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welcome to everyone for our call to worship you can join with me in turning the Psalm 84 Psalm 84 for our call to worship this Lord's Day evening e-excuse me Psalm 84 I'll begin reading in verse 1 to the chief musician on an instrument of Gath a psalm of the sons of korah how lovely is your tabernacle o Lord of hosts my soul longs yes even faints for the courts of the Lord my heart and my flash cry out for the Living God even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young even your altars Oh Lord of Hosts my king and my god blessed are those who dwell in your house they will still be praising you say law blessed is the man whose strength is in you whose heart is set on pilgrimage as they pass through the valley of baka they make it a spring the rain also covers it with pools they go from strength to strength each one appears before God in Zion o Lord God of hosts hear my prayer give ear excuse me o God of Jacob say law Oh God behold our shield and look upon the face of your anointed for a day in your courts is better than a thousand I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my god then dwell in the tents of wickedness for the Lord God is a Sun and shield the Lord will give Grace and glory no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly o Lord of hosts blessed is the man who trusts in you amen will please turn with me in your Trinity Psalter to Psalm 122 Psalm 122 will stand as we sing together [Music] well tonight we'll remember the van der feet van der Veen family my son-in-law Marc van der Veen II lost both his paternal grandparents this week it was their wedding anniversary on Tuesday his grandfather passed away on Wednesday they had the funeral on Saturday and then his grandmother passed away today they were both aged and ill but certainly they are now in a better place they are both professed confessed believers in Jesus Christ and they are with the Lord so I know the man Devine family would appreciate our prayers on their behalf so let us pray our God and our Father we come before you tonight and it's a joy to sing sing the praises of our of our great God in heaven we give praise to you we give glory and honor to you to Lord you are worthy as the Prophet asked is the apostle asks who would not fear you a king of the nations for indeed it is your do we know because of sin and rebellion because of our own waywardness we don't fear you a right as we ought fact there was no fear of God before our eyes how we praise you that you sought us out how we praise you that you chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world and that in your time you call this out of darkness and the marvelous light through the power of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord we give praise to You Father Son and spirit for so great a salvation we give praise to you that you have dealt with our iniquity and our transgression we give praise to you that you have secured for us and eternal inheritance and our God may our worship tonight be in spirit and truth and may it be acceptable to you the high king of heaven you are indeed God Most High and you are the one who commands his creatures to approach in a specific way so help us to be committed to obedience of the word of God help us not to be innovative or creative when it comes to the worship of God but help us to be obedient help us to take what the word says concerning you concerning us and may our worship be acceptable through the power of the Spirit we ask that he would aid us and assist us tonight that as we sing as we pray as we look to Holy Scripture we would know the nearness and the presence the Holy Spirit that he would lead us and guide us and direct us and that you would indeed cause us to have thoughts and minds and hearts focused solely and alone upon the worship of God forgive us that at times our minds are prone to wander prone to leave the god that we love we ask that you would capture captivate our minds and hearts and cause us to be consumed with you in this coming hour and as well when we leave from this place may we be more and more conformed onto the image of Jesus Christ and may we by your grace grow in the knowledge of our Savior each and every day I pray for all the brothers and sisters in this local assembly that you would continue continue to cause your face to shine upon each one that we would all know your peace and we would all know your your safekeeping and we would all know your presence in our daily lives do forgive us now for our sins and our transgressions please cleanse us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ no greater joy than to know that our Savior came that he lived in obedience to the law that he died as a sacrifice and a substitute on the cross and that he was raised the third day not so that we can go out and sin not so that we will give ourselves over to to recklessness and abandonment and lawlessness but when we do sin we have that advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous may we confess with that Apostles Creed I believe in the forgiveness of sins and God our hearts desire and earnest prayer to you is that more and more people would know this forgiveness that more and more people would hear of Jesus Christ and him crucified and resurrected and that more and more people would come to a saving knowledge of him through faith in Christ we ask tonight that you would bless the van der Veen family we do commit them to you and to the word of your grace we thank you that they do not grieve like the world that their sorrow is real but it's not worldly because their beloved their grandparents are now in the presence of God Almighty we rejoice in your loving kindness we rejoice in the reality that Christ is the resurrection and the life and that when we do die physically being in the Savior we always live spiritually unto the Lord our God may they know your peace and may they know you Comfort may know they know your loving-kindness as they reflect upon their grandparents and as they remember with fondness the that the good things that that they have known in their past we also pray for those sick in our midst God we do have several we pray for mrs. Boult we pray for Bev we pray for Shane Abby and Dawn Neufeld we pray as well Lord God for Linda she recovers from chemo and surgery we know father that each of these brethren are having difficulties in terms of their physical bodies we pray that their hearts would nevertheless be filled with love for the Savior that they would be filled with love for the one who's altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 and that you would just continue to work in each one of them and our Father bless all of us in the spiritual realm bless all of us with desire to resist temptation and sin and to pursue the things that are pleasing in your sight Lord God we just bless you and we praise you and we love you and we thank you for your saving mercies to us and we pray now through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well you can turn with me in your Trinity hymnals to him number 600 will use a familiar tune and sing number 600 and we'll stand together [Music] well you can turn in your Bibles to the prophet zechariah zechariah chapter 13 for our scripture reading this evening zechariah chapter 13 again this section of the prophet he's looking forward to new covenant era blessings under messiah the lord jesus christ he speaks of god cleansing his people from sin and the restoration of the scattered flock of israel beginning in chapter 13 at verse 1 in that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of david and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness it shall be in that day says the Lord of hosts that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land and they shall no longer be remembered I will also cause the prophets in the unclean spirit to depart from the land it shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies then his father and mother who begot him will say to him you shall not live because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord and his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies and it shall be in that day it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophecies they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive but he will say I am no prophet I am a farmer for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth and one will say to him what are these wounds between your arms then he will answer those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends awake o sword against my shepherd against the man who is my companion says the Lord of hosts strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered then I will turn my hand against the little ones and it shall come to pass and all the land says the Lord that two thirds in it shall be cut off and die but one third shall be left in it I will bring the one-third through the fire will refine them the silver is refined and test them as gold is tested they will call on my name and I will answer them I will say this is my people and each one will say the Lord is my god a man will let us pray our Father we thank you for the application of this passage in the Ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ we thank you as well for restoration after judgment we thank you Lord God that you have accomplished all that you promised and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ sure surely as the Apostle says all the promises of God are are yeah and a man in him and how we praise you that he is our Good Shepherd then he laid down his life for the Sheep and that he has given us life and that abundantly Lord God help us to meditate upon these realities help these things to comfort our weary Souls and may we feed off the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we pray in his most blessed name amen well for our final him before the preaching you can turn to 54 hymn number 54 and again will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] we could turn in your Bibles to first Samuel Chapter five we will return to the Book of Proverbs but a few weeks ago we looked at the subject of idolatry based on our studies in acts 7 in the morning we looked at Romans 1 and then last week we looked at First Samuel chapter 4 to see how Israel had in fact turned the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord into an idol they thought by its mere presence in battle it would assure victory for them but they ended up being defeated by the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant of God was captured by the Philistines so chapter 5 shows us more idolatry on the one hand you have it in chapter 4 with reference to Israel and more of a covert sort of an approach to idolatry where is it in chapter 5 you see it being more overt in terms of their worship of Dagon so I'll read beginning in 1st Samuel chapter 5 at 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 and when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning there it 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 his hand its hands were broken off on the threshold only Dagon torso was left of it therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come in to Dagon house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day but the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod and he ravaged them and struck them with tumors both Ashdod in 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 the answer 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 Ektron so it was as the Ark of God came to Ektron that the eccrine i'ts 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 man who did not die were stricken with the tumors and the cry of the city went up to heaven amen let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word we thank you for the Old Testament the New Testament we thank you and acknowledge that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and it's profitable for us and I pray that by the power of the Spirit this passage would be profitable for us that we would buy by your grace do what John the Apostle tells us to to keep ourselves from idols we know that there's subtlety in idolatry as we see in 1st Samuel form we know that there's just an overt blatant as' and in idolatry as we see her in chapter 5 and either way Lord God we pray that you would guard us that you would keep us that you would cause us to worship you in spirit and in truth again forgive us for our sins forgive us for all unrighteousness cleanse us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray in his most blessed name amen well as I said chapter 4 we see the Ark of the Covenant of God captured by the Philistines it is then taken back to Philistine in chapter 5 it spends about seven months there and God brings heavy judgment to bear upon the Philistines in Chapter six they simply want to get rid of it so they send it back to Israel and as we look at this particular chapter we'll notice first the art in bagans temple in verses one to five and then secondly the hand of the Lord against the Philistines in verses 6 to 12 now just by way of review we see the victory of the Philistines go back to chapter 4 we note that the Philistines bested Israel on the field of battle and then according to chapter 4 verse 3 the elders the people of Israel had this consultation says when the people had come into the camp the elders of Israel said why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies they're falling prey to the very thing that Stephen is condemning in Acts chapter 7 they've identified the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord with the Lord they believed that it is what contains God and that is absolutely incorrect they believed by trotting this out by using it as if it's a lucky charm they're going to gain victory on the battlefield well the Lord God does not have truck with that approach to his particular worship and so they are bested again by the Philistines the Philistines now capture the ark this is a severe crisis in Israel's history the first time that such a thing like this had ever occurred John Gill says they foolishly placed their confidence in an external symbol not in the Lord Himself ascribing salvation to that which only belongs to him whether of a temporal or spiritual kind you know I think it's very subtle what they do there in verse 3 the Ark of the Covenant was that sort of main piece of furniture within the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and then ultimately in the temple it was the visible representation that God was among his people but as we learned this morning from the prophet Isaiah as we learn from Solomon's prayer of dedication of the temple there is no dwelling place that can contain God he is immense he is majestic he is all-powerful Heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool there is no way that you can put this God in a box now the Philistines take this Ark of the Covenant back to Phyllis Tia and notice where they place it verse 1 of chapter 5 the Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashton when the Philistines took the Ark of God they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon now Dagon worship had been around since about the 3rd millennium BC he was sort of a predecessor or a precursor to bail fact there are Ugaritic ascriptions that say that bail was the son of Dagon essentially Dagon was a fertility God and Dagon the actual Idol himself had a fish lower half and a man's upper half so he was that kind of a monstrosity he had the body of a fish at the bottom of his torso and the top was the body of a man he had a head and he had hands obviously those things fall off when he falls before the presence of the Ark of the Covenant of God they go back for just a moment to Judges chapter 16 where you can see Dagon in the life and the Ministry of the judge Samson it was Dagon that it was ultimately the temple of Dagon that Samson was in when he brought down those pillars on all the worshippers of Dagon to rid the earth of Philistines that was Samson's task that was Samson's Kali and he executed it most faithfully under God four times in the sands of Samson narratives we're told that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him everything that Samson did was for the glory of God he is simply not the kind of guy that I think the church often portrays him as as a sexually lustful driven man he was a principled man filled with the spirit and ultimately in his death he killed more Philistines than even when he lived but notice in verse chapter 16 specifically at verse 20 she said the Philistines are upon you Samson remember the story she asks the secret of source of his power and his strength he relates that it's his hair she cuts off the hair and now the Philistines are here to seize him so he awoke from his sleep and said I will go out as before at other times and shake myself free but he did not know that the Lord had departed from him then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza they bound him with bronze fetters and he became a grinder in the prison however the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven now the Lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their God and to rejoice and they said our God has delivered into our hands Sampson our enemy you see what idolatry does it causes you to misinterpret reality the text is conspicuous the the truth is clear it wasn't Dagon that preserved them from their enemy Samson it was rather Yahweh who had departed from Samson at this particular time this particular juncture in Samson's life and then notice in verse 24 for when the people saw him they praised their God for they said our God has delivered into our hands our enemy the destroyer of our land and the one who multiplied our debt now for the most part Samson's people didn't support him in fact it's embarrassing the way the tribe of Judah deals with Samson in the Samson narratives so when they make this statement our God Dagon has delivered into our hand our enemy the destroyer of our land and the one who multiplied our dad you need to understand the destroyer of the land and the multiplier of the dead of the Philistines was one man it was Samson when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him he killed Philistines that was his calling that was his job that was his vocation and he did it very well thank you and now he continues in this particular situation he calls upon God as he's been trotted into the temple of Dagon to basically entertain them and then in verse 28 Samson called to the Lord saying O Lord God remember me I pray strengthen me I pray just this once o God that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes and Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple and he braced himself against them one on his right and the other on his left then Samson said let me die with the Philistines and he pushed with all his might and the temple fell on the Lord's and all the people who were in it so the dead that he killed and his death were more than he had killed in his life so you see Sam dealt with the Philistines Samson came face-to-face with Dagon worship and the same sort of thing is happening here in 1st Samuel Chapter five they take the art and they place the art in the house of Dagon now this was symbolic this spoke multitudes to the ancient Near Eastern people's this was the ultimate sign of victory on the part of the Philistines they had captured in their mind the God of Israel they had captured Yahweh and now Yahweh was being locked up with day God as a sign of his subservience to day God it was something that these peoples did David Samaras says the practice of capturing and enemies 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 you get that symbolism right if they have now the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel and they put it in the house with Dagon they're making this declaration to everybody that we have now captured the God of Israel he is now subservient to Dagon now notice in verses 3 to 5 we see what really happens when the Ark of the Covenant is there in the presence of Dagon note first the homage given today God I think verse 3 ought to be a reproof to any of us who don't get up in the morning and read our Bibles and pray look at what they do I mean Dagon worshippers get up early in the morning to go worship Dagon that's pretty much a rebuke isn't it I'm not saying if you don't read your Bible at 5 a.m. you've got big problems I'm not even saying if you read your Bible you don't read your Bible at 6 a.m. you've got big problems the point is read your Bible and pray notice what these idolatrous Dagon worshipers do verse 3 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 they go there early in the morning to give homage and praise and worship today God but we see and observe the helplessness of Dagon and 3b it says that he had fallen on face to the earth before the art of the Lord and that language I think is conspicuous I think the author chooses it very particularly to say that Dagon fell on its face before the presence of the Lord what does that typically in day indicate in Scripture when one falls on his or her face before the presence of a deity so they bring the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel into the house of Dagon to show Yahweh's subservience to Dagon well Dagon has fallen on his face now in the presence of the Lord God of Israel again Samora says the phrase on his face implies that Dagon was in a position of adoration of Yahweh now notice what it goes on to say verse 4 or verse 3 so they took Dagon and set it in its place again you have heard me say it and I'll probably say it until the day I die I hate to break this to you but you're still going to get the same me for the next 10 or 12 or 13 or 15 years I don't have a lot of fresh new material but one thing that we need to appreciate is that if you have to pick your god up you've got the wrong God isn't the glory of the Christian gospel the glory of God most I is that he picks us up said he receives us onto himself he forgives us of our sins he clothes us with the righteousness of his son he takes charge he has the initiative he picks us up he sees us through those waters of affliction yay though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil because thou art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me we will never be called upon to pick up our God we will never be called upon to provide therapy for our God we'll never be called on to superglue our God's head in hand back on to his body that will never be the case for the people of the true and living God he picks us up he sees us through hardships he is the one that carries us remember that beautiful image that God uses with reference to Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 1 and it gets in about verse 31 God is rehearsing the wilderness years the people of Israel complained when they were in the wilderness the people of Israel grumbled when they were in the wilderness the people of Israel didn't realize the blessing of God upon them when they were in the wilderness God says to them I carried you like a son in the wilderness see that's the kind of God that you and I need not the kind of God that we have to pick back up brush off and put back into its place Dagon falls before the Ark of the Covenant of God notice as well the destruction of Dagon Dagon in verses 4 and 5 and when they arose early the next morning again you got to give these guys a name for effort you got to give them an A for their investment into Dagon ISM they get up early they seek their God the people of the true and living God ought to if not get up early stay up late do something but seek your God give homage to him but notice in verse 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 you know what this demonstrates that it wasn't a fluke this demonstrates that this wasn't an accident this doesn't this demonstrates that in the first instance when Dagon falls before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord it wasn't just a gust of wind because this happens again this is precisely Yahweh's point to show that the supremacy of God in this particular pagan pagan temple that's what's happening in verses 4 and 5 so 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 palms of his hand of its hands were broken off on the threshold only Dagon's torso was left of it now that Dagon worship persisted after this I think really illustrates the effort and the commitment of these fellow States I mean if your God falls and its head snaps off and its palms break off I would suggest that's the time to exchange it pretty from God you know that's a that's an old piece of junk car that has fallen apart it comes time for you to exchange it and get something new that works that Dagon is unperson after this is a sign an indicator not of in a good way but of the commitment of these people to their false god you have often thought if the people of the true and living God were were half as committed as idolaters are to their God we would be amazing as the people of God if we showed the same sort of honored the same sort of commitment the same sort of interest and investment into our true and living God so imagine how this looks he's headless and he's palm less and it is intriguing because notice in verse 4 the head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off do you know that in verses 6 7 9 and 11 it is the hand of Yahweh that comes heavily against the Philistines so while Dagon's hands are broken Yahweh's hand of judgment is supreme and superior and does execute judgment upon the people there in Philistine now notice the people respond to this with more superstition verse 5 says therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come in to Dagon house tread on the threshold of Dagon in to this day now basically what's happening here the threshold was believed to separate the common from the sacred it was treated with reverence the threshold from the common to the sacred and it was treated with respect so this shows us in verse 5 they don't repent and bow to the true and living God and confess their idolatry they doubled down on their Dagon izi they doubled down on their idolatry as the Geneva Bible says thus instead of acknowledging the true God by the miracle they fall to a further superstition that's an unfortunate reality that happens to people they are SHA shown the truth the validity the obvious blessedness of Christianity but instead of coming unto Jesus they double down in their idolatry they argue with more zeal and earnestness that the God of the Bible can't be true that the Word of God can't be true it really is a sad and pathetic view with reference to the depravity of man and it should provoke or evoke in us pity compassion and to desire to pray for the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit the only one that can free men of that kind of commitment to idolatry is the Holy Spirit now I believe that verses three and four and five specifically are designed to demonstrate the folly of idolatry remember the author is writing history this really happened the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant of God into the temple of Dagon Dagon fell Dagon fell again his head fell off and his and his hands fell off all of that is true the author is doing something here the author has shown us the the wickedness of the idolatry in Chapter four but he's also showing us the wickedness of the idolatry here in Chapter five he is in many respects mocking it because again the concept of one having to pick his god up and set him back in his place going in the next morning to see that his god had fallen again and now the gods head is off and now the gods hands are off Davis I think makes an appropriate observation he says what kind of God is that how would a godly Israelite respond upon hearing this story with the only pious response up Laureus 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 meet his people to cheer him on he will bring back his art all by himself humor yes but didactic humor teaching the self-sufficiency and supremacy of Yahweh and solemn humor don't begin to thank 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 see why you should read First Samuel v because it tells you that you don't have to pick up your God you don't have to glue your God's head and hands back on your god is in the business of picking you up your God is in the business of cleaning you off your God is in the business of plunging you into that fountain which is open for sin and uncleanness your God is God and he has your back and that is precisely the opposite of dagon ism now notice the hand of Yahweh against the Philistines in verses 6 to 12 the means of judgment verse 6 the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod and he ravaged them and struck them with tumors both Ashdod and it's territory now the word heavy here is the same word glory heavy and glory same word when we say that God is glorious there's a sense where we're saying that he's heavy not that he has a great mass or he weighs a lot but we noticed that something can be very heavy that means it's it's very intense it's very serious you can see where glory and heavy interlac a parallel one another in usage but the glory may have departed from Israel according to 422 but the glory will never depart from God himself and it's manifested here in Phyllis Tia now notice these tumors there's some question as to what it was God did to these Philistines it is the reality that God promised Israel that he would strike them with the boils of Egypt with tumors with the scab with the itch from which you cannot be healed that was a curse of the Covenant in Deuteronomy 28 27 so God does do that in terms of judgment what's happening specifically here there's one of two possibilities one was the disease of dysentery or hemorrhoids dysentery or hemorrhoids now I know that this isn't probably pleasant evening time thought contemplation but the this was a reality the hand of the Lord was heavy against these people in the King James in the Geneva Bible it's translated em rods John Gill explains he smote them with em rods more properly hemorrhoids which as kimchee says was the name of a disease but he says not what been gursha and these are Jewish rabbis 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 its name in Hebrew from the height of them rising up sometimes into height large tumors that's a particularly terrible judgment from God now if you look at the marginal reading in verse 6 in the New King James it suggests based on the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint that it may have been bubonic plague later on in 1st Samuel chapter 6 when they design this plan to send the ark back to Israel they make these images of tumors and of rats and so some have seen rats in this particular context and have believed that it's bubonic plague that that is what the Lord used in terms of his judgment upon these Philistines Davis says since we hear of rats that are ruining the land and six-five some scholars state 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 now whether it's dysentery or hemorrhoids or whether it is the bubonic plain plague this much is true idolatry never pays it is never a good thing to reject the true and living God it is never wise it is never good it is never profitable to bow before Dagon brethren we see it fleshed out in all of its glory detail here in 1st Samuel chapter 5 but the idolatry that obtains in Romans chapter 1 has as its and death destruction and pain there is no remedial benefit to being an idolatry there is nothing that is good about idolatry there's no benefit to be had there's no health to be gained if you are thinking that there is benefit in Dagon I would encourage you to think again there is not there is judgment the heavy hand of God Almighty responds to these people and inflicts them with some sort of miserable punishment now before you say well that doesn't seem fair or that doesn't seem right it most certainly is it is just with God and it is righteous with God to punish idolaters it is just with God and righteous with God to punish those who reject him who rebel against him and who bow down to a half fish half man headless handless torso it is legitimate and that is what God's Word says now notice the response of the Philistines in verses 7 to 9 I think again that this illustrates for us that continued folly with reference to idolatry verse 7 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 to harsh against us excuse me and Dagon our God go back for just a moment to chapter 4 remember we saw that the Philistines thought precisely like Israel debt which is a bad sign when Israel is thinking like pagan Philistines that is a bad indicator that religion is not at a good app in Israel when we see in 1st Samuel 4 3 they think they'll trot the Ark out and it will gain victory for them that's precisely how the Philistines interpret this as well verse 6 of chapter 4 now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout they said what is the sound of this great shout in the camp the Hebrews mean then they understood that the Ark of the Lord had come into the camp so the Philistines were afraid for they said God is coming to the camp and they said woe to us for such a thing has never happened before woe to us who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods these are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness you see here's an interesting thing people can even know that the God of Israel did something to the Egyptians but delude themselves into thinking it will never happen to us what do you mean it will never happen to you if you act like an Egyptian you may be judged like an Egyptian how did it ever come into their heads in Phyllis Tia that whatever happened over there with Egypt and the God of Israel were immune we are we are covered Dagon is going to protect us well here the grim reality is as they've got either bloody piles or as they've got bubonic plague is at the head of your way of Israel is heavy against us what shall we do they identify the problem they understand the issue and now the solution 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 don't you love their answer get rid of it we don't want it here it's causing problems it's causing heartache it's causing hardship we're having to bury people we're having to deal with our own fever we're having to deal with our own issues let's drive the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel away from us now this really indicates that the religion of Dagon didn't have a second great commandment what is the second great commandment in the true religion it is to love your neighbor as yourself is that how these Ashdod ian's be happy behave oh absolutely not let's send it to Gath let's send it to ekron let's pass the proverbial buck let's get it out of our backyard so that we don't suffer the problems the blood the gore and all of the heavy hand of Yahweh let's send it to our neighbors our fellow Philistines as Chilliwack kids we'll send it to abbotsford abbotsford Ian's will send it to Langley pass the buck as long as it's not afflicting us we don't care what happens or what becomes of all of our brothers and sisters here in Phyllis Tia that is precisely what they do notice in verse 9 I'm sorry in verse 8 they answered let the Ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath now I don't think it is untoward for Davis to suggest that this whole account would have resulted in uproarious laughter on the part of later Israelites because it is funny I mean it's horrific the judgment of God heavy hand of God coming upon people is horrific but it's demonstrating the folly of uh the folly of idolatry and so this judgment is legit this judgment is jaws but the way that they respond is somewhat humorous let the ark and the God of Israel be carried away together 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 and with a very great destruction and he struck the men of the city both small and great and tumors broke out on that so what are the men of Gath do let's get rid of it we can't keep it here you get the point when you reject the true and living God and you embrace idolatry your life is not a good life verse 10 therefore they sent the Ark of God to ekron so it was as the Ark of God came to Ektron that the Akron's peppra Knights cried out saying they had brought the Ark of the God of Israel to us to kill us and our people so they meet him at the city you know welcome to the city of Ekron sign and they say we don't want it either you get it the heavy hand of God came against the Philistines in judgment because the Philistines exchanged the truth of God for the line they took the creature and worshiped and served it and rejected the creator and that's the underlying principle in 1st Samuel 5 when you do that you open yourself up to the heavy hand of God's judgment Paul speaks of it in Romans chapter 1 in verse 32 they know the righteous judgment of God they not only practice those things but they entice others to participate in it with that so I mentioned John Murray says sinners are never content to simply damned themselves they want others to join with them in damning themselves also so these persons are trying to get rid of this Ark of the Covenant of God because it is bringing judgment to bear upon them again it's not it it's God from heaven doing these things they have brought the ark of the cod of Israel to us to kill us and our people 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 man who did not die were stricken with tumors and the cry of the city went up to heaven so the next time somebody says you know I've taken up with this false religion or I've taken up with this particular God I taken up with this particular approach to life direct them to 1st Samuel chapter 5 it may be that the Holy Spirit will use this to show them the folly involved in idolatry and the judgment that is always consistent with the idolaters and maybe God in His mercy will turn man back from worshipping these idols and worship the true and living God again Samora says in this way the God of Israel marches through the enemy territories victoriously this is certainly a triumphant march of the Ark of Yahweh through enemy territory from one city to another you got to wonder if these Lords of the Philistines after this seven-month period mused on and reflected upon their error next time we go and next time we best the Israelites leave the art of the covenant of God there do not bring it into our our territory ever again they learned their lesson after much blood after much pain after much death and much destruction well in conclusion I have a couple of lessons first the sovereignty of God the sovereignty of God again he's not confined to the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord it's a visible symbolic representation of the presence of God he's not there in the box he's in heaven he does whatever he pleases but he uses this particular time to demonstrate his judgment his power over Israel when they engage in idolatry instead of them being victorious they're gonna lose on the battlefield so that they won't turn the Ark of the Covenant of God into a superstitious thing into an idol of their own making you see the sovereignty of God in the judgment against these Philistines the judgment upon the Philistines for thinking that they could actually capture God that they could confine him that they could make him subservient to their God Dagon well God demonstrates how that was a fool's errand and then as well the judgment upon all who exchanged the glory of God for in corruptible things or corruptible things secondly when it comes to the folly of idolatry turn-turn for just a moment to the prophet Isaiah just so you can see that it's not just the author here in 1st Samuel that sort of mocking idolatry but Jeremiah or rather Isaiah does a pretty good job at this as well Isaiah 44 beginning in 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 God or mould an image that profits him nothing surely all those commits companions would be ashamed in the workman they are mere men let them all be gathered together let them stand up the 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 in his faith the craftsman stretches out his rule he marks out one with chalk he fashions it with a plain he marks it out with the 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 in the oak he secures it for himself among the trees of the forest he plants a pine in the rain nourishes it then 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 car 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 to roast and is satisfied 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 praise to it and says deliver me for you are my god you see the folly he's mocking he is demonstrating the idiocy and the foolishness involved in all of this verse 18 they do not know nor understand for you shut their eyes so they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot understand this is that he gave them over thing you were Jack dot God gives you over in this context to reject God God gives you over and you start engaging in idle making no one considers in his heart verse 19 nor is their knowledge nor understanding to say I have burned half of it in the fire yes I have also baked bread on its goals I have roasted meat and eaten it and 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 see see the prophets mocked the concept of idolatry or the practice rather of idolatry I'm not saying we should go out and mock in a way that will cause you no undue offense but brethren don't be afraid to mock idolatry don't be afraid to say what you're worshipping is not God what you're worshipping is akin to Dagon it can fall down it has to be propped up again its head falls off its palms fall off forth and the palms of its hands fall off you see brethren perhaps we need to take a more active approach in condemning false religion that is rife and rampant in society today I mean when you read Isaiah 44 do you just think how man it's just so much nicer to be a Christian it's just so much better to be a believer it's just so much more glorious to be in Christ to not have to try and satisfy the religiosity that is hardwired in us because God satisfies it for us to not have to construct for ourselves that which we're going to worship because God has already presented himself as that which we will worship it seems like a lot of hassle to be an idolatry I'm not suggesting we lose sinners to Jesus because it's an easier life but boy there's some hardship involved in idolatry proverbs say the way of the of the transgressor is hard have you ever seen that the way of the transgressor is hard kids you may learn this lesson if you don't listen to your parents if you depart from the instruction that has been given to you in this church and in your home well in your home and then in this church if you depart from that you will learn that very pertinent lesson that the way of the transgressor is hard is never easy it's never good there's never fruit and blessing and benefit that comes through a life or pattern of transgression and I would suggest that's the same as to be found with reference to idolatry when we go back to 1st Samuel Chapter four in Chapter five I would suggest the bigger danger in terms of idolatry facing the church today is that which is contained in 1st Samuel for First Samuel chapter 4 not that there isn't Dagon worshipers not that there aren't idolaters not that there aren't those who construct false gods and try to capture people and have them worship those false gods but the subtlety of the 1st samuel chapter 4 verse 3 seems to me to be the more dangerous idolatry in the Church of Jesus Christ today our attempt to manipulate God our attempt to coerce God our attempt to try and get from God the things that we are after that's precisely the problem in 1st Samuel chapter 4 they're not bowing to Dagon they are at least theoretically bowing to Yahweh but with conditions attached as long as he brings us victory as long as he defeats our enemies as long as he does the sand Goss I would suggest brothers and sisters when John the Apostle signs off 1st John with my little children keep yourselves from idols you and I need to take heed to what is written in 1st Samuel chapter 4 verse 3 I don't think the tendency presenting itself to the people of God the professing people of God is to say I don't want geez anymore I'm gonna construct a Dagon temple in my home and bow to him now I'm not saying that would never happen but I think the subtleties involved in First Samuel chapter 4 verse 3 are a lot more pertinent pertinent and a lot more for us to take heed to and be on guard against we all want comfort we all want ease we all want our best life now we all want everything to go just so and we want to use God to secure that particular life that subtle but it's idolatry I want to quote a man the commentary on the book of Acts he says 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 in 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 our 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 that says it all but I want to end on a happy note I think this is Pikul this section in first samuel five of what Paul tells us in first Corinthians 15 Paul tells us that Jesus Christ must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool the way that Dagon fell before the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh is the way that Islam is going to fall the way that Dagon fell before the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh is the way that Romanism is going to fall it's the way that Jehovah's Witnesses are going to fall it's the way that Mormonism is going to fall it's the way that all false religion is going to fall because Jesus Christ must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool and there is no Dagon that can stand up to the Lord of glory himself well let us close in a word of Prayer father we thank you for this section of Scripture we thank you for the very pertinent lessons for the church in the 21st century I pray that we would receive these things and that as John says we would keep ourselves from idols as this man says whether metal or mental whatever it may be that that captivates our hearts and our minds and our energy and our attention may we reject and resist those things and may we be consumed with the one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 go with us now protect us and watch over us and grant us grace to commune with you each and every day and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen you