Day 9 | Dagon Falls

Read 1 Samuel 5:1-5

A season of war had come upon Israel, and the nation went out to battle without the Lord’s presence. They battled the Philistines and lost, but very soon after, the elders assembled and realized they needed to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the battle to ensure their victory. Briefly, the Philistines were fearful. But after mustering up enough courage, they routed Israel’s army and took the Ark to their city, Ashdod. What we see next is nothing short of a miracle and display of God’s glory. After placing the Ark in the house of their god Dagon, he was found face down in front of the Ark. After resetting Dagon the very next day, he was found not only fallen but broken and dismembered. In a display of His Glory and Majesty, Yahweh made known to the people that there is no god but Himself.

The Philistines had no desire to honor the Hebrew God as the one true god. They had their own religion, their own culture, and their own way of living they identified with. But our God makes His glory known, whether we want to see it or not. The Philistines’ worldview was rocked when their idol, Dagon, could not stand to be in the presence of even the Ark. Though they did not humble themselves and submit to the Hebrew God, they were greatly fearful of His power.

Today we live in a culture much like the Philistines. We have our own way that we do things, and we can’t be rocked off our preconceived notions. We follow our own idols, no matter the power that’s displayed to us. But one day every person on Earth will stand before God and recognize Him for Who He is. None of us will have any excuse to have waited until that day to recognize Him as Lord, because He makes his power known today. Maybe we don’t have a massive statue falling down nightly, but God shows His glory in every one of our lives. Let us be humble and follow Christ not just because He is Savior, but because He is also Lord.

Pray for 10 minutes