God taught His enemies to fear Him, but He also listened to their prayers for mercy.
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1 Samuel 5 Summary
The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant after the Israelites had hauled it into battle as if it were some sort of good luck charm. The Philistines set the Ark up in the temple of their god, Dagon.
John Walton explains why in the IVP Bible Background Commentary:
The ark would have been placed in the temple to indicate that Yahweh, Israel’s God, was a defeated prisoner of Dagon. His inferiority had been demonstrated on the battlefield, and his subordination was represented in his humble servitude before his master Dagon.
The Philistines likely believed that continuing opportunities for humiliation would result.
Ironically, it's Dagon, not the Lord, that suffers humiliation, and each city that the Ark gets pawned off on suffers tremendously.
The chapter ends on an interesting note:
...the outcry of the city went up to heaven (v12)
The Philistines are the arch enemy of God's chosen covenant people, but isn't it amazing that God hears their cries for mercy as well!
Dig Deeper
God is not a god that can be kept.
Yesterday we read about the punishment that Israel suffered for attempting to use God like a genie in a bottle, and now today those who attempted to raise their own truth above God were so quickly humbled.
One of the most repeated imperatives in the Bible is that people are to fear God. The Philistines certainly demonstrated a proper fear of God as they passed the Ark around from city to city until the whole land was filled with panic (v11), but unfortunately they responded to this fear completely wrong. Rather than seeking to eliminate God's presence from their lives altogether, they should have humbled themselves before Him and asked to be included in His covenant blessing.
Passages like this are good to remind us of the absolute holiness of God, which very much ought to evoke a sense of fear, terror and dread in you as it did the Philistines.
But instead of making futile attempts to eliminate God's presence in your life, be sure to come to Him in humility, clinging to the cross of Christ, because in doing so you will experience His peace (Romans 5:1).
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: All people and their contrived deities will bow down before our Father, the Lord God Almighty.
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Humble yourself before God and pray for His continued grace in your life.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
