1 Sam 5

1 Samuel 5

"And when they arose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah. And the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold. Only the stump of Dagon was left to him" (1 Samuel 5:4).

The Philistines have captured the ark of the Lord. They realized the story behind this ark. They knew that it was of great worth to Israel. They knew that Israel bothered to carry this around during its conquering of Canaan. They knew that when they crossed the Jordan, it dried up for the ark. They knew these things and confidently placed it next to Dagon, their god, in order to signify that they had conquered.

Of course, the Lord would not have it. The next morning Dagon could be seen lying face down before the ark of the covenant. The Philistines thought this a mere coincidence so simply stood Dagon up and right back into place. If you have a god in your life and you got to stand him up, there is a problem. Again Dagon is seen face down before the ark, except this time his head and palms have disconnected making him impossible to repair. Oh Dagon...

The ark continues to make its circuit of destruction around Philistia. Finally, they send it back to Israel. I want you to notice something, that the ark of God did not just work against the Philistines but it also fought against Israel just one chapter ago! This thing is waging war against everyone. Why? Is not Israel God's chosen people? Therefore it would make sense that it would fight against the Philistines right?

Remember when the people of Ninevah heard the words of the Lord and God spared the entire city. The Ark of the Covenant, is holy, a word here which means, "Able to be used of God." Both Israel and the Philistines were living unholy lives. I believe that if the Philistines were living lives for God, the ark would of found a rather comfortable dwelling place for the time being. However, the ark had no home, because Israel was just as rotten as the Philistines.

Do you want to be Holy? Do you want to be used of the Lord? Do you want His holy presence entering into your life? I know I do. The problem is I have this flesh, which wars against holiness. Live holy. Sacrifice what you have to to live a holy life. You can always tell when somebody is not living for Jesus, because the moment Jesus enters the scene their false gods begin to lie down on their face. Suddenly I am faced with this decision everyday; either allow Jesus to do a work and cleanse my heart from everything I have been running to, bowing to, or get rid of Jesus.