In silence we find ourselves uncomfortable. There is too little going on. Every day, a host of distractions vie for our attention - threatening to take passion, energy and attention from our worship.
This has always been the case.
In the Old Testament the player’s weren’t TV, nice cars or adrenaline rushes - they were idols. Little statues that demanded time, required sacrifice and incited desire.
One of the key players in the Old Testament is the culture of the Philistines. The Philistines were as culturally rich as they were powerful, and controlled much of the Ancient Near East for large periods of history. One of the Philistine’s key gods, if not the key god, was an idol named Dagon. Half fish and half man, Dagon was said to rule over the other Philistine gods and be the source of their harvest each season.
His record in Scripture is intriguing, to say the least:
- Dagon is first mentioned in Judges 16 just after Samson is captured by the Philistines. They gouge Samson’s eyes out and drag him to one of their temples to worship Dagon - who they credit for Samson’s capture. In the end of the chapter Samson destroys their temple and kills the thousands who have come to celebrate Dagon’s victory over YHWH’s servant.
- 1 Samuel 5 may be my favorite Dagon story in the Bible. The Ark has been captured by the Philistines and they take it to the temple of Dagon. As with everything they give their god credit for, they set it at his feet and leave him. The Bible says the next day the Philistines returned and the massive idol of Dagon was laying prostrate before the Ark. The Philistines stood him up (don’t you hate it when you have to help your god stand up?) and left him a second time before the ark. The following day they returned to find Dagon, again prostrate, this time decapitated and with both hands severed from his body. Tie this in with what we know about the Philistines from 1 Chronicles 10 and we have quite a story unfolding…
- At the end of Saul’s life (1 Chronicles 10) the Philistines came upon his body. As was their tradition, to demonstrate the total destruction of their enemies, they decapitated him and hung in head in the temple of Dagon. Extra-Biblical accounts record that the Philistines were known for the decapitation and severing of both hands of their enemies to demonstrate their victory over them and to account for their success in battle.
YHWH totally destroyed Dagon. He declared victory over the idol and completely incapacitated him.
Have the things that take my attention from God been totally destroyed or do they still stand in my temple?
Where do I spend my time? What am I sacrificing for? What desire is the strongest in my life? These places are where I will find my God.
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This post was adapted from my previous blog (I liked it too much to leave it…)
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