To Encourage You

1 Samuel 5:1-4 “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 Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold.”

One of the sure signs that the presence of God has entered a soul is that soul’s inability to continue in the state it once was.  Before God comes in, before He enters the door, things were one way, but now they are different.   A person without Christ is dead inside, spiritually speaking.  They can come to a place where they can sin with impunity.  They are perfectly happy to live without Christ as a part of their life.  They can lie, cheat, and steal and be good with it.  Their conscience can become so seared that there seems to be absolutely no remorse regardless of what evil thing they do.  Haven’t you heard people say of some criminals “They don’t seem to have a conscience.”  That same thing can be true of anyone who persists in their sin. In fact, because they may be ignorant of God’s Word, they may not have a very well-defined understanding (or care, for that matter) of what God sees as sin.  But when Christ enters a life that all changes. 

There is a shadow of this found in the account above regarding the Philistines and the ark of God.  In this account, the Philistines had just won a great victory over the nation of Israel.  In that victory they had captured the most sacred article in all Israel, the ark of the covenant. It was the one thing that most represented God’s presence.  To show their dominance over Israel and Israel’s God, they set the ark up in the very same place as their god Dagon.  However, the next day they found Dagon lying face down before the ark. So, they propped Dagon back up, and the next day the same result, except this time both Dagon’s head and hands had been cut off.  With these symbols God was demonstrating that there would be no other gods before Him.  The same holds true for a person’s heart. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).  Of course, sometimes true believers will try to serve two masters, but there will always be an internal spiritual conflict if that occurs in the form of such things as inner turmoil, guilt, or a troubled heart.  More than that, the Lord has His ways of bringing external turmoil, as well, when believers aren’t giving Him His rightful due.  You see, “the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6). 

In 1 Corinthians we see a specific example of this in Paul’s teaching on the Lord’s supper.  It is during this ceremony that believers are to remember Christ and what He has done for them. The bread represents His broken body and the juice His blood that was shed on the cross.  Every time a Christian participates in this ceremony, he or she is to examine themselves. In essence, they are to ask themselves if there are any “Dagons” vying for the allegiance of their heart.  Our bodies are the temple of the Lord and He alone is to occupy that temple.  Our heart is to be fully consecrated to Him. In Corinth, there were those who were outwardly reflecting allegiance to Christ by their participation in the Lord’s supper, but inwardly they weren’t honoring Him. There were other gods they had propped up to compete with Him. But that’s the action of a fool, and God will not be mocked.  That’s why Paul said to the Corinthians “anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Corinthians 11:29-30).

So, is the Lord alone seated in his holy temple, “for do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).  Or is Dagon or some other god seated there as well.  If so, and you are truly a Christian, only turmoil can result.  Conversely, if this describes you and there is no turmoil, you may want to ask yourself if God dwells within you at all.  Indeed, “If you are left without discipline . . .  then you are illegitimate children and not sons” (Hebrews 12:6). You see, either Dagon is on the throne, or the Lord is.  Any other situation cannot endure, for the true and living God will not tolerate such competition.