Dr Paul Allen

Dagon Bows to Yahweh 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 Sam. 5:1-6). The unthinkable has happened —the ark of the covenant has been captured by Israel’s archenemies, the Philistines. While it rested in the tabernacle, it was a symbol of God’s presence with His people. In the same way, its removal is a sign to Israel that “ ‘the glory has departed’ ” (1 Sam. 4:22); that is, that God has removed His presence to chastise His people for their sin. God has allowed the ark to be taken. However, as we will see, He is fully capable of bringing it back. The Philistines take the ark to their city of Ashdod, site of the temple of Dagon, a fertility god worshiped not just by the Philistines but by other people groups in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Phoenicia during this time. The ark is set “by Dagon.” The Philistines may be placing the ark before their god as a symbol of his “victory” over ...

David dances in the presence of the ark. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The ark of the covenant was the place of presence . While the Lord was present among His people in the exodus ( Ex. 13:17–18, 21–22), He localized this presence in the tabernacle for the benefit of His sinful people. The tabernacle was constructed so that the Lord would be among His people: "And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst" (Ex. 25:8). But in an even more specific way, the ark served as the place of the presence of God . As we read in Exodus 25:22, "There I will meet with you . . . on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you" (Ex. 25:22; emphasis added). The eternal God who is not constrained by the existence of time, the infinite God who is not bound by the constraints of space, the transcendent God who dwells above and beyond all time and space, and the immense God who fills all time and space condescended to the weakness of His people and became m...

English: The Ark of the Covenant Brought into the Temple (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Let's look at the story of Uzzah ( 2 Samuel 6:1-7) to help us understand God ’s justice. The Old Testament records that the ark of the covenant had been captured and taken away. God’s people had broken covenant with God and he had given them over to their enemies. When he did that, the Phillistines attacked them, pillaged them, and captured the ark. When they captured the ark it was not just that they were taking away a religious icon. Instead, they were taking away the presence of God from among the Israelites and the Israelites understood that this meant that God had abandoned them and was no longer there in the midst of his people. Their sin was so great, so offensive to God, that God had turned his back on them for a time. But that time lasted just a few months. After just a few months the ark was returned to the nation of Israel , but not to the tabernacle. Instead it sat for many...