Behold Our King: the books of 1 and 2 Samuel

Learning from Desperation
1 Samuel 5:6–12

Paul J. Bucknell

The ark’s movement through three Philistine cities repeats one unmistakable lesson: the Lord is real, active, and not safely ignored.

2) Learning From Desperation (1 Samuel 5:6-12)

6 Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and smote them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. 7 When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” 8 So they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” And they brought the ark of the God of Israel around. 9 And it came about that after they had brought it around, the hand of the LORD was against the city with very great confusion; and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it happened as the ark of God came to Ekron that the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people.” 11 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 And the men who did not die were smitten with tumors and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Lesson #1 Repeat twice (1-5)

While in the first five verses we saw the contest between gods was over–Dagon ends up bowing before the Ark of the Covenant (which had no form or idol). If anyone has any questions about whether God is powerful enough to defend Himself, they find the answer there. It is not just a single event, but the twice-repeated events that increase their growing fear of the Israelite God. In this, they are, at once, admitting:

Scientific-method diagram showing repeated testing and analysis
The repeated events at Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron led the Philistines toward a clear conclusion.

Lesson #2 Repeats Thrice (5:6-12)

God clearly uses repetition to help the Philistines (and us) draw the right conclusions. It closely resembles the scientific method of learning facts. What was the one common factor in all three of these ‘experimental situations’? Clearly, it was the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. From the city of Ashdod to Gath, and then to Ekron, the Ark of the Covenant was sent. By the end, they had identified the special presence of God as the only significant factor in each case. Each time the Ark of the Covenant was taken to a certain city, all kinds of terrible trouble broke out.

Ashdod: 6 Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and smote them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. 7 When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.”

Gath: And it came about that after they had brought it around, the hand of the LORD was against the city with very great confusion; and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them.

Ekron: “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people.” 11 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

Map locating Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron in Philistine territory
The ark moved among Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron as the same lesson was repeated.

The Philistines are similar to everyone else; they do not know God and only understand Him as blind men groping. When things become unpleasant, they stop. This is evident when they are alarmed by disease, panic, or death, rightly suspecting God’s involvement. However, we are often slow to learn. Despite all our knowledge today, we should adopt God’s better ways and live better lives. Even many Christians lack reverence for God; they disbelieve His words and cheat, lust, lie, covet by living beyond their means, use drugs, steal, become jealous, pursue selfish money schemes, dishonor parents, and more. The key point here is to understand why God seems to treat His people harshly.

There is a world of difference between being a child of God and of the world. However, at times that difference is minimized from the outside because both despise God’s truth. We see the threat of judgment against the churches in Revelation 2-3. God made us for moral purity, both in heart, mind and body. If single, we are to reserve intimacy for a future spouse, if indeed God would have you get married. God says we are to control our sexual desires, trusting His plan is best.

Now let us return to the statistics, research, and science–supposed knowledge. What does it teach us? It shows that sexual lusts drive people to do things they shouldn't, by abusing others and themselves. It also teaches that if one engages in intimacy with anyone other than your spouse or intended spouse, you risk picking up one of these horrible diseases, some of which are deadly. Should God protect the Christian involved in such heinous activities? Protect is not the right word. God has protected us by providing counsel. He tells us what is best through His Word–quite contrary to those who think God’s truth holds us back from the best. God protects us by giving us His Word. How foolish to blame God when we revile Him by turning away from His counsel and implying that He hasn’t taken care of us! Do you see how both the world and the lukewarm church share in God’s judgments? If someone continues to live in rebellion, then he or she should assume, no matter what you claim to believe, that you are to be judged with the world and are not truly His. This brings us to the next point.

God’s judgment for His people differs greatly from that of the world, although there are similarities at certain points, as seen above.

“For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17)

In other words, God has promised to judge His people more severely if necessary to preserve their faith. Practically, this means God will reveal your sin and pain to you and others to call you back to Himself through repentance, rather than just allowing you to keep falling into sin. God will draw His people back to Himself. I wonder if, right now, there are some among them whom God is calling back to Himself.

Judgment will come to all sinners. Do not test God on this. If you want a good marriage, follow God’s teachings. The same applies to family, finances, etc. Even though the world has seen God's judgments against immorality and other sins, they still encourage people to commit them. This is foolish. If you can’t believe God, look at the evidence! Even that could lead to a better life. The Philistines learned their lessons, but our supposed ‘modern’ world isn't very wise in this area. They don’t want to link God with morals. What a pity! They care little for the poor, no matter what they say in speeches.

Here are some lies that even believers live by, but with dangerous results.

Let us remember that truth leads us to guidance, health, closeness with God, and victory, while disregarding His Word—no matter what you say you believe—brings troubles of all kinds. Verse 5:6 says that “Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the…” God is not to be dismissed, and His words are to be treasured. The further from the truth we drift, and the longer it continues, the more serious the consequences.