1 Samuel

1 Samuel 5: No idol stands before the LORD

Begin in prayer

Before we watch Dagon fall on his face before the ark, and learn that no idol can stand before the LORD, let us bow in prayer. Ask Him to show us what we trust more than Him, and to show us Jesus.

Now therefore fear Yahweh, and serve him in sincerity and in truth.

Joshua 24:14

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that no idol can stand before You, and help us to trust Jesus alone. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The Philistines set the ark of God beside their idol Dagon in the house of Dagon at Ashdod. The next morning Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark, and the people set him up again. The next morning he had fallen again, with his head and hands cut off on the threshold. The LORD’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He struck them with tumors, so they sent the ark to Gath. Gath was struck too, so the ark went on to Ekron, where the people cried out in fear. The Ekronites begged the lords to send the ark away, because deadly confusion filled the city.

As you read 1 Samuel 5, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

No idol can stand before the LORD, and His hand judges those who oppose Him.

Israel had lost the battle and the ark, and the Philistines set it beside their god Dagon (verses 1 and 2). That suggests they thought Dagon had beaten the God of Israel. Two mornings running Dagon lay on his face before the ark (verses 3 and 4). The second time his head and hands were cut off on the threshold. The priests of Dagon would not step on that threshold from then on (verse 5). Then the LORD's hand grew heavy on Ashdod, Gath and Ekron, and tumors broke out on the people (verses 6 to 10). The Ekronites cried out that the ark would kill them, and the cry of the city went up to heaven (verses 10 to 12). Israel lost the battle, but the LORD was not beaten, because He was never a prisoner of the Philistines. At the end every knee will bow to Jesus, and every tongue will say He is Lord (Philippians 2 verses 10 and 11).

How does 1 Samuel 5 show us that no idol can stand before the LORD, and that His hand judges those who oppose Him?

No idol can stand before the LORD.

Dagon fell on his face before the ark, and his people set him up again (verse 3). The next morning he lay there again, and his head and both palms were cut off (verse 4). An idol that must be set back up cannot save anyone. The writer says the priests of Dagon avoided that threshold to his own day (verse 5).

The LORD’s hand judges those who oppose Him.

The LORD's hand was heavy on Ashdod, and He struck the people with tumors (verse 6). The men of Ashdod said the ark must not stay, because His hand was severe on them and on Dagon (verse 7). In Gath His hand was against the city, and tumors broke out on small and great (verse 9). In Ekron the cry of the city went up to heaven (verse 12).

Only Jesus can save from the wrath of God.

The people of Ekron begged for the ark to be sent away, because deadly confusion filled their city (verses 10 and 11). Their gods could not save them, and the hand of God stayed heavy there. The wrath of God is real, and sinners cannot send it away. Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring sinners to God (1 Peter 3 verse 18).

Memorise

Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before Yahweh’s ark.

1 Samuel 5:3

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what idol do I trust more than Jesus?

In Ashdod and Ekron the people could not stand before the ark. Dagon lay on his face before the ark of the LORD, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

We make idols too, whatever we love or trust more than God, and that sin must meet the judgment of a holy God. Jesus never turned from the Father to any idol. He bore God's anger against sin on the cross, in the place of His people. The Father raised Him from the dead, and He did all that was needed to bring sinners to God.

So turn from every idol in your heart, and trust Jesus. He calls every sinner to come, and everyone who trusts Him is forgiven.

Parent's note

Tell your children that idols cannot save, and that the LORD is stronger than every false god. Only Jesus, the Son of God, can rescue sinners from the wrath they have earned. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that no idol can stand before Him, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

You who fear Yahweh, trust in Yahweh! He is their help and their shield.

Psalm 115:11

Father, You are the living God, and no idol can stand before You. Thank You that Jesus is Your Son, and that every knee will bow to Him. Show us the idols in our hearts, and help us to turn from them and trust Him. Keep us close to You this week. Amen.