Our Cross Guard Kids at Shiloh just finished up Unit 10 of the Gospel Project. We begin Unit 11 in the morning… I began this post the morning that we were to teach on 1 Samuel 5…
Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him in his place 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. And 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.
Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
Now the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and smote them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. 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.”
So they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”
(1 Samuel 5:2-8)
“What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” I have always found this passage of Scripture quite fascinating. As the Philistines watched the ark of God visibly lay flat their god… it never once even occurred to them to choose to worship the God of Israel and denounce the impotent god, Dagon. Instead they chose to get the ark as far away from the as possible.
What is sad… is that it is not much different today.
The question now, “What shall we do with this man, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God?”
Many can see the mighty act of Jesus Christ in the hearts of people. They can see the evidence of changed lives, they can see the evidence of answered prayers, and they can see the evidence of His Word ringing true as they suffer under the consequences of disobedience to Him…
Yet just like the Philistines instead of choosing to submit to His Lordship, they instead want to get as far away from Him as possible.
Before we criticize them to much, let us remember how the ark of God ended up in the Philistine camp to begin with…
The people of Israel were using the ark of God as a good luck charm… they were getting beat in the battle… and instead of going to God and humbling themselves and asking Him what they were doing wrong… well they just thought they would go in grab the ark and botta-bing-botta-boom victory wold happen.
God doesn’t play that way. He didn’t with Israel and He doesn’t with us.
If we are not careful we will fall into the same trap…
Our God is not a good luck charm. He is GOD.