1 Samuel 5:2-4 (NIV) Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.

When I was a little boy, I saw my dad as a strong warrior that no one could beat. We grew up in a tough neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York where there was crime and gang activity. It was a scary place for me, but not when I was with my dad. When I was walking with him, I didn’t fear and I didn’t have a care in the world. I knew that he would protect me and take care of me. As I grew, my dad never changed from being ready to protect his family, but I understood that he was not invincible. That brings me to the passage of scripture above.

The Israelites, who were out of control and living sinful lives, were defeated badly in a battle with the Philistines. Thirty thousand men were killed, the priest’s sons, Hophni and Phineas, lost their lives, the Ark of the Lord was captured and Eli, the high priest, died from the shock of it all. Now the Ark of God was in the enemy’s hands and the first thing that they did was to take it to the temple of their god, Dagon, and put it right next to him (a statue). When they went into the temple the next day, the statue of Dagon was lying face-down on the floor before the Ark of God. They must not have understood what had happened because their reaction was to pick up their god (it’s funny that their god couldn’t stand up by himself) and put him back in his place. They went back the following day and this time, the statue of Dagon was not only on the floor, but its head and its arms were broken off. I wonder what the Philistines were thinking when they saw the god that they were trusting in, fallen and in pieces before the presence of the one true God.

There is no god, no idol, no person and no thing that can stand in the presence of our God. People may be arrogant against God now, but when He chooses to manifest His presence, every knee buckles and must bow before Him. That brings me back to my story about my dad. I felt safe with him because of my belief in his strength and because I knew that He loved me and would do everything in his power to protect me. If that’s the way I felt about my dad back then, what do you think I should feel about God, who is my Abba, Father? How should we all feel about the fact that God not only loves us and has promised to watch over us and protect us, but that He also has power that is unfathomable? We should be the most secure and confident people on earth! The reality is, however, that our actions show that we really do not acknowledge the power and greatness of our God. If we knew in our hearts and minds that every idol must fall and that everything in all of creation must bow before His throne, then what would we fear? What would we worry about? But we do fear and we do worry because we don’t consider the immense power that emanates from His throne and the great amount of love that He has for each one of His children. Let’s stop being afraid of things and instead be glad and rejoice that all false gods and things that are against us must and will not only fall but break to pieces before the God of our salvation. All praise to King Jesus!

Pastor Joey Vazquez