Havasu Christian Church
May 5, 2024
Series in I Samuel
God Shows the Philistines “who’s Boss!”
I Samuel 5:1-6:18
INTRO: It is said that in the United States, that politically, we only look at the short term. It’s all about winning the next election. We concern ourselves with the problem right in front of us, while not bothering to look ahead to the problem down the road. We are told that China on the other hand, plays “the Long game.” That they are planning for 20, 50 or 100 years down the road. I’m not sure that’s all true. We certainly do have a tendency to look at the immediate, and that’s often where our focus is. I’m not so sure the Chinese government is really any better at looking to the future than we are. Time will tell I guess.
We do however, serve a God who looks at the big picture. He does what He does, when He does it, with eternity in view.
Sometimes we wonder why we are suffering through something.
Sometimes we can’t understand why God is leading us in a certain direction.
Sometimes, we even wonder about God’s blessings being showered on us. But God is looking down the road to eternity. He wants what’s best for us long term, even if it hurts in the short term. Like a good parent, He really wants us to grow and be more and more the people He has called us to be!
So, all that being said, here we are in I Samuel 5: We are going to read it in chunks, but we’ll be going down through chapter 6, verse 18. See if you can see how what I just said fits with what we are reading.
1 Samuel 5:1–2 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon.
- The Philistines have taken the Ark of God.
- If you recall, the Philistines were terrified when they heard that Israel had brought the Ark of the Covenant to the fight.
- They talked about how God had dealt with the Egyptians!
I Samuel 4:7-9 The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. “Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. “Take courage and be men, O Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; therefore, be men and fight.”
- When they won the battle, the Philistines had the idea that their god had triumphed over the God of the Hebrews.
- In their minds, war on earth was an echo of war in heaven,
- A victory over the Israelites was a victory over their God.
- The God of Israel shows them this is not the case!
I Samuel 5:3-5 When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. But when they arose early the next morning, behold, 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. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
- They install the Ark in their temple as a “trophy” of their victory in battle.
- The next morning, their “little g god” is laying on its face in front of the Ark.
- It’s almost as if the statue has “prostrated itself” before the Ark.
- They set the statue of Dagon back up.
- The next day, their “little g god” is broken.
- His statue is laying prostrate again before the Ark.
- His head and hands are broken off.
- God is making a point.
- Not only is this “little g god” far, far inferior to Me, He is powerless!
- If this wasn’t enough, God gives them a little more to deal with!
12 Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and smote them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.”
- “He ravaged them and smote them with tumors.”
- “tumors” is kind of a vague word. It has been translated by some as “hemorrhoids,”
- I’m a little skeptical of this one… These guys were dying, right away. A bad enough hemorrhoid COULD kill you eventually, but it wouldn’t be quick!
- One commentator I read thinks that because of the “golden mice” they put in the cart with the Ark, that it was bubonic plague.
- This too is possible… But unless this was the first time it ever happened, they would have known what it was.
- Personally, I think it was a “one off.” God did this to them, and it’s the only time in history that this happened.
- The Philistines now have a dilemma.
- What are we going to do about all this?
- We’ll just pass our problem off to someone else!
I Samuel 5:8-12 So they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” And they brought the ark of the God of Israel around. 9 After they had brought it around, 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 tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people.” 11 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it will not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 And the men who did not die were smitten with tumors and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
- They send their problem to the next city!
- It’s just as bad for them in Gath as it was for those in Ashdod.
- It’s just as bad in Ekron as it was in Gath.
- Again the question is asked.. What will we do about this?
- Let’s send the Ark back where it came from!
- But how???
I Samuel 6:1-11 Now the ark of the LORD had been in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we shall send it to its place.” 3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but you shall surely return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.” 4 Then they said, “What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of you and on your lords. 5 “So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will ease His hand from you, your gods, and your land.
6 “Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, did they not allow the people to go, and they departed?
7 “Now therefore, take and prepare a new cart and two milch cows on which there has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them. 8 “Take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you return to Him as a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go. 9 “Watch, if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.” 10 Then the men did so, and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
11 They put the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors.
- They send the Ark back with a guilt offering.
- They know they have made a HUGE mistake!
- They are messing with the wrong God!
- This offering is an apology to God, not to the people of Israel.
- They make gold replicas of the “tumors.”
- They make golden mice.
- Apparently, mice were part of this plague.
- They send the Ark back in a cart, being pulled by two cows that haven’t weaned their calves. (milch cows)
12 And the cows took the straight way in the direction of Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
- These cows SHOULD have gone straight to the pen where their babies were.
- Instead, they head straight for the border of Israel.
- The Philistine leaders follow at a distance.
13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it.
14 The cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the LORD. 16 When the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day. 17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; 18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages. The large stone on which they set the ark of the LORD is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.
- The Ark is returned to Israel!
- With the offering.
- To much joy!
- With much relief to the Philistines!
Conclusion: What can I learn from something that happened to people so long ago?
- At the very beginning of the sermon, I mentioned that God “plays the long game.” He does what He does with eternity in mind.
- Sometimes, things happen that seem to be a setback to His Kingdom.
- The Ark is taken…
- His church is persecuted….
- His people suffer….
- Satan seems to be winning…
- But God knows what He’s doing.
- That setback may lead to His greater glory!
- The Ark being taken led to the Philistines knowing just how powerful God really is.
- The Ark being taken led the Israelites to know that God isn’t depending on them, but that it’s the other way around.
- The suffering in our lives will work out to our eventual good, and the good of God’s Kingdom.
Romans 8:28–29 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
- What we go through leads us to be more and more like Jesus!
- God’s Kingdom will Prevail!
- God is not a genie in a bottle! (Or a prisoner in a golden box)
- I can’t “make” God do anything!
- Even if I carry the Ark of the covenant into battle with me!
- Even if I “name it and claim it.
- Even if I pray in faith, God may say “NO!”
- God is SO FAR above His creation!
- I Corinthians 10:19–21 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
- Those “little g gods” had real power behind them. Demonic power!
- Not the same power as God, but real non the less.
- There are still demonic forces in this world today and they are active!
- People may not have statues of guys who look like fish, and temples for them so much anymore, but people still worship their own wants and pleasures.
- When God is at work, some crazy things can happen!
- Whether it’s a plague on a nation.
- Or a couple of cows that go in the wrong direction,
- Or amazing things happening in my life,
- God can and will do great things!
