The Heavy Hand of God (Part 1 of 2)

The soldiers lose a whole nation suffers a loss today on Truth for Life will find out how God remains victorious even when his people are soundly defeated, hears Alastair back with part one of a message titled the heavy hand of God.

For Samuel five from verse one 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 data and set it up beside data and when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day behold Dagan had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord.

So they took Dagan put them back in his place, but when they rose early on. The next morning, behold, Dagan had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord and ahead of Dagan in both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold.

Only the trunk of Dagan was left to him. This is why the priests of Dagan and all who enter the house of Dagan do not tread on the threshold of Dagan and Ashdod to this day the hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod and the terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.

And when the men of Ashdod saw how things where they said the ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us for his hand is hard against us and against Dagan, our God, so the sentence gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, what shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel, the answered led the ark of the God of Israel will be brought around to gas so they brought the ark of the God of Israel, there but after they brought it around the hand of the Lord was against the city causing a very great panic and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on so they send the ark of God. But as soon as the ark of God came to act from the people of Akron cried out, they have brought around to as the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people. They send therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people, for there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy.

There, the man who did not die were struck with tumors and this cry of the city went up to heaven. Amen. Lord speak to me, that I may speak in living echoes of your tone as you have taught so let me teach.

We are erring children lost and low amen. Well, I know you've been keenly waiting for us to get back to first Samuel chapter 5, because if you been reading it. You surely must have said yourself, what are we to make of this chapter. After all I were dealing with something that happened a very long time ago 11th centuries BC happen far away from here and it is quite clearly an unrepeatable incident. So there is no immediate points of obvious application because quite frankly, it just seems so unusual and so far gone.

How then do we approach such a passage.

Well, the way in which we approach it is in light of the rest of the Bible we say to one another that the way to interpret the Bible is by interpreting the Bible the way to teach the Bible is by teaching the Bible and where one passage may not be just as accessible as another we will, as we read our Bibles find that other parts will enable us to approach it correctly and so this week I have had our Romans chapter 15 in verse four, the very forefront of my mind. If you turn to. You will see that Paul, there having just quoted from the sounds immediately says to his readers by way of explanation whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. He's referring to the Old Testament. In other words, the Old Testament Scriptures were not only for then they are all so for now the Old Testament Scriptures are meant to teach as now, so that is our starting point.

We know that for Samuel five is a challenge students both in understanding and in applying but we do know that it was there. It is there in order that we might learn from it now, and that all Scripture as Paul says to Timothy is is profitable for instruction, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so if we stand far enough back from the least we can say this, that in this record of the people of God being soundly defeated God himself was not defeated and God is not and cannot be defeated. This was a lesson that was to be learned both by his people and also by these philistine folks know as a way through the passage. I simply have four headings in my notes number one. The ark captured number two Dagon toppled number three. The Philistines terrified number four God glorified right and so that's to help me. If it helps you then were were both delighted to first of all I need to do a little back at work here back into chapter 4. The art has been captured that the Israelites had suffered a dramatic and disastrous military defeat and you will notice that the writer is driving home the fact that the ark is captured and has been captured. When we read the Bible. Obviously there's no underlining there's no yellow marker that the writer has been able to use answer one of the ways in which we can determine a point of emphasis is by repetition and when you read chapter 4, you realize that this capture of the art is being driven home by the writer of the art was captured in verse 11 down in verse 21 and when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured in verse 22 the glory has departure for the ark of God has been captured in chapter 5 in verse one, when the Philistines captured the ark of God's okay with it. We've got it that the flag of the ark of God has been captured is is a very very important point and that's why the writer focuses our attention on it now. You remember that the place of the art had been brought in by the people themselves at the beginning of chapter 4 are they had gone out to battle against the Philistines.

They had been roundly defeated and as a result of that, the got together with the elders, verse three of chapter 4 and he said I wonder why it is that the Lord has defeated us today before the Philistines and then somebody said why don't we take the ark up with as the ark of the covenant of the Lord so that it it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies while good.

How can a wooden box.

Save them from the power of their enemies couldn't know the answer was only God could save them from their enemies, but what happened to them was that they did what religious people often do and that is that they began to treat this issue of significance as a mascot or as a kind of lucky charm. If I have this with me then maybe everything will go well.

I could hamper my wingman or I could hang around my neck. I could do whatever it is with let's take the ark battled to fix them.

And when the ark of the Lord were told in the middle of chapter 4 entered into the camp there was a mighty shout and the earth actually moved underneath the excitement that filled the place showed there was more than silenced in the defeat that followed as a result of the defeat. There is despair that fills Shiloh a despair that is absolutely driven home when we look at the sad picture of the life of Phineas in childbirth. She borrowed and gave birth. Verse 19 as pains came upon her the that the midwives trying to encourage her said now I can tell this is going badly but don't be afraid because you have borne a son, but she didn't answer.

Pay attention. Why, because her concern was even more significant, and she said let's call her child Ichabod, because the glory of God has departed. Verse 21 is the part. Verse 22 and has departed that we read the history of Israel are probably only two points in the in their history where it appears that they may not survive as a nation. One is years later in 587 BC when the destruction of the fall of Jerusalem takes place and the people of God are carried into exile. Remember in XL they are saying to one another. I think this is probably a hopeless cause. If that is one incident and the other is surely this will when it would seem as though all has now been lost.

The glory has departed the Arctic has been captured. Meanwhile, despair in Shiloh and delight in Ashdod we learned that the Philistines who now have this ark in their possession bring it to Ashdod which is one of five cities Philistines cities in that area. There where they had representative Lord sends sovereigns and they had some kind of civil and military jurisdiction in the way in which the writer describes this for us is I'm sure in order to give us an understanding of the apparent complete control that the Philistines now notice the verse when the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it they took the ark of God, they brought it into the house. They set it up beside the. In other words, in all of these movements.

They were essentially saying to themselves and everybody else we have vanquished these people and their God. Interestingly, they decide to put it in the pantheon.

If you like.

They decide to set it up beside the egg.

They don't destroy it, that it didn't strike you as you read this, is it what is important thing and be done with while I tell you why, because nursing protests in other words, they they would never have they would never have said our God is the only God because they didn't believe that we believe in multiple gods or this was the big God. Dagan was the daddy of them all, but he wasn't the only one that they could call upon, and so here it served insofar as this is an idol that represents another God.

We won't destroy it will will accommodate.

Incidentally, that's was syncretism always dies as they about the Queen this week. I think about her, probably every week and as I as I thought about her and about her coronation in 1953 and when they when the Archbishop gave two of the Bible and said this is the most important book in the whole world. This is the royal law. These are the oracles of God, and he gave it to the Queen who in a position as sovereign is the defender of the faith, not the definite article if Charles follows her to the throne. He has already made it known that he will not be the defender of the faith.

He will be the defender of faith or the defender of faiths because he's a centrist think about is not what our friends say what's up with you Christians that you have to say that your God is the only God, why can't you be nice like the Baha'i or like the Hindus or like the Muslims there. To give you a shot in their pantheon. Why are you so exclusive. Do you really believe that all these other guards will bow down before the true and living God answer yes. Do you really believe that one day at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father to the living God to Yahweh to the God who here is having his glory dragged around in a pagan temple.

The answer is yes and why is that because were belligerent know because of who Jesus is. Because of the historical foundation because of the reality of his atoning death because the triumph of his resurrection because of the evidence that is there to be examined, but these people. They don't care about that. What will do is will put it up here and and it will be nice.

People like to come and visit the temple of Dagan and it'll be another little attraction for the houses of the Museum of the Bible this week. What an amazing place in so many different elements in it and as I walked around I said to myself, you know that's really what they wanted to do. They want to have all these little bits and pieces but not to the living God, to themselves. Now is I would imagine that they wouldn't want to keep it to themselves they would want visitors to the to the house of Dagon. Maybe somebody went out and put up a few signs around Ashdod said tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock I will be opening up the house of Dagon and there we invite you to come and see our latest trophy.

If you come are you will to see magnificent victory over those Israelites tomorrow morning 10 o'clock be there.

Be on time in their minds. You see this box was just an idle like their image of Dagon, Dagon, incidentally, was a kind of fertility God is a kind of vegetarian God of vegan fertility God's allegory rebellions vegan nothing at all and just having fun with you just a little bit, but it is quite fascinating is that in every generation. Whenever people begin to worship the creature rather than the creator.

There's nothing new under the sun soon as a living God has been removed. We have to substitute it with something or someone. Hence Dagan no. The art has been captured but now the Dagan has been toppled when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day something that happened during the night. We have no description of what happened during the night but the fact that something happened during the night is obvious in the morning, keep that thought in mind, I'm going to come back to it. What we could not see during the night becomes revealed in the morning so they took Dagan because he had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord and they put him back in his place something kind of pathetically comedic about this is not as common and always at thanks for coming by to see our latest exhibit. We if you just hold it there at the rope for a moment or two, just getting Dagan heat he's had a bad evening and were going to put them. We just put them back up backup where where he belongs there.

He is you see is slightly above the box that we brought from the battlefield, but that there there you are there you are, and the day ends in verse four new day dawns. But when they rose early in the next morning. Things were even worse because Dagan had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord and ahead of Dagan and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold.

Only the trunk of Dagan was left ahead while pathetic. The notion of idolatry is prophetic. When God says you not supposed to have items you're only supposed to worship me.

He says that because he wants us to live as he created us. Every idle that we are tempted to set up his self deplete. It offers putting cannot satisfy. It says here is peace and only leads to chaos.

You can follow through on your own look at this now no hands, no head, just a trunk just a stump. I remember when in these brutal days in warfare. This would be taken one of the ways in which the described the fact that they had vanquished the enemy's to cut off their hands cut off their feet and in certain cases, to decapitate them think. Later on David to Goliath of Gath you come before me and defied the armies of the living God. I will cut your head up the way your God Dagan had his head cut that's the point that's being made, and as a result of that, they make a decision. The priests of Dagan have decided that since the only way they could get into the house of Dagan was somehow or another to navigate their way over the. The bits and pieces of him that was was lying around, you know, when you're with your grandchildren and they do that thing in the street and you can step on the line is if you step on the thing then something happens to you.

I don't know what it is but that's not what they decided they think about it there. There idolize on the ground instead of becoming the occasion of a reappraisal, let's just think about this for a minute. Now, instead of a reappraisal he turn it into a ritual that will do is will make this the this is what will do we come to the threshold to the point of departure between the set. The secular and the sacred. We will always do this.

What a strange thing to put in as a ritual so that you could remember for years to come. The fact that your thing was lying on the ground.

No head couldn't think, never good, no hands for everybody and all to see. We serve a God who is not contained in the box like a genie in a bottle to do the possessors bidding. God is the living sovereign God who will not be restrained and cannot be defeated or listing the Truth for Life with Alister Bragg were learning just how important it is to know and understand God's word, we neglected to our own peril as the Israelites found out at Truth for Life. Our desire is to make clear and relevant Bible teaching available without cost.

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