1 Samuel 5:1- 4 - After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it
from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 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.
The Philistines may have won the battle against the Israelites…and
taken possession of the holy ark…but they did not understand the power of the
God they had taken into the temple of Dagon.
God sent the Philistines a mighty message the next two mornings…when
they saw the idol lying face down in the temple. The second morning God even took the hands
and head off the idol and placed then in the threshold of the temple.
He also sent a plague to destroy the Philistines…more than
likely a form of bubonic plague. The
numbers of dead were not recorded…but it was enough to cause a panic in the
town…enough for all the towns’ people to cry out for it to be taken away from
their town. They moved it to two other cities…many of the commentaries saying
that 20-80% of the Philistines were destroyed by this plague attributed to
their possession of the ark.
It is so sad to me that they never understood the God that
resided in that ark. They thought of him as just another god…never realizing
the power he had to save them all. He gave them a hint…tried to tell them to
bow before him and worship him…embrace who he was so they could receive his
mercy…but the hint was not received…and they rejected him as many in our
present day world do…dying without ever knowing the healing power he can give
to their lives. They thought that Yahweh
was just one of many gods...who was evidently angry with them for taking him
away from the Israelites.
It is a reminder to me that I need to be praying for the lost….the
ones that will die without ever knowing Christ in their lives. I need to be on
the lookout for those God sends into my life that have no clue what his love
can do in their lives. I need to model
for them the love he gave me to share with others…..and then show them how they
can find salvation in him too. I need to be like Phillip in Acts 8…when God
sent an Ethiopian Eunuch to him …to explain the truth of the scriptures…so he
could be saved.
Father….thank you for the reminder that everyone around me is
not a child of yours. Show me how to be
more active in helping the ones around me to understand your love and power. Help
me not to be afraid to ask those you send how I can help them understand the
truth of your word…so they can be saved.
Show me how to pray for them….so you can soften and convict their hearts
of their need for you. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment