Monday, February 25, 2013
Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old Testament: Philistines And False God, Fall Before The Ark.
Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old
Testament: Philistines And False God, Fall Before The Ark.
Occasion: Warning To The
Philistines To Return The Ark.
Location: Ashdod.
Bible Text:
I Samuel 5:1-12 NLT (The Ark of
the Covenant in Philistia.)
1 After the Philistines captured The
Ark Of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the
town of Ashdod.
2 They carried The Ark Of God into
the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon.
3 But when the citizens of Ashdod
went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to
the ground in front of The Ark Of The Lord! So they took Dagon and
put him in his place again.
4 But the next morning the same
thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before The Ark Of The
Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were
lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact.
5 That is why to this day neither
the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in
Ashdod will step on its threshold.
6 Then The Lord’s heavy hand
struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of
tumors.
7 When the people realized what was
happening, they cried out, “We can’t keep The Ark Of The God of
Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed
along with Dagon, our god.”
8 So they called together the rulers
of the Philistine towns and asked, “What should we do with The Ark
Of The God Of Israel?” The rulers discussed it and replied, “Move
it to the town of Gath.” So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel
to Gath.
9 But when the Ark arrived at Gath,
the Lord’s heavy hand fell on its men, young and old; he struck
them with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic.
10 So they sent The Ark Of God to
the town of Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they
cried out, “They are bringing The Ark Of The God Of Israel here to
kill us, too!”
11 The people summoned the
Philistine rulers again and begged them, “Please send The Ark Of
The God Of Israel back to its own country, or it will kill us all.”
For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was
sweeping across the town.
12 Those who didn’t die were
afflicted with tumors; and the cry from the town rose to heaven.
When Israel (God's
people), lost in battle to their enemies, there only was one reason
for defeat,
sin was in the
camp. And so it was, as Israel lost, one and then a second battle
with the Philistines.
Israel had taken
The Ark Of The Lord into battle, ...
I Samuel 4:3 NLT
"...Then they said, “Let’s
bring The Ark Of The Covenant of The Lord from Shiloh. If we carry it
into battle with us, it will save us from our enemies.”
And they lost
terribly. The presence and power of God, is not with those who do not
live obediently to the Lord! The name of the Lord, is not a talisman, of victory, for those who live apart from Him.
Matthew 7:21 KJV
Not every one that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of My Father which is in heaven.
In Israel's defeat,
The Ark Of God, was stolen by the Philistines.
I Samuel 5:1 NLT
After the Philistines captured The
Ark Of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the
town of Ashdod. (30 miles to the South.)
I Samuel 5:2 NLT
They carried The Ark Of God into the
temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon.
Dagon: The
god of the philistines (Atargatis). Human head and face with
the hands of a man, and with the tail of a fish. An idol which stood
for fruitfulness of the sea, especially by seafaring tribes. A temple
of Dagon, was located at Ashdod.
I Samuel 5:3-5
NLT
3 But when the citizens of Ashdod
went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to
the ground in front of The Ark Of The Lord! So they took Dagon and
put him in his place again.
4 But the next morning the same
thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before The Ark Of The
Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were
lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact.
5 That is why to this day neither
the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in
Ashdod will step on its threshold.
Idols cannot stand
in the presence of the Lord.
Exodus 20:1-6
KJV
1 And God spake all these words,
saying,
2 I am The Lord thy God, which have
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods
before Me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above,
or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to
them, nor serve them: for I The Lord thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third
and fourth generation of them that hate Me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands
of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.
(See the blog
posting...... Idolatry )
Philippians
2:10,11 KJV
10 That at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God The Father.
I Samuel 5:6 NLT
Then The Lord’s heavy hand struck
the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors.
I Samuel 5:6 KJV
But the hand of The Lord was heavy
upon them of Ashdod, and He destroyed* them, and smote them
with emerods*, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
*Destroyed:
Hebrew Shamem (Shaw-Mame): To make desolate, destroy, make waste.
*Emerods: Hebrew
Ophel (O-fel): A tumor.
God killed scores
of the Philistines by mice and tumors (I Samuel 6:4).
I Samuel 5:7 NLT
7 When the people realized what was
happening, they cried out, “We can’t keep The Ark Of The God of
Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed
along with Dagon, our god.”
Israel, may have forgotten their God, but the philistines knew only
too well, that He was alive and well and able to slay all those who
dared to oppose Him.
I Samuel 5:8 NLT
8 So they called together the rulers
of the Philistine towns and asked, “What should we do with The Ark
Of The God Of Israel?” The rulers discussed it and replied, “Move
it to the town of Gath.” So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel
to Gath.
The five city Philistine
confederation, had made a decision.
I Samuel 6:17
NLT
"...the rulers of Ashdod, Gaza,
Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron."
I
Samuel 5:9 NLT
9 But when the Ark arrived at Gath,
the Lord’s heavy hand fell on its men, young and old; he struck
them with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic.
I Samuel 5:9 KJV
And it was so, that, after they had
carried it about, the hand of The Lord was against the city with a
very great destruction: and He smote the men of the city, both small
and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
Wherever The Ark
was moved the story was the same, disease, plague and death.
I Samuel 5:10-12
NLT
10 So they sent The Ark Of God to
the town of Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they
cried out, “They are bringing The Ark Of The God Of Israel here to
kill us, too!”
11 The people summoned the
Philistine rulers again and begged them, “Please send The Ark Of
The God Of Israel back to its own country, or it will kill us all.”
For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was
sweeping across the town.
12 Those who didn’t die were
afflicted with tumors; and the cry from the town rose to heaven.
The Philistines
came to the place that owning The Ark Of The Covenant was not a
trophy to be admired, but something to be returned before all their
people were destroyed by the wrath of The God Of Israel.
I Samuel 4:3 NLT
"...and the elders of Israel
asked, “Why did The Lord allow us to be defeated by the
Philistines?...”
After The Ark had
been returned ….
I Samuel 7:3,4
NLT
3 Then Samuel said to all the people
of Israel, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to
The Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth.
Determine to obey only The Lord; then He will rescue you from the
Philistines.”
4 So the Israelites got rid of their
images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only The Lord.
And now an
interesting question.
Can God, send
disease, boils, ulcers, tumors, and death?
Surely a God of
love cannot do these things!
Wrong!
Nahum 1:2,3 NLT
2 The Lord is a jealous God, filled
with vengeance and rage. He takes revenge on all who oppose Him and
continues to rage against His enemies!
3 The Lord is slow to get angry, but
His power is great, and He never lets the guilty go unpunished.
Romans 12:19 KJV
Dearly beloved, avenge not
yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written,
Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith The Lord.
Hebrews 10:31
KJV
It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of The Living God.
Psalm 145:17 KJV
The Lord is righteous in all His
ways, and holy in all His works.
Ezekiel 8:9-18
NLT
9 “Go in,” He said, “and see
the wicked and detestable sins they are committing in there!”
10 So I went in and saw the walls
engraved with all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures.
I also saw the various idols worshiped by the people of Israel.
11 Seventy leaders of Israel were
standing there with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan in the center. Each of
them held an incense burner, from which a cloud of incense rose above
their heads.
12 Then The Lord said to me, “Son
of man, have you seen what the leaders of Israel are doing with their
idols in dark rooms? They are saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t see us;
he has deserted our land!’”
13 Then The Lord added, “Come, and
I will show you even more detestable sins than these!”
14 He brought me to the north gate
of the Lord’s Temple, and some women were sitting there, weeping
for the god Tammuz.
15 “Have you seen this?” He
asked. “But I will show you even more detestable sins than these!”
16 Then He brought me into the inner
courtyard of The Lord’s Temple. At the entrance to the sanctuary,
between the entry room and the bronze altar, there were about
twenty-five men with their backs to the sanctuary of The Lord. They
were facing east, bowing low to the ground, worshiping the sun!
17 “Have you seen this, son of
man?” He asked. “Is it nothing to the people of Judah that they
commit these detestable sins, leading the whole nation into violence,
thumbing their noses at Me, and provoking My anger?
18 Therefore, I will respond in
fury. I will neither pity nor spare them. And though they cry for
mercy, I will not listen.”
Dear friend, is your life filled with idols? False gods of wealth, power and influence,
worldly possessions, etc. etc. which occupy your life.
Our God, is a
jealous God!
Idolatry is a sin.
Forsake idols and
turn to the Living God, who is a God of love and forgiveness.
I John 1:8,9 KJV
8 If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and The Truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Matthew 6:24
No man can serve two masters: for
either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold
to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon
(wealth).
I John 2:15-17
KJV
15 Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of
the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and
the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.