1 Samuel 5

1 Samuel 5

Wiersbe - God will not reveal His power on behalf of His sinning people, but He will not allow His glory to be mocked or His Name to be defiled by a smirking enemy. The lords of the Philistines added the ark to their other religious relics in their heathen temple and put Jehovah on the same level as their fish-god Dagon. Of course, God stands high above all other gods! (Borrow Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament) So they took Dagon and set him in his place again - Is this not almost comical? Finite puny men forced to reposition their puny "non-god!" At its core idolatry is utter foolishness. It is amazing that intelligent men can be duped to this degree. Paul actually gives us the pathogenesis of this "devolution" of religion in Romans 1 writing For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools (HOW FOOLISH MUST THEY HAVE FELT TO HAVE TO PICK DAGON OFF THE FLOOR!), 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. (AND EVEN PERVERSIONS OF NORMAL NATURAL WITH THEIR RIDICULOUS DAGON - MAN'S HEAD, FISH'S BODY!) 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (THE PAGAN NATIONS AROUND ISRAEL WERE SO PERVERTED IN THEIR SEXUAL PRACTICES THAT ONE CANNOT EVEN WRITE ABOUT THEM WITHOUT CRINGING!) 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:18-32) F B