Even The Idols Bow Down

6/25/2007

"When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him." - 1 Sam 5:1-4

When the ark of God was brought into the temple of the Philistine god Dagon, it must have been a triumphant moment for the Philistines. They had essentially "captured" the God of Israel. But we serve a God who cannot be captured and who cannot be tamed. In this passage we see that there is no God but God, and all will bow before His overwhelming power.

How humbling this must have been for the Philistines. For the priests of Dagon to come in each morning and find their "great" god, Dagon, prostrate on the floor before the God of Israel. Then to come in and find Dagon without head or hands, like a dead and defeated warrior in battle.

Can you see the greatness of our God shining through in this passage? He cannot be beaten, or broken, or captured. He's the supreme ruler of the universe, the One to whom every angel and every demon must submit. He's the triumphant warrior King, who crushes all His enemies and makes them bow at His feet. And to all who trust in His Son, He's a gracious, loving Father. What an amazing God we serve.

When was the last time you bowed your heart before the Lord in adoration? Take time today to honor the Lord for surpassing greatness, and praise Him for His unstoppable power.

Posted by Stephen Altrogge at 7:32 AM  

5 comments:

Wow. That was like a pregame pep talk (although I am not sure it would be a good one for right before an evangelistic outreach, maybe before walking across campus in the spring though). I think I got goose bumps. Yep I did. God is really awesome!

P.S. The power and sovereignty of God part would be great for the outreach, but you and I know that someone would start yelling, "You all must bow down before God or you will lose your head and hands!" Then everyone gets arested...

June 25, 2007 at 9:43 PM  

I was just looking at the sitemeter, looks like someone visited from "nsa.gov" looks like you are being tracked by the big BM.

June 25, 2007 at 9:58 PM  

Yeah, knowing that God is so incredible is a good motivator to evangelism...just don't go around yelling about losing your head...

June 25, 2007 at 10:44 PM  

I'm here. ;) Whaddya think, I'd miss this?

Praise God - he is great and can overcome any false God, both inside our own hearts and outside in the world. What an awesome God we serve!

Anonymous said...
June 27, 2007 at 5:57 AM  

I will; today. Keep telling us who God is and what He is like. It leads our hearts to the only right response--worship and adoration and such knowledge makes the things of this world seem small and insignificant.

thank you!
kaa

Anonymous said...
June 29, 2007 at 2:41 PM  

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