1 Samuel 5:1-12
Q.1. Where did the Philistines take the Ark of the Covenant? What steps did God take to reveal His power to the people of Ashdod? How did they respond? – (1 Sam.5:1-7)
The Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant to Ashdod. They took it to the place where their god Dagon was housed (1 Sam.5:1-2). By morning – … Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord (1 Sam.5:3). Perhaps it was a coincidence? – so they took Dagon and set him in his place again (1 Sam.5:3). By next morning, God’s intervention was unmistakable, for – … Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him (1 Sam.5:4). However, that was not all, for – the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and smote them with tumours, both Ashdod and its territories (1 Sam.5:6). The men concluded that the Ark of the God of Israel should be sent away (1 Sam.5:7). However, it just increased their superstitions in their worship of Dagon (1 Sam.5:5).
Q.2. Did the Philistines get the message? What happened when the Ark was at Gath and Ekron? Can God look after Himself? Where did they want the Ark to go? – (1 Sam.5:8-12)
The Philistines had learned nothing. They relocated the Ark to the city of Gath and – … the hand of the Lord was against the city with very great confusion; and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumours broke out on them (1 Sam.5:9). Therefore, they sent the Ark on to Ekron, but – … the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people.” … And the men who did not die were smitten with tumours and the cry of the city went up to heaven (1 Sam.5:10 & 12). Only then did the Philistines decide to return the Ark back to Israel. We cannot capture or control the living God.