1 Samuel 5
Once
the Philistines had seized the Chest of God, they took it from Ebenezer
to Ashdod, brought it into the shrine of Dagon, and placed it alongside
the idol of Dagon.
Next
morning when the citizens of Ashdod got up, they were shocked to find
Dagon toppled from his place, flat on his face before the Chest of God.
They picked him up and put him back where he belonged.
First thing the
next morning they found him again, toppled and flat on his face before
the Chest of God.
Dagon’s head and arms were broken off, strewn across the entrance. Only
his torso was in one piece. (That’s why even today, the priests of
Dagon and visitors to the Dagon shrine in Ashdod avoid stepping on the
threshold.)
God
was hard on the citizens of Ashdod. He devastated them by hitting them
with tumors. This happened in both the town and the surrounding
neighborhoods. He let loose rats among them. Jumping from ships there,
rats swarmed all over the city! And everyone was deathly afraid.
When
the leaders of Ashdod saw what was going on, they decided, “The chest
of the god of Israel has got to go. We can’t handle this, and neither
can our god Dagon.” They called together all the Philistine leaders and
put it to them: “How can we get rid of the chest of the god of Israel? The leaders agreed: “Move it to Gath.” So they moved the Chest of the God of Israel to Gath.
But as soon as they moved it there, God
came down hard on that city, too. It was mass hysteria! He hit them
with tumors. Tumors broke out on everyone in town, young and old. So
they sent the Chest of God on to Ekron, but as the Chest was being
brought into town, the people shouted in protest, “You’ll kill us all by
bringing in this Chest of the God of Israel!” They called the
Philistine leaders together and demanded, “Get it out of here, this
Chest of the God of Israel. Send it back where it came from. We’re
threatened with mass death!” For everyone was scared to death when the
Chest of God showed up. God was already coming down very hard on the
place. Those who didn’t die were hit with tumors. All over the city
cries of pain and lament filled the air.
The Philistines - ruthless people who spent hundreds of years harassing God's people
Dagon - chief god of the Philistines
Gath, Ekron, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza - 5 cities ruled by the Philistines
The more gods the Philistines had, the more secure they felt. Hence why they wanted the ark set up in one of their cities. They knew the ark carried the presence of God, but they didn't believe in who God was, and that He was the only God. They had heard and seen what God had done for the Israelites, so they wanted to see if it would help them too.
God don't play.
When they took the ark into the temple room and set it next to their god, dagon, they saw first hand the power and force of the real God. Not once, but twice did the simple presence of God destroy the idol they had set up. When the people in Ashdod began to get sick and die, they knew the power from God was something they had never experienced from their many gods.
Their solution to this? Just move it to another city. But there, the power of God manifested itself again in the form of tumors and many diseases. It was then that they recognized where the power was coming from, which they had no control of, and begged to have the ark returned to Israel.
Many people don't respond to biblical truth until they are experiencing pain or some major tragedy or hardship. Don't be like that.
"Ministry" can be hard, in so many ways. It is not something that you do for money, or fame, or glory. You do it because God created you for it, and you do it because you love Him.
Living at We Will Go taught me so many things about loving people, and loving them because Jesus loves them. But I tell you, it would wear you out sometimes with so many people constantly coming to you asking for help. Whether it was for food, clothes, money, rides, and lots of times, helping in some very critical emergency situations, there was always a need that was being asked of you. And if they didn't get what they wanted from you, they would go ask someone else. I saw a vicious cycle of people, depending on people, when we always pointed them to depend on Jesus.
Living in my house on the other side of the hood, the asks for help hasn't changed, just the things that are being asked have a little. I still have many knocks on my door every day, countless messages and phone calls every day, and many emergency situations that I walk through.
What I have learned in the last 6 years is this - I am NOT your Jesus.
The Philistines were so dependent on the idols they had created that when they came against the power of the real God, they didn't know what to do with it. I just wonder what would have happened that first day they walked in the temple and saw what God did to dagon. If they had opened their eyes and hearts then, so much that God would have saved them from looking ahead. Instead, they made their idols, their savior, their only source of hope, the only thing they would go to, that always failed them.
I (meaning anyone that is serving the Lord) can't save you, fix you, be your savior, meet every need, and certainly can't love you to the capacity that Jesus does. I go to Jesus for everything. Every single thing. And guess what - He never gets tired of me coming to Him. How relieved does that make you feel!
When we make people our Jesus, things don't work. The power of God tears down the idols, knocks them on their faces, and sometimes causes physical things to happen to show his great presence. If we go right to the power, right to the source, then we get to see that power and source manifest in the right way.
I have 3 goals in this little adventure the Lord has me on with these amazing boys:
1 - they get radically saved and spend the rest of their life loving Jesus, and serving Jesus
2 - they don't go to jail or prison
3 - they don't die on these streets
When they know that they can, and begin to go to Jesus, and not to me (because they just don't know that yet), then Goal 1 has been accomplished, and 2 and 3 won't be an option. I don't want them to get to that place where they see the wrath of God, but that they know the love of God.
