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Turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 
5. 1 Samuel 5. I'll begin reading 
in verse 1. Then the Philistines took the 
ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. When the Philistines took the 
Ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it 
by Dagon. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors 
and the cry of the city went up to heaven. Amen. So you see 
how glorious this particular passage is. We don't want it 
here. Get it out of our midst. goes from Ashdod to Gath and 
then to Akron, the Lord God triumphing through the Philistines. And 
that's what we find tonight, specifically the Ark of God and 
Philistia. Chapters 4 to 6 as a whole center 
on the Ark of the Covenant. Chapter 4, you'll remember the 
children of Israel go out to battle against the Philistines. 
They lose the battle against the Philistines. So they come 
up with the idea of bringing the Ark of the Covenant out with 
them. in order that they might win the battle. Now, in certain 
elements or in certain aspects in Old Testament history, the 
ark and its presence did signify God with the people. But in this 
particular instance, they were utilizing the ark as sort of 
a lucky charm. They were utilizing the ark for 
their own particular ends. They were more concerned with 
the external rather than the God whom it represented. They simply wanted victory and 
they sought to manipulate the God of heaven and earth. God 
shows to Israel that he cannot be manipulated, that he's not 
about magic, that he's not about being massaged for particular 
ends. So he permits the ark to be captured 
by the Philistines. And then, of course, Eli dies. And then Ichabod is born. And 
that indicates that the glory has departed from Israel, for 
the ark of God has been captured. So we pick up in chapter 5. Now 
the Ark of the Covenant is the Philistine, excuse me. the Philistines 
problem. In chapter 6, it will be returned 
to Israel, but for tonight, we see two broad categories in this 
particular chapter. Verses 1 to 5, the Ark in Dagon's 
Temple, and secondly, verses 6 to 12, the hand of the Lord 
against the Philistines. So those are the two things we're 
going to focus on tonight with reference to the Ark in Dagon's 
Temple, three sub-points. First, the victory of the Philistines. Secondly, the placement of the 
Ark. And thirdly, the supremacy of 
Yahweh. Remember the victory of the Philistines. 
I just sketched that. The Israelites went into battle 
against them and thought the Ark of the Covenant would secure 
victory for them. And, of course, it didn't. The 
Ark, instead, was captured. Now the Ark was significant for 
various reasons. It indicated the Lord's rule, 
or it demonstrated something of the kingship of our God. As well, the Ark indicated something 
of God's reconciliation, therefore showing us something of the priestly 
character of our God. And as well, the Ark of the Covenant 
signified revelation, the word of the living and true God. So 
the Ark of the Covenant was something vital to Israelite religion. 
But again, it's not to be treated like a holy horseshoe or like 
a three-leaf or four-leaf clover. It's the four-leaf that's the 
lucky one, right? Okay. The four-leaf clover or some 
other rabbit's foot or some sort of item or object that was designed 
to bring favor to the one who held it. Now the significance 
of the defeat. This had never happened in Israel 
before. never had happened where pagans 
had put their hands upon the Ark of the Covenant and trotted 
it back to their own category. God demonstrated in this that 
again he cannot be confined to the Ark and that he cannot be 
manipulated like the gods of the pagans. Gil says, they foolishly 
placed their confidence in an external symbol and not in the 
Lord himself. They ascribed salvation to that 
which only belongs to him, whether of a temporal or spiritual kind. So what we have in this section 
is something that had never occurred. It indicates the darkness in 
Israel at this particular time. that they had lost the very thing 
that, at least on the surface, represented the presence of God 
among them. Certainly the glory of God had 
departed from Israel. Now notice, secondly, the placement 
of the Ark. Verse 1 of chapter 5, the Philistines 
took the Ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. When 
the Philistines took the Ark of God, they brought it into 
the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. Now Dagon, as I understand 
it, is a god worshipped in Mesopotamia since at least the third millennium 
BC. So Dagon had been around for 
a while. He was portrayed as a god of 
fertility and especially of grain. If you remember our studies in 
the book of Judges, it was Dagon, it was the temple of Dagon, that 
the people of the Philistines were reveling in when Samson 
brought down that temple upon those worshippers. As well, Dagon, 
or Baal rather, was later associated with his functions and so Baal 
was thus described as the son of Dagon. Now as far as the idol 
itself is concerned, from the waist up he looked like a man 
and from the waist down he looked like a fish. So he was this sort 
of half-man, half-fish thing that the people worshipped. They 
had a temple for him and everything. And so what do the Philistines 
do? They bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Philistia, they 
bring it to the house of Dagon, and they place Yahweh, the Ark 
of the Covenant, right next to Dagon. Now the placement of the 
Ark of the Lord in Dagon's temple was to highlight Dagon's victory 
over Yahweh. You need to understand the significance. This was symptomatic of warfare 
in these days. It was the case that when an 
invading army won, they would take the idols or they would 
take the gods of the persons that they had conquered. This 
would show not only the conquest of the people, but certainly 
if their god had been captured, their god had been conquered 
along with the people, then the people were in a very desperate 
state. They were not going to recover. Samurai says, the practice of 
capturing an enemy's gods was common in warfare in the ancient 
Near East. It was understood that a people 
whose gods were in enemy hands was completely conquered. So 
there is symbolism and significance in this description. And so what 
we read in verses 3 to 5 only highlight the glory of the God 
of Israel. He is brought there, at least 
probably in the minds of these Philistines, to show the conquest 
of Israel, to show the conquest of Israel's God, and to suggest 
that Yahweh now ought to bow before Gagon and render homage 
and service and worship and servitude to Dagon, this half-man, half-fish 
sort of idol. So then we see the supremacy 
of Yahweh demonstrated. Notice the homage given to Dagon, 
not by Yahweh, but by the Philistines. Notice in chapter 5, verse 3a. And when the people of Ashdod 
arose early in the morning, there was Dagon. Now, it's interesting. They were having their devotions. 
They were having their morning services. They rose early in 
the morning. Certainly, if a day-gone worshipping 
Philistine can get up early to meet with his half-man, half-fish 
God, you can pull yourselves out of bed to meet with the God 
of heaven and earth. That's what we ought to get from 
that. Just kidding. there ought to be some sort of 
encouragement to us. If these pagans will go to the 
house of Dagon early in the morning, certainly we can make it to an 
11 o'clock worship service. That's not even early in the 
morning. We're meeting with the High King of Heaven. We are meeting 
with the God of Gods, the Lord of Lords, the Supreme, Majestic, 
and Holy One, the One who has saved us from our sins and has 
redeemed us by His Son and has given us every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ. It's truly amazing what 
the pagans are prepared to do for their gods. And it's oftentimes 
amazing what Christians will not do for their God. But notice, when they come into 
the house of Dagon, there was Dagon, verse 3, fallen on its 
face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took 
Dagon and set it in its place again. Now forgive me if I laugh 
in the midst of this study, but this is why chapter 5 is here. It is to elicit from the faithful 
laughter, humor. What the author is doing is showing 
us not only the supremacy of Yahweh, but the absolute stupidity 
of idolatry. The absolute folly of men who 
have to pick up their God and prop Him back up on His pedestal. The entirety of Holy Scripture 
tells us that the living and true God does not need for His 
people to prop Him up, but rather the living and true God set forth 
from Genesis to Revelation is the one who props up His people. 
He is the one that sustains. He is the one that gives life. 
He is the one that gives blessing and beatitude to His people. It truly is an amazing reality 
that these pagans would still continue, subsequent to 1 Samuel 
chapter 5, to continue to worship this half-man, half-fish, grain 
god that had to be picked up, had to have his head glued back 
on, and had to have his hands glued back on. I mean, this is 
folly. This is idolatry. This is what 
it looks like, and the author displays it. He couldn't display 
it in more beautiful ways. So they find him on his face 
before the Ark of the Lord. Samara says the phrase on his 
face implies that Dagon was in a position of adoration of Yahweh. So they bring the Ark of the 
Covenant in here so that Yahweh will bow before Dagon. Well, 
what happens? Dagon is now bowing before Yahweh. He falls down right before the 
Ark of the Covenant. It truly is an amazing scene. 
The people have to pick it up and set it in its place. The 
irony is obvious. It should elicit humor from the 
faithful. If you have to pick up God and 
put him back into his place, he is not a God worth serving. 
If you have to pick up your God and dust him off, or glue his 
hands back on, or fasten his head back onto his torso, that 
is not a God worthy of adoration. He is not a God worthy of praise. He is not a God worthy of worship. The Lord God Almighty carries 
His people. They do not carry Him. The Lord 
God Almighty mends His people. He heals His people. He cares 
for His people. It is not the case that His people 
heal, mend, or care for Him. Simply reversed. Now notice the 
destruction of Dagon. Verses 4 and 5. Now we might 
grant verse 3 was a fluke. Maybe there was a strong wind 
in Ashdod that day and somebody left the temple window open and 
that gust hit Dagon just so and he fell on the earth and it only 
appeared that he was prostrate doing homage to Yahweh in the 
Ark of the Covenant. Verses 4 and 5 do not allow for 
such an interpretation. What happens? The faithful go 
back. These are consistent worshipers. 
These people go early in the morning. These people get up. 
Notice, verse 4, and when they arose early the next morning, 
they didn't whine because we have to go to church again. No, 
they went back to the temple of Dagon. When they arose early 
the next morning, there was Dagon fallen on its face to the ground 
before the ark of the Lord. This wasn't a fluke. It wasn't 
because there was a strong dust in Ashdod. It wasn't because 
some inadvertent Philistine had left a window open in the temple. 
No. Dagon falls again before the 
Ark of the Lord. And just in case we've missed 
the significance, the writer continues to describe the scene. 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. Davis says, Dagon is getting 
the godness not right out of him. Dagon is taking a beating 
from the true and living God. Dagon is being shown as the folly 
that he truly is. And there is a very interesting 
contrast here. What happens here according to 
verse 4? The head of Dagon and both the 
palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold. Notice 
in verse 6, but the hand of Yahweh was heavy on the people of Ashdod. Verse 7, for his hand is harsh 
toward us and Dagon our God. Verse 9, the hand of the Lord 
was against the city with a very great destruction. And then again 
in verse 11, the hand of God was very heavy there. So Dagon's 
been stripped of his hands by the one who has a hand that comes 
down in judgment. Now, when the scripture, of course, 
ascribes hands to our God, we know it's using anthropomorphism 
because God is spirit. He does not have a body like 
man. This indicates something of his power, his might, his 
judgment, his ability to execute judgment upon these God-hating 
rebels in Philistia. And notice this whole idea of 
the threshold. The threshold was believed to 
separate the common from the holy and was therefore treated 
with respect. They probably had a superstition 
about it. It seems to have carried on into 
Zephaniah's day. Zephaniah 1.9 speaks something 
of this. The Geneva Bible indicates this. 
Thus, instead of acknowledging the true God by the miracle, 
they fall to a further superstition. Verse 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. Yeah, that's 
a good response. That's fantastic. Don't bow to 
the God of Israel. Don't bow to Yahweh who has rendered 
this defeat upon your foolish God who's now got no head and 
no hands. But just avoid the threshold. 
Engage in further superstition. Run farther from your God. Again, 
the idea here is that when we engage in idolatry, folly and 
stupidity and foolishness are the only things that follow in 
its wake. And the account, as I've already 
indicated, was designed to demonstrate through humor the folly of idolatry. Read Davis on this section and 
he indicates something about how this was funny stuff. Think 
about it. This is your God. He's fallen. His head fell off. His hands 
fell off. His people are busy propping 
him back up. The children of Israel, subsequent 
to this event, would have read 1 Samuel 5 with triumph in their 
veins, with joy in their hearts. This is the power of God Most 
High demonstrated. And it's intriguing to me that 
in apparent weakness, in apparent weakness, God demonstrates this 
power and glory. I wonder if there is at least 
something of an illustration of the cross of Christ. When 
Christ is upon that cross, it is shameful. There is the appearance 
of helplessness. There is the appearance of defeat. 
There is the appearance that the devil and his hosts and all 
the godless on the earth have actually won. And yet it's in 
that that true triumph does result. Here God is, at least by all 
intents and appearances, confined to this ark and he's been captured 
by these godless Philistines. What happens? This is the means 
by which the Ark of the Covenant is transported throughout Philistia, 
wreaking havoc upon these God-haters. It truly is a demonstration of 
power in apparent weakness in this particular situation. Davis indicates something of 
this. I want to read it at length. He says, what kind of a god is 
that? Talking about Dagon. How would 
a godly Israelite respond upon hearing this story? With the only pious response, 
uproarious laughter. Yahweh, however, intends for 
his people to think, not merely to laugh, to realize that unlike 
a battered Dagon, Yahweh doesn't have to have someone come and 
set him up again. He can fight Philistines by himself. He doesn't need his people to 
cheer him on. He will bring back his ark all 
by himself. Humor, yes, but didactic humor, 
teaching the self-sufficiency and supremacy of Yahweh. And 
solemn humor. Humor. Don't begin to think, 
Israel, that you can manipulate the living God like a lucky charm 
for your own convenience. And don't begin to think that 
He needs you to support and carry Him. If any carrying is to be 
done, He will carry you. I think that's very important 
for us to understand. Yes, the faithful might have 
slapped their knee and laughed at what was going on in the temple 
of Dagon, but they would have learned the lessons as well. 
We do not manipulate our God. We do not need to prop up our 
God. Our God does not need to be carried. Our God does not need to be cheered. Our God does not need to be fed. Our God does not need to be cared 
for by His creation. But rather, our God cares for 
his creation. The prophets pick up on the folly 
of idolatry. You can turn to the prophet Isaiah. 
Isaiah chapter 44. This is the most important lesson 
that we need to capture. Because idolatry, brothers and 
sisters, is not confined to Dagon worship in Old Testament Philistia. But rather, idolatry is alive 
and well today. Our idols may not look like a 
half man, half fish, headless, handless sort of monstrosity. Our idols might look like money. 
They might look like sex. They might look like drugs. They 
might look like anything that we put before God. But idols 
we most certainly have. John says at the very end of 
his first epistle, my little children, Keep yourselves from 
idols. Why would he do that? Because 
of the propensity of the children of God Most High to reject the 
Lord and to wander back into idolatry. Calvin said our hearts 
are like idol factories. Paul the Apostle deals with this 
situation at length in Romans 1. Now, they're not for the children 
of God. But certainly when we come to 
a knowledge of the Lord God Most High, we are not immediately 
confirmed in perfection and in righteousness. And there is a 
tendency for us to wander and to leave the God that we love. 
In essence, idolatry is anything you put before God. And I think 
the idol of self is probably that one that is most pertinent 
to each and every one of us. Notice in the prophet Isaiah, 
chapter 44, verse 9, those who make an image, all of them are 
useless, and their precious things shall not profit. They are their 
own witnesses. They neither see nor know that 
they may be ashamed. Who would form a god or mold 
an image that profits him nothing? Surely all his companions would 
be ashamed, and the workmen, they are mere men. Let them all 
be gathered together, let them stand up, yet they shall fear, 
they shall be ashamed together. The blacksmith with the tongs 
works one in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it 
with the strength of his arms. Even so, he is hungry and his 
strength fails. He drinks no water and is faint. 
The craftsman stretches out his rule. He marks out one with chalk. 
He fashions it with a plane. He marks it out with a compass 
and makes it like the figure of a man, according to the beauty 
of a man, that it may remain in the house. He cuts down cedars 
for himself and takes the cypress and the oak. He secures it for 
himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine and 
the rain nourishes it. That it shall be for a man to 
burn. For he will take some of it and warm himself. Yes, he 
kindles it and bakes bread. Indeed, he makes a god and worships 
it. He makes it a carved image and 
falls down to it. He burns half of it in the fire. 
With this half, he eats meat. He roasts a roast and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, 
ah, I am warm. I have seen the fire. And the 
rest of it he makes into a god, his carved image. He falls down 
before it and worships it, prays to it, and says, deliver me. 
For you are my God. They do not know nor understand, 
for He has shut their eyes so that they cannot see, and their 
hearts so that they cannot understand. And no one considers in his heart, 
nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned half of 
it in the fire. Yes, I have also baked bread 
on its coals. I have roasted meat and eaten 
it. Shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall 
down before a block of wood? He feeds on ashes, a deceived 
heart has turned him aside, and he cannot deliver his soul, nor 
say, is there not a lie in my right hand? I mean, this man 
uses this wood in very utilitarian ways. He cooks with it, he warms 
himself with it, and then he bows and he worships it. Look 
over at chapter 46. Bel and Nebo, these were gods 
of the Babylonians. Remember, in the particular context 
here, the Lord God Most High is announcing that judgment will 
come upon Babylon, that the children of Judah will be freed from their 
exile. The agent of judgment upon Babylon 
is going to be Cyrus, the king of the Persians. And so the prophet 
here is now describing what's going to happen when Cyrus and 
the Persians go to invade Babylon. Chapter 46, verse 1. Bel-Marduk was the city god of 
Babylon. and the head of the Babylonian 
pantheon. Nebo was Bel's son. He was the 
city god of Borsippa, near Babylon, and the god of writing and wisdom. 
So Bel bows down. Nebo stoops. Their idols were 
on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, 
a burden to the weary beast. They stoop. They bow down together. 
They could not deliver the burden, but have themselves gone into 
captivity. So you see, the Persians caused 
Bel and Nebo to fall. Bel and Nebo are then put up 
on a cart and become a burden to the poor horses that got to 
trot them back into Persia. You see, what a display of folly 
here. Bel and Nebo can not only not 
save Babylon, But Bel and Nebo are going to be taken back to 
Persia, not to be worshipped and glorified, but more than 
likely to be melted down so that the fine, the silver and the 
gold and whatever it was manufactured with can be used by Persians 
to make earrings or nose rings or finger rings or whatever it 
is they want to make. And then notice the contrast, 
verse 3, Listen to me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant 
of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by me from birth. 
You see, you've got to uphold Bel and Nebo, but the God of 
heaven and earth upholds His people from birth. You have been 
carried from the womb. Even to your old age, I am He. 
And even to gray hairs, I will carry you. I have made and I 
will bear. Even I will carry and will deliver 
you. Brethren, we need to understand 
that anything we seek to put in the place of God will ultimately 
fail. God alone satisfies. This is 
the lie of idolatry. Drink this. Smoke this. Inject this. Do this. Go here. Have this. It will ultimately let you down. What we need is the living and 
true God. Not just so we're not let down. 
That's not my point. But we give allegiance and worship 
and adoration and praise to the one alone who is worthy. We give 
him our time. We give him our resources. We 
give him our love. We give him our hearts. We give 
him our affections. The Bible is not silent on the 
problem of idolatry. And again, the Bible does not 
indicate that idolatry is only Bel, Nebo, Dagon, Baal, Asherah, 
or the like. Idolatry is anything that you 
and I put before the true and living God. Again, you may not 
be addicted to sex or drugs or rock and roll. You may not be 
addicted to mammon, but probably you're addicted to yourself in 
some way or other. And there is a fine line between 
loving ourselves the way that Jesus assumes that we will and 
loving ourselves in a way that is unrighteous, unholy, ungodly. Narcissism is certainly an idol 
that can indeed trap many. And by the grace of God, we ought 
to resist it just like we would resist walking into the temple 
of Dagon and bowing before a half-man, half-fish, Headless, handless 
monstrosity. So beware. Or in the language 
of the apostle, little children, keep yourselves from idols. Back 
to 1 Samuel chapter 5. Notice, secondly, the hand of 
the Lord against the Philistines. Three sub points here. First, 
the means of judgment. Secondly, the response of the 
Philistines. And thirdly, what I'll call the 
victory tour. the victory tour. But note first 
the means of judgment. The hand of the Lord was heavy 
on the people of Ashdod. I don't think it was a Wednesday 
night study. I think it was on a Sabbath day. 
In one of the sermons, I had mentioned that the word glory 
is related to the word heavy. Does anybody remember that? Or 
have you ever heard that before? Heavy and glory are same semantics, 
same semantic range. Back in chapter 4, verse 22, 
it said, the glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God 
has been captured. Notice in verse 6, the hand of 
the Lord was heavy. It's the same word. God's glory 
had departed from Israel, but God's glory, in terms of his 
judgment, is now in Philistia. And so what we find is that God 
Most High manifests His glory through judgment. He manifests 
it through salvation, to be sure, but He manifests it through judgment 
as well. So heavy, the idea of something 
being heavy, valuable, honorable. It's not lightweight, it's heavy, 
it's glorious, it's worthy of honor. That word is employed 
in this particular section. Notice, 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. Now the covenant 
people were promised that if they had violated the covenant 
that God made with them, Deuteronomy 28, 27, the Lord will strike 
you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and 
with the itch from which you cannot be healed. Brethren, that's 
enough to hopefully keep a covenant member on track. That is enough, 
I hope, that would argue for us to toe the line. I mean, who 
wants boils, tumors, scab, and itch? None of us. And yet how 
many of us will continue to wander into our paths of idolatry, resisting 
the God of heaven and earth? But this word tumors is interesting. And there's been a couple of 
ideas proposed as to what is taking place. The first is the 
disease of dysentery or hemorrhoids. In fact, in the King James and 
the Geneva Bible, it's translated emrods. I don't know why that 
makes me laugh, but emrods, OK, in the King James and in the 
Geneva Bible. And the rest of the translations, 
English translations, that I have all translated as tumors. John Gill says it this way, and 
smote them with emrods. Wow, again, that's just a terrifying 
thought. Smote them with emrods, more 
properly hemorrhoids, which as Kim Chi says, was the name of 
a disease, but he says not what. Ben Gershom calls it a very painful 
disease from whence comes a great quantity of blood. Josephus takes 
it to be the dysentery or bloody flux. It seems to be what we 
commonly call the piles, and it has its name in Hebrew from 
the height of them rising up sometimes into high, large tumors. Certainly that would be a painful 
judgment from God upon the Philistines. As well, another theory or another 
idea, and this seems to be supported by the margin of the New King 
James, is that bubonic plague is what is in view. In chapter 
6 at verses 4 and 5, you'll see that rats ravaged the land. In fact, there's a variant reading, 
if you have the New King James and you look at the note for 
chapter 5, verse 6, both the Vulgate and the Septuagint, VG 
is Vulgate, that's a Latin, that was the version of Jerome. that he translated the Bible 
into Latin. That's the Vulgate. The LXX is 
the Septuagint. It's a great translation of the 
Old Testament. Both of those translations in 
chapter 5 at verse 6 indicate something of rats. And in the 
midst of their land, rats sprang up. And there was a great death 
panic in the city. We don't need to adopt that variant, 
necessarily. I'm just saying that that is 
probably what the new King James is alluding to. In fact, in the 
note for 5.6, it says, probably bubonic plague. And so the reference 
to rats, at least in chapters 6, 5, and 6, lead many to explain 
it as the bubonic plague, which was carried by rats. Davis says, 
since we hear of rats ruining the land in 6.5, some scholars 
think the tumors may have been the swelling in the armpits, 
groin, and sides of the neck that are symptomatic of bubonic 
plague, of which rats are carriers. So, specifically, can I say with 
absolute certainty, whatever it was, the hand of Yahweh was 
heavy upon the Philistines. There was blood, there was pain, 
there was probably itch, there was a lot of discomfort, and 
there was a lot of death. So God lashes out in judgment 
against these people. Lashes is not good. God executes 
judgment. upon these pagans for having 
worshipped Dagon, for being those who reject the true and living 
God. Now notice the response of the 
Philistines, verses 7 to 9. They knew it was Yahweh, verse 
7. They knew it, notice. 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." They knew it. In fact, if you 
look back at chapter 4 for just a moment, remember when the Philistines 
are kind of whooping themselves up for battle. They're going 
through their process. They're getting amped up. They're 
firing one another up to go meet the Israelites on the field of 
battle. They know that the Israelites have brought the Ark of the Covenant. 
For a moment, the Philistines are scared, but they say, you 
know what? We've got to deal with these guys. Notice in 4.9. 4a. Woe to us! Who will deliver us 
from the hand of these mighty gods? That's not good theology. 
It is the Almighty God of Israel, but their pagans will at least 
understand why they would say these mighty gods. These are 
the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 
Isn't this an interesting principle? They knew that the God of heaven 
and earth struck the Egyptians dead. Why in the world did they 
not think it could happen to them? Why in the world is man 
so presumptuous and man so arrogant and man so sure of himself that 
when he sees all around him calamity, misfortune, difficulty, trial, 
affliction, what obviously can appear to be the very judgment 
of God Most High, he says, but that won't happen to me. This 
is corporate folly on the part of the Philistines. They knew 
what Yahweh of Israel was capable of, and yet they bring the Ark 
of the Covenant into the house of Dagon, and they set it right 
next to him. And then Dagon not only falls 
once, he falls twice. He loses his head. He loses his 
hands. And for whatever reason, this 
doesn't cause them at that point to say, we need to get this thing 
out of here. Now, verse 6 causes them to say, we need to get this 
thing out of here. We don't like the heavy hand 
of the Lord upon us. So they knew that the judgment 
was from Yahweh. And it's interesting, they knew 
it was a judgment against them and against Dagon. Exodus 12.12, 
when God announces his plan for Egypt. He says, I will pass through 
the land of Egypt on that night and will strike all the firstborn 
in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the 
gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. So it's not only against them, 
it's against their gods. Now again, the biblical authors 
are not telling us that there really is gods in Egypt. that Dagon really is a living 
God. No, it is just simply to say 
that in the destruction of these so-called gods, it is evident 
that they weren't gods to begin with. Because what is definitional 
for God is that he cannot be destroyed. God is independent. God is everlasting. God is incorruptible. God is infinite. All those things are true of 
God. And so to predicate that or say 
that about a half-fish, half-man, headless, handless monstrosity 
is to be a liar. And so they knew that it was 
Yahweh. So what do they do? They sought 
instruction from the lords of the Philistines in verse 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? 
That's easy. Get it out of here. We don't need to be the lords 
of the Philistines to figure that out. Send it to God. Now, think about how friendly 
Philistine cities were to one another. I mean, if you ever 
get a visitation from God, please don't send it to my house if 
you care whatsoever about me. If the Lord ravages your home 
with emeralds, please don't say, go find Butler. It's what's happening 
in Philistia. You see, God is marching city 
to city to city, bringing vengeance and judgment and destruction 
upon the idolaters. It's truly amazing. And they're 
doing it. Send it to Gath. Let the ark 
of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath. Man, you really 
don't like Gathites, do you, in Ashdod? That's not the point. We just want it out of here. 
So they carried the Ark of the God of Israel away. 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. Wherever the ark of the Lord 
goes, there comes his judgment. He goes from Ashdod, and now 
he goes to Gath. So what do they do in Gath? Well, 
you know, we've never really liked the city of Ekron. Why 
don't we send it to the Ekronites? The Ekronites are a little bit 
more savvy. They send out a delegation to 
the city gates and say, wait a minute, we don't want it here 
either. Do you see what's happening? God systematically is bringing 
judgment upon Philistia. And they know it, they understand 
it, and they don't want it. They want to depart, they want 
to get rid of it. The only logical response, whether 
you're a lord, whether you're a plowman in Philistia, is get 
it away from us. Because as long as the God of 
Israel is in our midst, He is going to bring judgment upon 
us. And quite frankly, it is a judgment that we cannot bear 
death, destruction, blood, pain, misery, suffering. Verse 10, 
this is what I call the victory tour. 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. Now they've not only got the 
God of Israel but they've got Ashtonites and they've got Gathites. Nobody likes Ekronites. You see 
what began in the temple of Dagon and Ashton moved to Gath, moved 
to Ekron and brought destruction and judgment in its way. You 
see, you may think you've captured the God of Israel. You may think 
you've tamed him. You may think you've domesticated 
him. You may think that he's going 
to bow to your God, but he demonstrates in this passage that that is 
absolute insanity. Verse 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. And the men who did not die were 
stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to 
heaven." Samura says, in this way, the God of Israel marches 
through the enemy territories victoriously. He later says, 
this is certainly a triumphant march of the Ark of Yahweh through 
enemy territory from one city to another. So you see, 1 Samuel 
chapter 5, while it may appear to be an interesting story, and 
you know, the King James and the Geneva Bible get props for 
using the word emeralds, all of that is very, very curious 
and interesting. But what's the chapter about? 
The supremacy of God. The folly of idolatry. Some might 
say, why in the world would you spend time reading and studying 
1 Samuel 5? Because we live in a 1 Samuel 
5 situation. There is idolatry everywhere 
we look. And not just out there, but within 
the context of the professing church. We need to guard our 
hearts. We need to make sure that we 
take heed to the admonishment to keep ourselves from idols. It's always intrigued me how 
the psalmist ends Psalm 119. Psalm 119. What is the theme 
of Psalm 119? The theme of Psalm 119 is how 
great the Word of God is. Isn't it? I mean, it's a long 
psalm. A hundred and seventy-six verses 
or a hundred and seventy-five verses about how great, how wonderful, 
how glorious, how majestic the Word of the Living God is. You 
would think that the man who wrote verses 1 to 175 was a man 
who was in lockstep with his God all the time. Doesn't end. I have gone astray like a lost 
sheep. Seek your servant, for I do not 
forget your commandments." Now certainly he could be talking 
about the time before his conversion, or he could be talking in the 
spirit and in the vein of 400. I'm prone to wander. I'm prone 
to leave the God that I love. I'm prone to wander back to Dagon's 
temple. I don't know. Something about 
that half-man, half-fish, headless, handless monstrosity is appealing 
to me. You know, it's an intriguing 
thing. When we look at that man in Isaiah 44, if we were to stand 
in a bush, or stand behind a bush and watch him cut down a tree 
and chop up his tree and start burning some of that tree so 
that he can warm his hands and he can roast his roast and then 
he takes some of that tree and he props it up and he starts 
bowing down to it, we would be behind the bush saying, what 
an idiot. What a fool that man is, doesn't 
he know how crazy he is? And yet have we ever given any 
thought whatsoever to some of the folly that we engage in? 
If somebody was standing behind a bush watching us, would they 
be able to say, look at what that fool is doing? He professes 
the name of the living God. He says that Jesus has saved 
him from his sins. He says that the King of kings 
and Lord of lords is his King and his Lord. And yet, look at 
what he's doing. It may not be bowing before a 
tree, but it may be bowing before yourself. It may be bowing to 
mammon. It may be bowing to whatever. 
You see, brethren, idolatry is not simply a Philistine problem. It is a systemic problem among 
the sons of men. And it is something that we need 
to be on the guard for. In this passage, as I've already 
mentioned, we learn the sovereignty of God. The Lord God brings judgment 
upon Israel for thinking they could manipulate Him. The Lord 
God brings judgment upon Israel for thinking that they could 
trot the Ark of the Covenant out as a holy horseshoe that 
would ensure victory over Philistines. When God, or when people try 
and treat God that way, God would rather that his art be captured 
and go into the hands of filthy Philistines than to let Israelites 
think that they have the ability to domesticate him, to tame him, 
and to use him as they see fit. As well, we see the judgment 
upon the Philistines for thinking they could capture God, and that 
they could domesticate God, that they could make a Dagon worshiper 
out of Yahweh. And we see the judgment upon 
all who exchange the glory of the incorruptible God into an 
image made like corruptible man. I do think there's some merit 
to seeing the apparent weakness. The ark has been captured. The 
ark has been subdued. The ark is under Philistine control. And yet, in the midst of that, 
God exercises his sovereign power to bring about victory, the same 
way that Jesus is delivered up into the hands of his enemies. 
Jesus is on the cross. Jesus, in apparent weakness and 
helplessness, is bringing decisive victory against the devil, against 
our sin, and against those forces that oppose us. We've looked 
at the folly of idolatry. Well, we can look at one more 
passage. Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1. Actually, we've 
got a few minutes. We can do a little bit more here. 
We missed Sunday night. I don't know how churches not 
have a Sunday night service. I felt weird at five not being 
in church. I'm supposed to be in church! 
Good way to keep the day, as far as I can tell. All right, 
Romans chapter 1, verse 18. The wrath of God is revealed 
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who 
suppress the truth and unrighteousness, because what may be known of 
God is manifest in them. For God has shown it to them, 
for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes 
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, 
even as eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. 
Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, 
nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts and 
their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became 
fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an 
image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals 
and creeping things. Therefore, God also gave them 
up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts to dishonor their 
bodies among themselves who exchanged the truth of God for the lie 
and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator 
who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God gave 
them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged 
the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise, also the men, 
leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for 
one another. Men with men committing what 
is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their 
error which was due." Now, there are other several sins mentioned, 
but I just want to focus on this one. If you look at Canada today, 
if you look at America today, you say, wow, homosexuality is 
epidemic. I'm not just picking on this 
one sin because it's somehow, you know, the most wicked of 
all sins. Heterosexual fornication, hating 
your parents, maliciousness, covetousness, strife, deceit, 
all those things are indicated here. I just want to show you 
something. Look at America and Canada and say, well, we've got 
a real problem with homosexuality. No, we have a real problem with 
idolatry. We have a real problem with idolatry. Note the flow 
of the passage. They exchange the glory of the 
incorruptible God. It's idolatry that God judges 
by giving them over. It is the result, homosexuality, 
hating your parents, being malicious, being covetous, being full of 
strife, being proud, boasters. All those are symptomatic of 
the larger issue that is idolatry. You know what? Homosexuals and 
children that hate their parents, they don't need behavior modification. They need the gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. We have an idolatry problem in 
Canada and America. We have an idolatry problem everywhere. 
But that's what's developed by the apostle. That's what verse 
21 says. Although they knew God, they 
did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile 
in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 
professing to be wise, they became fools, and they changed the glory 
of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible 
man." So you see, it is what they believe concerning God. 
It is their rejection of the true and living God, their embrace 
of the idols. On the heels of that, verse 24, 
verse 26, verse 28, God gave them over. And Paul is not making this up. This is, interestingly enough, 
not novel or new with the Apostle. The Apostle is recycling, rehearsing, 
alluding to and dealing with what Psalm 106 had already said 
many, many years before. In Psalm 106, verses 19 to 21, 
an indictment of Israel. They made a calf in Horeb and 
worshipped the molded image. Thus, they changed their glory 
into the image of an ox that eats grass. Isn't that what Paul 
says? They exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for 
that which is corruptible? Well, this is what Israel did 
before them. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great 
things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, awesome things 
by the Red Sea. Therefore He said that He would 
destroy them had not Moses, His chosen one, stood before Him 
in the breach to turn away His wrath lest He destroy them. You 
see, Paul is taking what was true of Israel in the old covenant, 
and he is teasing that out and saying, this is the condition 
of all men everywhere. They've exchanged the glory of 
the incorruptible God. As a result, God gives them over. And the sins and the symptoms 
that we see in the nation simply evidences the reality that they 
have rejected the true and living God. Notice 106 in verse 41. Actually verse 40, therefore 
the wrath of the Lord was kindled against his people so that he 
abhorred his own inheritance and he, notice, gave them into 
the hand of the Gentiles and those who hated them ruled over 
them. Just like 24, 26, and 28 in Romans 
1, he gave them over. When Israel bows before calves, 
God gives them over. When the nations of the earth 
bow before calves, what do you think God is going to do? He 
is going to give them over. When we see rampant sexual immorality, 
we see rampant drug abuse, we see rampant dishonor from children 
to their parents, we see societal breakdown. This is an indicator, 
not that we have a sex problem, not that we have an authority 
problem, not that we have a need for more policing. All those 
things are symptoms and we may need to address them, but the 
primary issue is that men need to hear of Christ and Him crucified. The best thing we can do for 
homosexuals, the best thing we can do for children that are 
dishonorable to their parents, The best thing we can do for 
liars and people who are proud and boasters is give them the 
gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And then finally, 
the pervasiveness of idolatry. John Stott said it this way in 
his exposition of the book of Acts, specifically chapter 17. 
I love the way he puts this together, and I'm not necessarily endorsing 
all that John Stott ever said. I can't say or ever will say 
because he's not with us anymore, but here's what Stott said concerning 
idolatry. All idolatry, whether ancient 
or modern, primitive or sophisticated, is inexcusable, whether the images 
are metal or mental, material objects of worship or unworthy 
concepts in the mind. For idolatry is the attempt either 
to localize God, confining him within the limits which we impose, 
whereas he is the creator of the universe, or to domesticate 
God, making him dependent on us, taming him, whereas he is 
the sustainer of human life. or to alienate God, blaming Him 
for His distance and silence, whereas He is the ruler of nations 
and not far from any of us, or to dethrone God, demoting Him 
to some image of our own contrivance or craft, whereas He is our Father 
from whom we derive our being. In brief, all idolatry tries 
to minimize the gulf between the Creator and His creatures 
in order to bring Him under our control. More than that, it actually 
reverses the respective positions of God and us, so that instead 
of our humbly acknowledging that God has created and rules us, 
we presume to imagine that we can create and rule God. There 
is no logic in idolatry. It is a perverse, topsy-turvy 
expression of our human rebellion against God. And the Philistines, 
with their half man, half fish, certainly show us that in 1 Samuel 
chapter 5. I said that was the last. This 
is the last. Dagon fell before the Ark of 
the Covenant. Islam will fall. Romanism will 
fall. Buddhism will fall. Shintoism will fall. Atheism 
will fall. Every religion of every man that 
is opposed to the God of heaven and earth will fall before the 
Ark of the Covenant. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 tells 
us that he must reign till what? All of his enemies are made his 
footstool. Dagon is living proof that we 
ought not to fear the rise of this religion or that religion, 
but we ought to be encouraged about the continual rise and 
progress and triumph of the kingdom of our God and his Christ. Well, 
let us pray. Father, we thank you for your 
Word, and we thank you for the lessons that you teach us. And 
God, may you indeed write these things upon our hearts and keep 
us from this proneness to wander and this proneness to leave the 
God that we love. Help us to be faithful. Help 
us to persevere. Help us to be those who are in 
Scripture and in prayer and among the people of God for your glory 
and for our well-being. As well, God, we pray for idolaters 
that come to this church, those outside of Christ. We pray that 
you would be merciful and bless the preaching of the gospel to 
the salvation of sinners. We pray for our young people 
and our children growing up in a land filled with idols. We 
pray that they would, from their youth, remember their creator, 
that you would set your hand of mercy and love upon them, 
that they would know your grace and your kindness, and they would 
confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And we pray this 
in his most blessed name. Amen.