1 Samuel 5 Fallen little god

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 5:1 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. 3 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. 4 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. 5 That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.​

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This is from the easy English site.

The Philistines stole the ark. They believed that they were stealing the God of Israel too. They were very happy to have the ark. But by the end of the chapter, they wanted to return it. They discovered that the God of Israel is different from other gods. He is very powerful. He does not live in the ark.

Ashdod is about 48 kilometres (30 miles) south of where they had their battle. Every time the Philistines won a battle, they stole the figures of the gods of that nation. They put them in Dagon’s temple. This showed that Dagon was more powerful than the other gods. The Bible calls these figures ‘idols’. The temple was a building. People went to the temple to praise Dagon. The Philistines took the ark of the Lord and put it in Dagon’s temple. In the morning, Dagon was in front of the ark, not next to it. He had fallen down in front of the ark of the Lord. He lay with his face touching the ground (verses 4 and 5). Sometimes people do this in front of a king. This is how they give him honour. They show that the king is more powerful than they are. (People often worshipped God in this way too.)

The Philistines put Dagon back in his place. The figure of Dagon was probably on a high table. This made him look powerful and important. The next day he was lying in front of the ark again. This was not an accident as it happened twice. But this time Dagon was broken. In those days, when men won a battle, they often cut off their enemies’ heads and hands. The Philistines won the battle with the Israelites. But God showed the Philistines that he is more powerful than Dagon. Philippians 2:10-11 says that one day everyone will bend down to Jesus. They will admit that he is the most important God. Everyone will give honour to Jesus.


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I love this story. God doesn't need to have humans fight his battles. God threw this idol to the ground. God broke the head and hands from this idol.

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This is from Bible.org.

From a merely human point of view, it looks as though God is being held hostage by the Philistines. From the perspective of the Israelites, the anguish of Eli, his dying daughter-in-law, and other Israelites at the capture of the Ark, is understandable But Israel’s God is not an idol; He does not need for men to carry Him about. God is the One who carries Israel:​

I love God stories!

:coffee:
 
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