1 Samuel 5: 1 – 12
Misery Loves Company
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 house 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.
Have you ever been miserable? Probably not you but I am sure you ran across a few people who were miserable. So what is misery really? It is a state or feeling of great distress or discomfort of mind or body. unhappiness, distress, wretchedness, suffering, anguish, anxiety, angst, torment, pain, grief, heartache, heartbreak, despair, despondency, dejection, depression, desolation, gloom, melancholy, melancholia, woe, sadness, and sorrow
Here are a few people who have described misery in a very interesting way;
“I have learned now that while those who speak about one's miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.”
¯ C.S. Lewis
Oftentimes when people are miserable, they will want to make other people miserable, too. But it never helps.”
¯ Lemony Snicket, The Blank Book
“People label themselves with all sorts of adjectives. I can only pronounce myself as 'nauseatingly miserable beyond repair'.”
¯ Franz Kafka, Diaries of Franz Kafka
“A man's subconscious self is not the ideal companion. It lurks for the greater part of his life in some dark den of its own, hidden away, and emerges only to taunt and deride and increase the misery of a miserable hour.”
¯ P.G. Wodehouse, The Adventures of Sally
You sensed that you should be following a different path, a more ambitious one, you felt that you were destined for other things but you had no idea how to achieve them and in your misery you began to hate everything around you.”
¯ Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Netochka Nezvanova
“Bored with the same type of misery over and over and over again.”
¯ Greg Behrendt
So what are we to understand from chapter 5? You do not mock our Holy Majestic God – plain and simple. Even if you do it ignorantly you will still face some unpleasant consequences.
Today we are going to find out about some really miserable people. To be specific we are talking about the Philistines who as you know were the arch enemies of the Israelites. We are going to find out that the reason for their misery is that they stepped over the line and messed with the Israelites God, our Precious and Holy Jehovah Elyon, The Lord Most High.
Having defeated not only the Israelites but their powerful God as well, the Philistines triumphantly bore off the Ark of YHWH from where it had been abandoned on the field of battle, and set it up as a trophy in the Temple of one of their own gods, Dagon, which was in Ashdod, one of their chief cities. Dagon was seen by Jerome and some later writers as a fish god with the head and the hands of a man, but this idea has no foundation in any factual information and is probably due to the likening of the name to the Hebrew word ‘dag’ (fish). In actual fact we have no reliable information about what the god looked like. It is probable that it was a grain god, and thus connected with the Hebrew word ‘dagan’, which means grain or corn. This god appears to have been taken over by the Philistines on their arrival presumably in the hope that it would prosper their grain harvests. It had long been worshipped throughout Mesopotamia and is identified at Ugarit as the father of Baal. There were a number of shrines to Dagon in Canaan. Some people may comment that archaeology has uncovered some idols that looked like fish. The examples of ‘fish gods’ was not to the image of ‘Dagon’ but were rather representations of the goddess Atargartis.
We are going to learn in this chapter that the Philistines were soon to become aware that their short lived victory over El Shaddai, Almighty God, is going to be quite costly. For when next day they went to the Temple to gloat, they discovered that the statue of Dagon had fallen from its place and was lying on its face before the Ark of YHWH. It was as though it had fallen before YHWH in obeisance. At first they didn’t give it too much thought and just put it back in its place. They were somewhat more disturbed, however, when on the following day they discovered that not only had Dagon fallen from its position again, but that it had also been shattered in pieces. The head and the palms of its hands had come off, and were lying by themselves and only the central body was left whole.
When you check out other Scriptures you find some interesting facts. Among the Philistines the severing of the head was the symbol of a defeated foe. Later David would cut off Goliath's head in order to demonstrate his victory (17.51), and the Philistines would cut off King Saul's head for the same reason (1 Chronicles 10.10). Thus our Holy Father God, YHWH, Was here portraying the total defeat of Dagon.
This was only the tip of the storm. Significant worse conditions were to follow, for within a short while a plague began to sweep through Ashdod to such an extent that the people demanded that the Ark be removed It was therefore decided to transfer it to Gath. However, when it arrived in Gath they also experienced a sweeping plague, so they determined to transfer it to Ekron which they hoped would be safer. But the people of Ekron wanted none of it and demanded that it be immediately returned to Israel. They recognized that The Supreme Ruler of All, YHWH, was just too much for them. Their seeming ‘triumph’ over Him had simply resulted in disaster. The Israelites were joyful to have Him back. Thus did God reveal His overall power over the Philistines and their gods. Whatever would happen in the future it would not be due to any lack of power in YHWH.
5.1 ‘Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.’
The Philistines had ‘taken the Ark of YHWH’. They were no doubt delighted. Here indeed was a trophy that revealed the power of their gods. They reveled in the fact that the God of Israel had clearly been unable to do anything against them, and they intended to put the Ark on triumphal show in all their Temples so that the worshippers would see what their gods had accomplished for them.
If you look at a map take a look at the land of Israel and look at the coastline. The Philistines migrated and took up residence all along this coastline. They had 5 principle cities; Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron and Gaza. The first place where they took the Ark to was Ashdod.
5.2 ‘And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.’
So the Philistines brought the Ark of God to Ashdod and set it up as a trophy in the Temple of Dagon, who was seemingly a god with a human face and hands
5.3 ‘And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was found to have fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of YHWH. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.’
The next morning the people woke early and hurried to the Temple of Dagon so as to see this trophy. Have you ever seen some art exhibits where crowds gather early in order to get in to the show? This would seem to be the same conditions happening here. No just stop and think about the people who were in charge of this new promotion. They walk into the room and find that the statue of Dagon had fallen on its face before the Ark of YHWH. It almost seemed as though Dagon had had to bow down to YHWH.
Shrugging off such an idea as ridiculous they ‘took Dagon and set him in his place again’. They no doubt comforted themselves with the thought that there must have been a brief earth tremor.
5.4 ‘And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of YHWH, and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off on the threshold, only the stump of Dagon was left to him.’
However, next morning when they gathered early in the morning to view this rare artifact they discovered to their horror that not only had Dagon fallen on its face before the Ark of YHWH, but also its head and its hands had broken off and lay on the threshold of the inner sanctuary where the statue had been erected. Only the central ‘Dagon’ was left intact. Now what had happened was not so easy to shrug off. The cutting off of the head signified to the Philistines a defeated foe (1 Chronicles 10.10). It was clear that when it came to facing YHWH Dagon was no match for Him.
5.5 ‘That is why neither the priests of Dagon, nor any who come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, to this day.’
So our Great and Holy Father God YHWH left a permanent reminder of His presence in the house of Dagon. Now the verse goes on to say that from that day onwards neither priest nor worshipper ever trod on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod. The reason many teachers explain why this is so was because it was where their god’s head and hands had lain. Instead they would reverently step over it.
I do not think this is the case of why they continued this behavior. I believe it is because of the fear that they would have as a result in which we will soon find out that a great plague hit this city. You might be saying ‘how do I come up with this idea?’ Have you ever had some type of superstition? For example;
. Walking under a ladder
. It’s bad luck to leave a house through a different door than the one used to come into it.
. Step on a crack
. Knock on wood
. Crossing fingers
. Baseball players jumping over the baseline
I believe that the Philistine would avoid stepping on these spots for they developed a superstition fear of these spots.
We see also Our Holy God’s immediate judgment on those who would violate His Rules even among His own. We read this about a good king of Judah by the name of Uzziah in the book of 2 Chronicles 26 , “16 But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the LORD—valiant men. 18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God.” 19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. 21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.
5.6 ‘But the hand of YHWH was heavy on those of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with tumours/boils, even Ashdod and its borders.’ 7 ‘And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us, for his hand is sore on us, and on Dagon our god.”
A dreadful plague swept through Ashdod. Now not only Dagon but the whole people were made aware that YHWH was among them, for many died, and many others were smitten with tumors/boils, and the effects of the plague reached out to its very borders. The hand of YHWH was heavy upon them.
It is possibly significant that when the Ark was returned to Israel it was accompanied by an offering of five golden tumors (or plague boils) and five golden rodents. This might be seen as suggesting that the plague was in fact caused by flea infected rats.
5. 8 ‘They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them, 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 about to Gath.” And they carried the ark of the God of Israel there.’
The situation was seen as serious enough to bring together the five Tyrants of the Philistines, and they decided to remove it to Gath, where it was paraded through the streets in celebration. They still had not learned their lesson that it was not wise to claim victory over YHWH. The result was that a great plague also swept through Gath.
5.9 ‘And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of YHWH was against the city with a very great discomfiture: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great; and tumors/boils brake out on them.’
So their leaders called on the Tyrants of the Philistines to determine what should be done. This was a matter that had to be decided at the highest level. After all, the Ark was there at the direct command of the five Tyrants and it represented their great victory. The Tyrants consulted together and determined that the Ark should be sent to Gath. Perhaps they considered that the gods of Gath would put up a better show. So they carried the Ark of Israel there.
They still prided themselves on having captured the Ark so it was paraded through the streets in a victory celebration, but the only result was that YHWH smote the men of the city ‘both small and great’ so that none was exempt. Many died, and others were smitten with tumors or plague boils.
5. 10 ‘So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came about that, as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.’
Then they sent the Ark to Ekron. This was not a centre of Dagon worship, but was famed for the worship of Baal-zebub. Perhaps then there would be no problem there. But the people of Ekron wanted none of the Ark and protested. Their fears proved only too right for soon the plague was sweeping through Ekron with the result that they pleaded with their Tyrants to return it to Israel. The Ark of the God of Israel was clearly not happy in Philistia.
5. 11 ‘They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it slay not me, and my people.” For there was a deadly discomfiture throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there.
And there again there was a great plague, and many died, and many others were covered in tumors/plague boils, and the plague was even more deadly than in Ashdod and Gath. ‘The hand of God was very heavy there.’ And they petitioned the five Tyrants to remove the Ark from among them and send it back to Israel so that no more may die. For their hope was that once He was back in His own place the God of Israel would cease to demonstrate His anger.
The result of this epidemic was that they determined to get rid of ‘the Ark of the God of Israel’. They recognized what He was doing both to them and their god. It is a sign of the blindness and darkness of men’s hearts that instead of this making them realize how useless it was to trust in Dagon and how wise they would be to trust in the God of Israel, they instead sought to expel Him from their country. They did not seek to propitiate Him. They did not want a God Who would actually do things. They were no doubt aware of the demands that the God of Israel made on His people. After all a good number of Israelites were their vassals.
5.12 ‘And the men who did not die were smitten with the tumors/boils, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.’
Meanwhile large numbers died, and even those who did not die were smitten with tumors/plague boils, and the cry of the city went up to heaven. This may simply be a general vague description indicating that their own gods had proved useless, or it may be intended to indicate that they prayed to the God of Heaven for mercy (Exodus 2.23).
There were a number of important lessons to be learned from these experiences. To the Israelites it had been made clear that while they were living in disobedience it was no use trying to manipulate YHWH by ritual methods. His protection depended on their true worship. To the Philistines and later to the Israelites it was being made clear that in spite of the Philistine victory it was still YHWH Who ruled over the affairs of men, and that it was dangerous to seek to trifle with what was His. Was His throne offered as a trophy to Dagon? Dagon would fall before it in obeisance and suffer utter defeat. Would the Philistine cities parade His Holy Ark among the people so that they could deride the God of Israel? Then the God of Israel would smite them with the plague. You see the bottom line is that while Israel may have been defeated, YHWH had not. He was merely biding His time.
