Victory to Victory | 7 Day DevotionalSýnishorn

Day Three: Every Idol Will Crumble

In 1 Samuel chapter 5, we read how the Philistines captured the Ark of the covenant and brought it into the House of Dagon, the god they worshiped. The Philistines believed that Dagon was responsible for their crops and grain. Due to Israel’s wickedness, the Lord handed the Israelite army into the hands of the Philistines. The Philistines took the ark of the covenant and they set it up next to Dagon, symbolizing at the very least, Dagon and Yahweh were equals. The very next morning the people arose, went to the temple and found Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. The people lifted Dagon back in his place, only to find the statue the next morning face downward on the ground and the head of Dagon and both his hands cut off and lying on the threshold. The Lord wanted the Philistines to know their idol was not His equal.

This occurrence was not the only time in scripture where Yahweh dealt with the false god of the Philistines. When Samson revealed the source of his strength to Delilah, the Philistines were able to capture Samson and gouge his eyes out. In Judges 16:23-24, the Philistines attributed this victory to their god, Dagon. The scripture says: “Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, ‘Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.’ 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, ‘Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.’” As we continue to read the rest of the story, we see how God answered Samson’s last prayer to have enough strength to bring the house down where the Philistines were celebrating, resulting in the death of more than 3000 Philistines.

In Exodus 20:3 the Lord tells His people, “You shall have no other gods before me.” We may not have shrines and statues, but anything we build ourselves and put our trust in can become idolatry in our hearts. We can make money as an idol, success as an idol, and even our own desires as an idol. As the Lord brought these scriptures to our minds once again, we began to write the song “No Name is Higher.” The Lord is calling us to trust Him wholeheartedly and lean not on our own understanding. When the earth is shaking, the Lord is unshakable. When everything around us seems to be withering away, the Lord’s word endures forever. May we turn toward the Lord completely and trust that He is forever on the throne.