Bible Study for Today

Contrast the pagan god of the Philistines and the living God.
In Judges 5:2, Dagon is mentioned. Ugaritic literature identifies this deity as a god of grain or vegetation, whose image had the lower body of a fish and upper body of a man. Dagon seems to have been the leader of the Philistine pantheon (Judg. 16:23) and is noted to be the father of Baal. The placing of the ark of God in the temple of Dagon was supposed to be a sign of Dagon’s power and Yahweh’s inferiority, a visual representation that the god of the Philistines was victorious over the God of the Hebrews.
The next morning the Philistines found Dagon had “fallen on its face” (1 Sam. 5:3). Ironically, God Himself overturned the supposed supremacy of Dagon by having Dagon fallen over, as if paying homage to the Lord. The same thing happened the next morning, but this time the “head…hands were broken off” (v.4). The first display of God’s authority over Dagon was not perceived. God’s second display of authority, the cutting off of Dagon’s head and hands, was a common sign that the enemy was dead (Judg. 7:25; 8:6; 1 Sam.17:54; 31:9; 2 Sam. 4:12), and was to be understood as God’s divine judgment on the false idol. Because the head and hands of Dagon fell on the threshold, superstition developed that it was cursed; therefore, the Philistines would not tread on it (v. 5).
In contrast to the hands of Dagon being cut off, symbolizing his helplessness against the power of Yahweh, the Lord was pictured to be actively involved in judging the Philistines. “The hand of the LORD was heavy” on the people (v. 6). The imagery of God’s hand is found throughout the ark narrative (4:8; 5:6, 7, 9, 11; 6:3, 5, 9). It has been suggested that “tumors” refers to the sores or boils caused by an epidemic of the bubonic plague carried by rats (6:4, 5). The spread of the disease and its deadly effect (5:6, 9, 12; 6:11, 17) make this a likely view.

Reading for Today:

1 Samuel 4:1–5:12

Psalm 54:1-7

Proverbs 15:12-13

Luke 21:1-19

Notes:
1 Samuel 4:4 dwells between the cherubim. A repeated phrase used to describe the Lord (see 2 Sam. 6:2; 2 Kin. 19:15; 1 Chr. 13:6; Ps. 80:1; 99:1; Is. 37:16). It spoke of His sovereign majesty. Hophni and Phinehas. These were the two wicked sons of Eli (2:12–17, 27–37), of whom it was said that they “did not know the LORD” (2:12). The fact that they were mentioned together recalls the prophecy that they would die together (2:34).
1 Samuel 4:11 the ark of God was captured. In spite of their hopes to manipulate God into giving them the victory, Israel was defeated and the ark fell into the hands of the Philistines. The view of having the ark of God being equivalent to having control of God, possessed both by Israel and then the Philistines, is to be contrasted with the power and providence of God in the remaining narrative.
1 Samuel 4:21 Ichabod…The glory has departed. Due primarily to the loss of the ark, the symbol of God’s presence, Phinehas’s wife names her child Ichabod, meaning either “Where is the glory?” or “no glory.” To the Hebrew, “glory” was often used to refer to God’s presence; hence, the text means “Where is God?” The word “departed” carries the idea of having gone into exile. Thus, to the people of Israel, the capturing of the ark was a symbol that God had gone into exile. Although this was the mind-set of Israel, the text narrative will reveal that God was present, even when He disciplined His people.
Psalm 54:1 by Your name. In the ancient world, a person’s name was essentially the person himself. Here, God’s name includes His covenant protection. vindicate. David requests that God will execute justice for him, as in a court trial when a defendant is declared not guilty.
Luke 21:1 the treasury. Thirteen chests with funnel-shaped openings stood in the court of the women. Each was labeled for a specific use, and donations were given accordingly.
Luke 21:5 donations. Wealthy people gave gifts of gold sculpture, golden plaques, and other treasures to the temple. Herod had donated a golden vine with clusters of golden grapes nearly 6 feet tall. The gifts were displayed on the walls and suspended in the portico. They constituted an unimaginable collection of wealth. All of these riches were looted by the Romans when the temple was destroyed (v. 6).