1 Samuel 5:1–5

Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torso was left of it. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

Once again, people are treating the ark like a tool they can use for their own purposes.

That’s a category error. The ark, like God himself, cannot be subordinated. It’s not that kind of thing.

The Philistines thought that when they captured the ark, they took ownership. It’s obvious where they got that idea; the Israelites treated the ark like they owned it.

But the ark is called the ark of the covenant (or Testimony) because that’s what it is. It contains the hard copies of a sacred contract between the creator of the universe and His chosen people. The solid gold lid (mercy seat) with solid gold cherubim on either end is where God meets with and speaks to His people.

You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel. — Exodus 25:21–22

It’s of no use to the Philistines—as they’re now finding out the hard way.

God’s messages often are delivered “loud and clear.” Notice how He cranks up the volume in today’s passage. The first time, Dagon just does a face-plant.

But when that message doesn’t get through, the next face-plant is more emphatic. The Philistines can’t superglue Dagon back together like we can nowadays. They need a new Dagon.

The lesson for us in this is to not be so hard of hearing. God will make his point. If He has to crank up the volume, so be it. Pain is a great way to get someone’s attention..

So, be “God aware”. Most things that happen are not signs from God, but some are. They tend to be pretty obvious if you’re paying attention. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

The ones I’ve missed have usually been because I was too sure of myself and too resistant to a change in plans.

I have often been on the brink of losing my temper (at God!) when I came to my senses.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.