids, and destructions were God reaching out to display His glory in such a way, that men would repent and enjoy the benefits of a right relationship with the Lord. But alas! Instead of submitting to the God of Israel, they decided to get rid of Him.

Lord Jesus, You are so merciful how You grace us with Your glory, even when we refuse to acknowledge it. I invite You in to my life to deal radically with my Dagons and strengthen me to turn to You even in the midst of pain and confusion. I don't want You to ever go away.