When God Warns You, Pay Attention
- Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro
- Mar 11, 2019
- 5 min read
“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.”- 1 Samuel 5: 2-3
Israel made a terrible move, without asking God’s will. Then, they involved God in their mistake by going and taking the Ark of the Covenant and bringing the holiness of God and His glory into their messes. The Ark of the Covenant, His Very Presence, was captured by the Philistines, and God allowed it to happen. Please catch this: God allowed it to happen.
Let’s pause here for a moment. How many times have we moved out of the will of God and then, tried to bring God into our messes and our unwise sinful actions, placing God’s holiness on the line? This is exactly what the Israelites did here. They made a decision on their own, and then they took the Ark of the Covenant, the very glory and presence of God, and dragged it into their wicked scheme. God will not go against the will of man. He will allow it but with major consequences.
Now, the Philistines take the Ark of the Covenant and bring it into the Temple of Dagon. God will never share His glory, Folks. The next day, Dagon, was on the ground with his face bowed before the Ark of the Covenant. God was clearly sending a message. This was no little statue. The temple itself was huge. Remember Samson? He destroyed that very temple. God was warning the Philistines. They knew about the Ark of the Covenant. They feared it. Yet, they brought it to their god.
They didn’t get the hint. They picked up the statue of Dagon and stood it up again. “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.” God will never be mocked. You would think they would get the hint and give it back. That didn’t happen either. God’s holy presence caused problems for them. They knew of God, but they still were obstinate.
Here’s what it all comes down to. We know about God and see His power and might, and yet we still reject Him. It doesn’t work this way. God wants our total adoration and will not share His glory with anyone.
Then, there’s Israel. They just lost the very presence of God by the Philistines capturing the Ark. The logical question would be what were they doing to try to bring it back? Nothing! There is no mention of them talking to the elders, holding prayer meetings, going on a fast, or wearing sackcloth and ashes. You see, quietness still says something. In fact, quietness speaks louder then any sound. This is how far they were from hearing the Voice of God. Sin brings about the deafness of our ears. Please, write this down.
God doesn’t need anyone to defend His honor. He does that very well. He showed His power to the Philistines in all their cities as they moved the Ark from city to city because God sent them plagues. You would think they would have understood by their god Dagon being smashed to the ground, and the plagues that were sent to each city where the Ark was taken. He was the Living God!
We can learn a lot from this story and these verses. God will never be mocked. The messes we create and then drag His Holy name into it will never stand. God cannot be captured by our lies and manipulations. God will never bow, share, or partner with any other god. God cannot be held hostage in any form or shape. God never loses. God cannot be contained or maintained.
Eventually, seven months later, the Philistines got it. They asked how to send it back. You see, God cares about everyone. God could have totally annihilated them on the spot before allowing the Ark to be captured. In His great love, He still tried to showcase Himself merciful, compassionate, and loving. God could have destroyed the temple Himself. Still He lovingly tried to show them that everything and everyone bows before Him. Their make believe idol was not real but a figment of their imagination. Still they didn’t see it. God had just smashed their idol. The eyes of people are still this way today. They refuse to see the goodness and mercy of a loving God. Because the Ark of the Covenant represented His presence and His glory, God was allowing them an opportunity to know Him. Even in the plagues they wouldn’t see Him. In the next chapter, God heals all of them. Still they showed no repentance or wanting to know the Living God. How sad.
Finally, they were so blinded they sent the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel. The very right thing to do. Yet, the very wrong thing was to not acknowledge the very presence of God which was in the middle of them. May I suggest, God’s presence can be smack in the middle of your life, yet you reject Him?
For me, in this story, I can’t get over two things. The Israelites doing nothing about getting the Ark back, representing the Glory and Presence of God had departed from them and then the Philistines having the Glory and Presence of God in the midst of them and wanting it to be gone. Listen please. We can fall into a deep black hole of sin and not even recognize what’s happening. We can be in so much sin we don’t even want God’s presence. The Israelites and the Philistines proved these two points, unfortunately, very well-one not seeking to get it back, the other trying to totally remove it.
Please, let us examine ourselves daily. “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” And “Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.”
Do you clearly see what these two different groups of people did? God still showed mercy, compassion, and love. He didn’t totally destroy them. Both did wrong, and God’s Spirit today is clearly speaking. Look for me, search me, don’t send me away. One group in this story didn’t try to get God back. The other totally rejected Him and sent it back. I could say so much about this alone.
Let us repent and ask God to come into the broken places of our lives and give us a new attitude and outlook in life to remain in the center of His will and never depart from His presence. Let us linger in His presence and see His glory. You will never be the same again. Don’t reject Him, accept Him and receive His greatest of blessings.
Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me warnings when I'm about to head into disaster. Thank You for disciplining me in only the way You can. Thank You for the times You have picked me up and put me back on the road I belong. Father, You are my God, and I don't want to disappoint You. I don't know all that lurks deep in my heart, but I am asking You to forgive me of my sins as I choose to follow You moment by moment everyday. Help me to always remember that obedience is better than sacrifice and that there is freedom in surrendering and submitting to You. Continue to be my Father and cast me not away from Your presence and reveal to me anything that is displeasing to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles
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