There’s a strange story in the Old Testament about when the Philistines—the enemies of the Israelites—stole the Ark of the Covenant after a battle. After they stole the Ark—a wooden box that symbolized the presence of the God of Israel—they put it in the temple of Dagon, the patron deity of the Philistines.
The night that the Ark was in the temple, the statue of Dagon that was in the temple with the Ark fell on its face before the Ark. Because of the fall, the statue’s hands broke off. This is the author’s way of telling us two things: (1) no god is comparable to the God of Israel (symbolized in the prostrate posture of the statue), and (2) all other gods are powerless compared to Israel’s God (symbolized in the hands being broken off of the statue).
The Philistines didn’t like this. No shocker here. Some other strange things started happening too because of the Ark being in their presence. Illnesses started to break-out among the people. The Philistines ended up hating the Ark. They wanted rid of it, so they sent it back to Israel.
One of the clear lessons of the story is that God can fight His own battles. He doesn’t need human help. He does, however, give us the wonderful privilege and opportunity to work alongside of Him. He doesn’t need us though. God can defeat the Philistines all on His own. He doesn’t need Israel’s help.
There’s another lesson in the story that is not as easy to catch. I find it interesting that when the Philistines start to experience the wrath of God, they don’t repent and swear allegiance to Him. Once God starts to get into their business (after all, they brough Him there), they get upset and send Him away.
I wonder how many people there are out there just like this. People who think that they want God in their lives, but they end us sending Him away because they don’t like what He’s up to. When we invite God in, He gets in our business. He doesn’t just leave things the way they are. He topples our idols and wreaks havoc on our priorities. This is what God does when we bring Him into our homes. We have to think carefully before inviting God in. We have to ask, “Am I willing and ready to have God topple my statues?
Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciples. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?…So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:25–28a; 33).
Don’t send God away once He gets in your business.
