Crashing Down

Oh that we could ever fully grasp the magnitude, power, and glory of our risen King Jesus!  What a mighty God we truly serve!  I am convinced more and more just how living and active the Word of God is.  It truly is sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing bone and marrow.  There is so much life, truly life abundant, in the Lord!  I had read something recently that the Spirit has continued to stir in my heart.  Please take a moment to read 1 Samuel 5:1-4 before proceeding.

During this time, the Philistines had captured the ark of the Lord.  Now the ark contained the 10 Commandments, but it also represented the very presence of God.  The ark was with them on their desert wanderings (Numbers 10:17, 33).  It was carried with them into battle (Joshua 6).  The ark was of great importance to the people of God, but now it had been taken.

So when the Philistines took it, they placed in the house of Dagon.  Dagon was the god of the Philistines.  It was some type of a fish-god with "dag" meaning "fish."  Dagon's worshippers had a deep affection to their supposed deity.  It's interesting to me that they would put the ark of the Lord right next to Dagon, but they did and they went to bed.

The next morning they arose to find Dagon had fallen and facedown before the ark of the Lord.  So they resituated him and stood him back up and then proceeded to bed.  Again the next morning, they awoke to find Dagon having fallen over and facedown before the ark of the Lord, but this time his head and hands had been cut off.

Now it's helpful to remember, this was a statue of sorts!  How does a non-living thing fall down and facedown for that matter?  Ironic?  Convenient?  I think not!  Now sure, maybe an angel brushed by and whacked it really hard with it's wing.  Maybe whoever set it up to begin with didn't do a very good job.  Or perhaps it's just true what God has said, that He alone is to be worshipped and exalted.  Maybe it really is true that there is no god like our God!  Maybe there's a good chance that the presence of God is so powerful it causes demons to flee and lame men to walk and the dead to rise and statues to fall and crumble and giants to be slain!  Yes it is truth!

Oh people of the living God, are you getting this?! When I read this, I couldn't help but laugh in reverential fear at the powerful, all-consuming presence of God. I was quickly reminded of the Scripture that says that every knee must bow and every tongue must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Yes He truly is! There is none that can stand up against Him! No fake deity or arrogant people could ever demote God, the One and only true God!

Oh that we would see the magnificent beauty in this, God cannot and will not be mocked!  God is omnipotent, meaning all-powerful.  There is nothing in life, whether in the world or in our lives, that can alter the character of God.  He is unchanging and faithful to the end!  1 Corinthians 4:20 says this:  "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power."

May this reign true in our lives this day!  May we walk in the truth, the truth of God's Word.  May His presence be so thick upon you that it causes idols to come crashing down!  May the crowns in our lives that we have taken time to treasure and polish and set up be thrown down at the feet of the holy One!  May the Jesus in us cause demons to shudder and flee!  May the power of God's manifest presence in our lives change and rearrange everything!  May dagons be destroyed in Jesus name and may each of our knees be the ones to bow, may our tongues confess, that yes Jesus, You alone are Lord!