It is easy to scoff at the Philistines. Even the title, “Philistine,” today denotes some kind of barbarian. I remember well at the family dinner table when a very small, unobtrusive burp slightly escaped my lips and my 8-year-old son looked at me with disdain, mumbled “Philistine,” and resumed eating. Hilarious… and hurtful!
It is easy to scoff at the idols of the Philistines. They worshipped the god, Dagon, and other local Canaanite deities. Picturing oneself bowing down to a stone image is odd enough—imagine bowing down to Dagon makes it even more ridiculous. In some renditions, Dagon was envisioned as a fish-god. The Philistines were a sea-people, living on the coast of the Mediterranean; the worship of a god associated with the sea is an easy link. Archeology has found various images of a fish-deity, the head and arms of a man, the body of a great fish, and a connection with Dagon is clearly possible.
Dagon was the national deity of Philistine. While other gods were also present—Asherah, Ba’al and Moloch—Dagon was the chief god, described as the “father of the gods,” the lord of the land and the source of royal legitimacy. But above all, Dagon was the god of prosperity—he was the god to whom the Philistines looked for a rich harvest, success in warfare, increased fertility and economic affluence. Little is known about the worship practices required by Dagon, but the surrounding cultures advocated cult prostitution, self-inflicted bleeding, oaths and vows, immolation and even child sacrifice were typical.
Again, it is easy to scoff at such an idea—that a stone idol might grant you happiness, prosperity, satisfaction and peace. Until, that is, we experience the conviction of the Holy Spirit and realize that our own idols are not that different from the Philistines. Oh, maybe not a carved image, but just as silly when one thinks about it. Just as Dagon insisted his followers sacrifice what is near and dear to them, with the hope of future blessings, so our modern idols demand with false promises. Idols of financial security, family safety, fame and glory, health and happiness; worthy goals on their own, yet deadly, infantile and impotent as gods.
The first two commandments demand that the Lord’s people “shall have no other gods before me” and that they “shall make no graven image” (Exodus Chapter 20). Unfortunately, as the great Protestant theologian, John Calvin, put it, “our hearts are idol-factories”; we create idols for ourselves out of nothing. We have a need to worship, and the sin in our hearts direct us away from God and to anything else—thus, comes idols from our hearts.
Yet, in the end, every idol is demolished by our Lord. The salvation we have in Jesus Christ frees us from the grip of idolatry and replaces our hearts-of-stone with hearts-of-flesh. The end of every idol is before us, submissive and destroyed by our Savior. Our worship is part of the idol-cleansing which God is doing in His children’s lives. Join us this week in worship, as through His Word, Jesus again challenges our idols and replaces them with His goodness, His grace, His salvation.
For worship this week, read 1 Samuel 5:1-5.
- Review the capture of the Ark in chapter 4. Why did God allow the Ark to be captured? What lesson was he teaching the Israelites?
- Why would the Philistines have placed the Ark of God in the “House of Dagon” (note: the “house of Dagon” would be his temple)?
- What is symbolized by Dagon being found “face downward on the ground” before the Ark of God (verse 3)? What implication can we draw about all idols? Can you give an example of an idol in your life where the true purpose is to serve Christ?
- What is symbolized by how the Philistines found Dagon the second day? What is God’s point about idols here? Why is this different than the first day?
- It is easy to scoff at the Philistines for their idols, but we have idols as well. What might it look like for your idols to be substituted into this story?
By Henry Knapp