May 21, Day 141 – Not Powerful Enough
- Dr. Eric Stricker
- May 21
- 3 min read
Yesterday we stated that the Ark of God had no business in Philistia. As we come to 1 Samuel 5, we see that, after capturing it, the Philistines carried it to Ashdod – one of the five cities of the Philistines (cf., 1 Samuel 6:17). They placed the Ark in the temple of Dagon next to their statue (i.e., idol) of Dagon. Like all idols that man fashions with his hands and his vain imaginations, Dagon was crafted into a bizarre shape – a fish with a human head and hands. In our reading for today, we see some divine humor in this serious case of mice and men. The Philistines “rose early the next day, and there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the LORD” (verse 3). Significantly, we ask, “Who’s bowing before Whom?” The god of the Philistines was not powerful enough to resist falling – bowing down before the Israelite God of the Ark – emphasizing Dagon’s proper place before God. So they set poor Dagon back up again, for he was too weak to do it himself! The next day, they found Dagon fallen back again “on his face with his head and hands broken off” (verse 4). Dagon, the so-called god of these powerful Philistines, was fully incapable of managing himself – his “head and his hands” were useless. However, God’s hands are effective. God brings a plague of tumors and rats (i.e., “devastation,” verse 6) upon the people of Ashdod, who quickly realize that “the LORD’s hand was heavy upon them” (repeated in verses 6, 7, 9, and 11), so they “sent the Ark of God to Gath” … and later to “Ekron” (verses 8 and 10). In chapter 6, we read that after suffering this plague of tumors and rats for seven months, the Philistines decided they’ve had enough and agree to send the Ark back to Israel. The Philistines attempt to “appease” the God of Israel with their gift – gold tumors and rats – a rather strange insult for the symbolic images that they represent. Thus, the Ark finally returns to Israel where it belongs. In chapter 7, we see Samuel’s call for national repentance and his victory over the Philistines “by the LORD’s help” (verse 12). This section of Scripture should challenge us nationally to realize that our hope for victory rests only in the Lord.
We continue with Proverbs 12 again today. This section of Proverbs contains an ongoing contrast between the righteous and the wicked. In verses 21 and 23, we note that “no harm overtakes the righteous, but the wicked have their fill of trouble,” and “the prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but fools blurt out folly.” These verses show us the biblical incentive to live righteously and wisely and to avoid living wickedly and foolishly. Jesus said that each day has enough trouble of its own (cf., Matthew 6:34), so we will always experience trouble, but the intensity of our troubles can be decreased by living a righteous life. Also, knowledge is a precious resource that we should guard and protect rather than squander or blurt out like foolish nonsense. Of course, knowledge should be shared, but it should not be wasted on those who scorn it.
In John 11:45-12:11, we see here that the Jews were motivated by their hatred, jealousy, and envy against Jesus for nothing more than popularity. His miracles quite naturally drew crowds away from the Jewish leaders who refused to rejoice over His “successes” or for the wonderful, uplifting things He did to help people out of their misery and awful predicaments. How ridiculous and self-serving was the behavior of the Jewish leaders! Several things are revealed here – Mary’s love and appreciation for Jesus; the depth of deceit in the heart of Judas; and the absurd but humorous plans of the Jews “to kill Lazarus as well” [a second time]. Moreover, Jesus knew well enough to withdraw from the crowds at certain times to avoid being captured before His time. Even Jesus’ death was carried out in God’s perfect timing. Jesus entrusted all this to His Father, and He humbly moved in trust toward His death.
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