In Enemy Territory


1 Samuel 5:1-12
1When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 3And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. 10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” 11They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

For chapter 5 and most of chapter 6 of 1 Samuel, the action of the story takes place inside of the cities of Philistia. The Ark of God has been captured and now the Philistines must deal with the consequences of taking it into their cities. While the Philistines have indeed triumphed over the armies of Israel, they have not triumphed over the God of Israel, as they will learn in two ways.

Here Yahweh progressively demonstrates his supremacy over Dagon. On the first morning the idol is found fallen in front of the ark with its face to the ground. It is as if Dagon has prostrated himself before Yahweh, acknowledging the superiority of the God of Israel. On the second morning Dagon has fallen and his hands and head have been severed from his body. Here Yahweh is the warrior who demonstrates his victory over the false god by slaying it.
Steinmann, A. E. ©2016. 1 Samuel. (pp. 137–138). Saint Louis, MO: CPH.

Dagon was a grain god, thus attached to whether or not the Philistines prospered. There have been attempts to identify Dagon as a “fish god” but there appears to be little evidence of that.

Rats thrive on grain, and the rats associated with the plagues on the Philistines suggest that Yahweh sent these vermin as a pestilence that proved Dagon himself impotent (just as many of the ten plagues on Egypt targeted Egyptian deities). The second way the Philistines learn that they have not defeated Israel’s God is by the plague. It first broke out in Ashdod where the ark had been taken. The first attempt to stem the plague was to move the ark to another city of the pentapolis, Gath. Perhaps the Philistines thought that placing some distance between Dagon and the ark would mollify Israel’s God. Clearly, the Philistines understood Yahweh to be similar to any other of the pagan gods—he could be manipulated into giving humans their desires. They may have reasoned that sending the ark closer to Israelite territory would appease Yahweh. When this did not work, they sent the ark to Ekron, the Philistine city closest to Israel’s territory. However, the Ekronites panicked at the mere sight of the ark, and the plague also broke out there too.
Steinmann, A. E. ©2016. 1 Samuel. (pp. 138–139). Saint Louis, MO: CPH.

Because of the detailed description of this plague, scholars have concluded it was bubonic plague. As this plague is carried by rats, this appears to be a further judgment on the grain god, Dagon. No wonder the Philistines wanted to be rid of the Ark. It is interesting that the response of the Philistines is merely to rid themselves of the Ark rather than investigating this God who so clearly has control over all things. Repentance never even occurs to them. Our God is a welcoming God who would have embraced them and folded them into His Kingdom.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more