1 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the temple of Dagon and set it by Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. 4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon's torso was left of it. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god." 8 Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" And they answered, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath." So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away. 9 So it was, after they had carried it away, that the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors broke out on them. 10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!" 11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
Dagon Smashed before the Lord (vv. 1-6)
Ravaging Idolaters (Ps. 78:60-64; Jer. 7:12)
Although we cannot say with certainty, it seems that the Lord’s tabernacle at Shiloh was also ravaged at this time. We hear nothing more about Shiloh after this, other than references to what happened there as a warning to Israel. Imagine the Philistines’ delight at seizing the Ark – the magic box that plagued Egypt and perhaps gave strength to Samson. And now, we have it! Likely there was great fervor to demolish Yahweh worship once and forever. Samuel fled from Shiloh, assuming he was there at the time, taking what instruments of the priestly/sacrificial worship and national documents he could. Idolatry was on the rise and on the rampage! It looked invincible. And the Ark was gone – and the tablets of the covenant, and now the tabernacle itself. And without an Ark, a mercy seat, where could God’s people flee for refuge? Where could they offer sacrifices? How could they seek propitiation for their sins? In those days before the heavenly temple was opened by the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven to intercede for us, it was a dark hour. Humanly speaking, Israel’s armies were defeated. The high priest and his sons were killed. The godly beat their breasts, entered their closets, and poured out their hearts to the Lord. Had he forsaken his people? Forgotten to be merciful?
Dagon Smashed in His Own Temple
Dagon is popularly thought to have been a fish-man hybrid deity, perhaps representing fertility. It is more likely that he was a grain deity, as some statues have been found with him having a head of grain and the body of a man – same general idea. Blind and rebellious men looked to the works of their own hands to save them, and they began worshipping what they had made. It was also thought that these deities were dependent upon men to feed them with sacrifices. Hence, the Babylonian epic that references the flood portrays the gods as hungry, for the earth was covered with water, and then ravenously eating the sacrifices made after the flood waters subsided. In other words, the gods and man are in a kind of symbiotic relationship. Men worship the gods, who feed upon their worshippers’ sacrifices. Not Yahweh (Ps. 5-:12-13). He does not need man. He did not need Israel. He fights his own battles. The Philistines placed the Ark beside Dagon. Idolaters are always willing to add to their gods. Yahweh will have no other gods before him. The first night, Dagon fell down face down before him. Philistine priests stood him back up, which should make us roar with derisive laughter, as it did the first readers. The next night, the Lord cut off Dagon’s head and the palms of his head. When the priests entered the temple the next morning, they walked on his parts – again, utterly derisive of false gods and the fools who worship them. Never again did the Philistine priests walk on the threshold, although they repaired or replaced Dagon after the Ark was removed. They might step on their god!
The Philistines Plagued by the Lord (vv. 7-12)
Plague and Confusion Stalk the Idolaters
Yahweh was not defeated after all, and the Philistines did not know what to do. They began moving the Ark around to their main cities – from Ashdod to Gath, then to Ekron. At each stopping place, bubonic plague or something similar broke out, either killing its victims or afflicting them with painful genital tumors. Whenever a Philistine city saw the Ark coming, they cried out that their leaders were trying to kill them. Why have you brought death to us! God’s hand was very heavy upon the Philistines, upon the idolaters, upon the individual men and their cities. His wrath was unbearable. Without the Israelites, without a Samson, without any sacrifices from his worshippers to eat, the Lord had defeated the Philistines. What happened to Egypt happened to Philistia. The Lord carries on a ceaseless war against idols and their worshippers. The Philistines begged for the Ark to be returned to Israel, but they did not turn to the Lord. Tens of thousands died, perhaps many more, and the rest were in agony with a horrible plague.
Send the Ark of God Back to Israel!
It may seem strange in our egalitarian age that the Lord would judge the Philistines so harshly that they would want to “get rid of him.” The Lord, however, is working out his own purposes. He can use the Philistines to judge Israel, and then turn his wrath upon the Philistines for their own sins – as Isaiah later celebrates the Lord’s wrath against the Assyrians (Isa. 10). We have such small views of the Lord, of his power and purposes! The very judgment he raises up the Philistines to execute against Israel leads to his dealing with Philistine idolatry. He is the Judge and Ruler of the nations – not men, political parties and think tanks. The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God! He is the righteous Judge. Do not question but trust in him, and especially now that his Son has come to destroy Satan’s works, as John wrote (1 John 3:8) and to erect his kingdom of righteousness and peace that will endure forever. The very miseries that cause us to despair of God’s love and control will turn out to be the instruments by which he will deliver us and judge his enemies. But we must take the higher and broader view – beginning with the Lord ruling over all, with the nations being but a drop in a bucket before him, and his eternal counsels ruling over all. Then, we can look our own Philistine juggernauts in the face and realize they are dust mites before the Lord. They are nothing to fear at all. We must never fear men and fight against this form of idolatry. Instead, we must stand before the Lord with adoring, reverential fear, trust in his promises, and confess that he alone is our life and salvation. He is defending himself and will accomplish his eternal purposes that he purposed in Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:11).
Truths We Ignore to Our Discouragement and Peril
The First Commandment Applies to All Men and Nations
Some in the church think that while the Lord may oppose idolatry as a spiritual issue, modern nations are not under the authority of the first commandment. This shows the unbelievable blindness that has fallen upon many in the church – or at least, how influenced, and soft we have become by modern pluralism. Of course, the Lord commands all men and nations to repent (Acts 17:31). He commands them to turn from their idols to serve him (1 Thess. 1:9). Idolatry is more than a personal sin, and it is more than bowing to statues and icons. It is the Romans 1 downward spiral. All men know God, but until regenerated by God’s Spirit, will not confess this, but instead worship and serve the creature. This takes place in many forms, from primitive animism to shinier technocracies. It is the same root sin – worshiping man and the works of man’s hands. But when we refuse to worship and serve our Maker, especially since the Lord Jesus has come to redeem sinners, the Lord judges – with spiritual blindness, immorality, then sodomy and lesbianism, and then with teeming wickedness. Those who practice these things know that they “are worthy of death” (1:32), but they will not give them up. Modern nations, as we, are guiltier for idolatry than Philistia, for God’s light, his Beloved Son, has come into the world. And what are nations but the conglomeration and groupings of men? If they are idolaters individually, they are a nation of idolaters, and can expect the wrath of the Lamb to fall upon them.
Pluralism is Idolatry and Will Be Destroyed
Now, the Philistines, interestingly enough, thought they were being generous. Their gods loved companions, consorts if you will, and by setting the Ark next to Dagon, they were incorporating Yahweh into their divine pantheon. Idolatry is always willing to admit new idols into its number – new perversities, new genders, new versions of statism and unbelief. But pluralism does not rescue men from the fate of idolaters. Our own nation is a prime example of this. We were definitely founded by Christians. This does not mean that every man and woman was a believer, but it was the dominant worldview of the populace, and well-represented among the Founders. But other influences and worldviews were present, especially Socinianism, which recognized that there was a God who ruled the world but rejected Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God. Hence, while giving respect to “Providence,” many were practical atheists and did not ground limited government and delineated powers upon the foundation of Scripture – but reason, human covenants, and fear of statism. These were good, as far as they went, but they laid the foundation for our present pluralism – God and Jesus are in the mix, but less and less important, relegated to private spirituality, with little bearing upon public policy. This is idolatry. The living, speaking God must not simply have his share in every conversation but utterly dominate every conversation – or judgment is coming.
And we wonder, having forsaken the better streams from which our nation sprang, and pursuing instead convenience, prosperity, and world dominance, that our idolatrous chickens have come home to roost. The sodomite and transhumanism war against the Lord and his word at its root is God’s judgment. It need not be permanent, as he rescues many from their sin (1 Cor. 6:9-11), but while it dominates a man or his nation, it is nevertheless God’s judgment, God’s retributive response to worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator. In our context, worshipping the creature is doing what Oprah Winfrey and her fellow religionists encourage – find your own truth, defend it to the death, and reject all who reject your truth. In the church, especially in our Bible-ignorant, short attention, and “God is a feeling I must find” age, this idolatry comes to painful expression in children who confuse their fleshly desires with God’s will for their lives. When we worship and serve our feelings, especially with the encouragement of flesh-serving peers, we will fall into deep and ugly pits. The Lord can deliver us, but the pit hurts and is his firm chastening for our sins. Let us turn from the modern idolaters and their supportive, enabling idolatry, that provokes the Lord to his face and instead “have no other gods before him.” This includes what we want in our fleshliness and the sins we justify in order to evade the clear import of his word. His will is plain. Read his Word. Our Savior did, lived by it (Matt. 4:4), and saved us by his own obedience unto death.
The Lord Does Not Need Us to Fight for Him (Aseity)
One of our national idols is control, especially the sense of personal control. We do not trust the Lord for this, but our machines, planning, and processes, and ultimately, government. Marching against this idol is a very shocking truth in this very passage. The Lord did very well smashing idols and plaguing idolaters without the slightest help from Israel. His own people did not even know what he was doing, but he does not need us to stand him back up. If he were hungry, he would not tell us (Ps. 50:12). His aseity, his self-sufficiency and independence from the created order and from any creature is one of his distinguishing attributes. He is not like idols, ancient or modern, that require men to wind him, stand him up, talk for him, feed him, or form a cult around him. He laughs at his enemies. He defends himself, and we must remember this. There is not a single man or group or nation or organization that has ability to resist him successfully or overturn his purposes. And this is what Satan fears that the church will rediscover, for this is the furnace of boldness, courage, and even forgiveness that he cannot quench. But, when we fear what men are doing and dread the latest news feed, we have forgotten the Lord knocking down Dagon. The idols of men, the works of men, can do nothing against the Lord. He will win. He will prevail. The mountain of his Son’s kingdom will be the highest mountain (Dan. 2:45), and he will overcome all opposition to his reign by the sword coming out of his mouth, his lowly gospel.
Idolatry Blinds and Hardens – Cannot See the Lord’s “Signs”
This is the reason he chose the gospel and its preaching to be the means by which his mustard-seed kingdom grows. His ways have nothing to do with man’s ability and wisdom. He does what men cannot do, in ways that humble our pride. At least the Ninevites repented, but this is because God sent his word of warning through Jonah. In Ashdod, there was no word preached. Idolatry reigned in them, even though their beloved Dagon was lying smashed on the ground. They could not see the signs. Even when the Lord plagued them, they hated the pain and death, but there was no thought of personal reformation – only escape – like the unrepentant when they stand before the Lamb-Judge! Rocks – fall upon us! As in Philistia, there will be no escape. And thus, we must pray earnestly that the Spirit of God will wondrously work in our day to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11). Otherwise, the worst judgments will leave men no better. The Spirit must open our eyes before we can see the evil and danger of our sins, and then turn to Jesus Christ. Since God’s purposes will be realized to gather all things under his Son’s headship, so that all honor him as they honor the Father, we may be sure that the gospel will prevail. Nothing else can deliver blind men from idolatrous hearts and set us free to serve the living and true God. Let us preach it more earnestly than we have, believe it, and urge all men everywhere to seek refuge in Jesus Christ from the present wrath of God and the wrath to come.
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