The Ark of the Covenant among the Philistines
A. The Ark in the Philistine city of Ashdod
1. (1 Sam 5:1-5) God humiliates the idol Dagon
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. 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 the 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.
A silent interlude?: Based on Psalm 78:60-64, Jeremiah 7:12 and Jeremiah 26:9, we are told Shiloh is destroyed. Many commentators believe Shiloh's destruction happened after the Philistines defeated the Israelites at Aphek. After capturing the Ark of God, many believe the Philistines continued their military campaign to Shiloh and destroyed the city and tabernacle.
Ashdod: Known as Azotus in Greek (as referenced in Acts 8:40), Ashdod was one of the five Philistine governing cities (the other four being Gath, Ashkelon, Ekron and Gaza). It was located near the Mediterranean Sea on a hilltop about 35 miles west of Jerusalem. It was a place of great strength and had special importance because it was located on the high road between Syria and Egypt. It was assigned to the tribe of Judah in Joshua 15:47, but was never conquered until the reign of Uzziah around 800 B.C. ("Now he [Uzziah] went out and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in the area of Ashdod and among the Philistines" 2 Chronicles 26:6.)
Dagon: Dagon was the chief god of the Philistines, and the worship of this pagan god dates back to 3000 B.C. Dagon was worshiped widely in Syria, Mesopotamia and Chaldea. Dagon was represented as half man and half fish. (Dag in Hebrew means fish.) According to ancient mythology, Dagon was the father of Baal and was the emblem of fruitfulness. The god Dagon is mentioned three times in the Bible. The first mention of Dagon is in Judges 16:23: "Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, 'Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.'" In additional to 1 Samuel 5, the temple of Dagon is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 10:10, in which the head of King Saul was fastened to after the King Saul died in battle at Mount Gilboa fighting the Philistines. ("And they [the Philistines] put his [Saul's] armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon" (1 Chronicles 10:10).)
An interesting side note: Dagon is also mentioned indirectly in the Book of Jonah. Although the deity is not mentioned by name, the Assyrians in Nineveh worshiped Dagon. Jonah decided not to go directly to Nineveh. Instead, he fled via boat in the opposite direction to go to Tarshish. God conveniently arranges alternative transportation for Jonah--a giant fish! After spending three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, Jonah is vomited onto dry land. Jonah then decides to go to Nineveh. Jonah's arrival in Nineveh would have created quite a splash! The Ninevites, who worshiped a fish god, would have had been hooked on Jonah's fish story...and believing Jonah and his message, the city of Nineveh repents and is spared God's wrath.
Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD: This is one of my favorite parts of the Bible!!! It is such a funny story about man's idols versus God. Whenever I read this part of Scripture, Psalm 135:15-18 comes to mind: "The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, the work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there any breath at all in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them." Man builds a great idol from silver, gold or wood and assumes because he made it his idol, it will be endowed with magical powers to deliver him from his enemies. However, only God can truly deliver us from our adversaries.
Furthermore, God does not need man to glorify Him. When the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the hilistines, the Israelites lamented that the glory of God had departed. Actually, God's glory never went anywhere. He was still seat on His throne and more than able to glorify Himself. And that is exactly what He does. God causes the Philistines' god to bow down and worship Him! I cannot imagine the horror which overtook the Philistines and the multitude of excuses they must have concocted: the wind must have blown over Dagon, a small earthquake must have knocked Dagon to the ground, someone must have slipped in to clean the temple and forgot to put Dagon back in his place, etc.
These Philistines, like men confronted with the truth today, rejected God , despite the evidence. The wanted to believe Dagon being found on the ground was an accident. But how would they believe something so ridiculous? Because woshipping the LORD instead of Dagon meant giving up their traditions and rituals. They would have had to put away their idols and worship the one true God. Like the Philistines, most people today find this too big of a challenge to accept and instead give even more reverence and power to worthless man-made idols. Gluing Dagon back together again was easier to do than changing their lives and thinking.
The head of Dagon and both his palms were cut off: I feel like this story is a giant crescendo of God's glory. The story keeps building upon itself to reveal God's majesty. The first day, the Philistines knocked off his pedestal. Now day two, and even stranger situation; Dagon has his head and arms cut off. If the Philistines thought the first incidence was a fluke, I am sure now they were shaking in their sandals. The head is viewed as the place of wisdom; the hands are thought to represent the instruments of action. Since both these body parts are cut off, this shows the Philistines that Dagon possessed wisdom nor strength to defend himself or his worshipers against the Almighty God.
The threshold: Dating back several thousands of years, many cultures around the world believe that evil spirits dwell at the threshold of a house or building. Even today, this superstition continues. After the wedding, a groom often carried his wife across the threshold. (The reason being a woman's sole of her foot is more susceptible to being overtaken by evil spirits than a man's.) Also, in Russia and Poland, it is superstitious bad luck to shake hands or kiss over the threshold. Although no exact origin can be sited, many believe the threshold superstition dates back to this incident. If you found your idol god's cut up body parts on the threshold and bowing down to another god, it certainly would elicit many fears about the power of the threshold...and that is exactly what we are told: Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
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