“Silent witnesses: Dagon”
I Samuel 5:3
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Almost sixty years ago, back in 1950, Frank Sinatra sang a song called, Luck be a Lady, a song that tells the story of a gambler who hopes to win the girl of his dreams. Maybe you remember how it goes--”A lady never flirts with strangers/She’d have a heart, she’d be nice/A lady doesn’t wander all over the room/And blow on some other guy’s dice/Let’s keep this party polite/Never get out of my sight/Stick with me baby, I’m the guy that you came in with/Luck be a lady tonight.”
It seems we talk quite a bit about luck. In fact, the word, “luck,” has snuck into our language in lots of different ways. Think of phrases like, “Lotsa luck,” “Beginner’s luck,” “Down on your luck,” “Tough luck,” “No such luck,” “What rotten luck,” “Just my luck,” “Happy go lucky,” “Better luck next time,” and “Don’t push your luck.” Then there’s my personal favorite--“If it weren’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all.”
And while, if truth be known, there really is no such thing as luck, that hasn’t stopped anyone from trying to be lucky.
Think of good luck charms. If you were to ever visit Turkey, for example, you’d likely see blue nazars, “evil eyes.” People often hang them in their cars and in their homes.
Czechs in the Czech Republic slip scales from a carp into their wallets for good luck, and Belgians and Germans have lucky ladybugs. In fact, they say that if a man and a woman happen to see one at the very same time, they’ll fall in love. And if one were to crawl across a young woman’s hand, it’s a sign that she’ll marry soon.
And here in America, we have more than our share of good luck charms too. Think of a lucky four-leaf clover, or a lucky penny lying face-up on the ground, (“Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck”), or a lucky horseshoe, (as long as it’s pointed upward!), the lucky number 7, a lucky barnstar, and, of course, a lucky rabbit’s foot, (which, if you don’t mind me saying, wasn’t very lucky for the rabbit!).
As one author put it, “I’m a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more of it I seem to have.”
And when it comes to luck, the people of Israel once wanted to have some good luck too, but it didn’t turn out at all the way they planned.
Listen to the words of I Samuel chapter 4, beginning at verse 1: “And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle” (I Samuel 4:1-2).
Let’s stop there for a moment to see what’s going on.
For years, a people called the Philistines were not only Israel’s nearest neighbor, they were also their absolute worst and most dangerous enemy. In fact, it seems that, no matter where you turn in the Old Testament, they were at war, like the Battle of Shephelah in II Chronicles 28, or the Battle of Eben-ezez in I Samuel 7, or the Battle of Michmash in I Samuel 14. You’ve heard of Samson and Delilah, and David and Goliath? You get the idea.
So it was in the battle of Aphek in I Samuel chapter 4. As the Bible says, “Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.”
Then what? Not only did the Philistines defeat Israel, they killed four thousand of their men.
So what should those poor Israelites do? Good question. I mean, after all, wasn’t the Lord on their side?
That’s when someone had an idea. Verse 3: “Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”
In other words, let’s bring out our four-leaf clover, our rabbit’s foot, our ladybug, our lucky charm. That’ll show ‘em who’s boss!
So off they went to Shiloh to get the ark.
And as it says in verse 5: “As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, ‘What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?’ And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid, for they said, ‘A god has come into the camp.’ And they said, ‘Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?’” And they said, “Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight” (I Samuel 4:5-9).
Then what? Like I said, things didn’t turn out at all like Israel planned. Not only did the Philistines defeat Israel, killing as many as thirty thousand men, they captured the ark of God.
Which takes us to the words of our text, I Samuel chapter 5: “When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon” (I Samuel 5:1-2).
Imagine, for a moment, that you’re a Philistine, and you’ve just defeated one of your worst enemies. Even better, you just captured their most important object, their most sacred article of worship--the ark of the covenant, that beautiful, powerful, gold-covered box that held the Ten Commandments, that symbolized the very presence of God, so holy that even priests dared never to touch it. So what are you going to do with it?
Easy! Take it to one of your most important cities, bring it into one of your most fabulous temples, and lay it at the feet of half-man, half-fish Dagon, one of your greatest gods. So that’s exactly what they did.
But when they walked into their temple the very next morning, guess what they found! Verse 3: “And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord” (I Samuel 5:3).
That’s strange! I mean, as far as anyone knew, that statue of Dagon was rock-solid--absolutely couldn’t topple over--and there certainly weren’t any earthquakes last night. So ever so slowly and carefully, they lifted him up and propped him back in place. There’ll be no more falling on his face before God’s ark, that’s for sure!
Verse 4: “But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him” (I Samuel 5:4).
Then if you know the story, after a really complicated series of events, the Philistines packaged that ark up, loaded it onto a cart, and sent it straight back to Israel.
You know what’s really sad about this text? Two things, really. For one, even though the Philistine god, Dagon, fell face down before the ark, and even though his head and hands broke off, they still believed in him. And instead of honoring and believing in Yahweh, the God of Israel, they propped up their god, then sent the ark back to Israel.
There’s a danger there for us as well. Let me ask--what do you value the most? Who is your god? Is it something that’ll fail you, or will it stand in any weather and through the test of time?
As the prophet Isaiah once wrote, “Do not tremble. Do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim My purposes long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one” (Isaiah 44:8).
And one more thing--for many, God is little more than a four-leaf clover, a rabbit’s foot, a lucky charm. And rather than trust in Him and obey all that He commands, they call on Him only when they want Him, and expect Him to give in to their demands.
But the God of Israel, our God, is nothing like that. Instead, as one author put it, “True repentance can only begin with a deep sense of the holiness of God, and a sense of the magnitude of our sin and our unworthiness before our holy God.”
Seventy years ago, a pastor named Robert Munger told the story of a man who invited Christ to come into his heart. And as Christ stepped in, the man said, “Everything I have belongs to You. Come, let me show You around.”
The first room was the study, the control room, the mind. Books were in the bookcase, magazines were on the table, and pictures were on the walls. And as Jesus looked around, the man quickly became uncomfortable and even embarrassed. There were books on the shelves and imaginations in his heart that Jesus’ eyes were too pure to behold. He turned to Him and said, “Master, I know this room needs a radical alteration. Will You help me make it what it ought to be?”
“Surely!” He said. “Gladly I will help you. First, let’s throw out all the things that are not pure, good and true, then on those empty shelves, let’s put the books of the Bible. Fill your mind with Scripture, and meditate on it day and night. And in place of all those pictures on your wall, put a full-size portrait of Me.”
From there, they went to the dining room, a room full of appetites and desires--money and academic degrees for a main course, with lots of fame and fortune on the side. As Jesus pushed it all aside, He said, “If you want food that truly satisfies, seek the will of My Father, and not your own pleasures and desires.”
From there, they went to the workroom, to a workbench full of talents and skills. “It’s quite well furnished,” Jesus said, “but what is your life producing for the kingdom of God?” And He said, “Though your hands are unskilled, clumsy and awkward, the Holy Spirit, the Master Worker, can work in you and through you.”
Finally, they came to a hall closet, just a few feet square, hid behind lock and key. The man didn’t want Christ to see what was inside. He could barely even admit what was there.
“Just give me the key,” Jesus said. “Authorize Me to take care of that closet, and I will.” With trembling hands, the man gave Him the key. Then Jesus opened it, cleaned it out, and threw it all away.
That’s when the man thought to himself, “I’ve been trying to keep this heart of mine clear for Christ. No sooner have I cleaned one room, that another room is dirty.” So he said, “Lord, is there any chance that You would take over the responsibility of the whole house, and operate it for me just as You did the closet? Will You make my life what it ought to be?”
Jesus’ face lit up as He replied, “Certainly, for that’s what I have come to do. You can’t be a victorious Christian in your own strength. It’s impossible. Instead, let me do it through you and for you.”
“Lord,” the man said, “So far, You have been a guest and I have been the host. From now on, let me be Your servant.”
And running as fast as he could, he opened his safe, and took out the deed to his house with all its assets and liabilities, location and conditions. Then he signed it over to Him alone for time and eternity. “Here it is,” he said, “all that I am and all that I have. Just let me remain as Your servant and friend.”
This story of Israel and the ark of God is a sad story, for they were a people without hope and at the mercy of their enemies.
But what did God do? In a few short years, He raised up another man, one named David, to lead them to their greatest glory.
And through Christ, God has done exactly that too. As the prophet Isaiah wrote: “His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of His government and peace there will be no end.”
We could never thank You enough, dear Father, for all that You have done for us. Grant that we may always find our peace, hope, and strength in You, for Jesus’ sake. Amen