Just Let God Be God

1 Samuel 5:3 
“When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord!”

Don’t trifle with the God of Israel. He cannot be domesticated and he will not be subjugated. He does not share equal time with other gods. He does not consult for a fee. His expectation is simple, just let him be GOD.

A Touch of Irony (1 Samuel 5)
Dagon was the fish-god of the Philistines, probably the chief god of their pantheon. When the Philistines (mortal enemies of Israel) captured the Ark of God in a notorious battle (1 Sam 4) they placed it in Dagon’s temple in Ashdod. It was meant to be a prize of their triumph.

Less than 24 hours later when Dagon’s priests entered the temple, they found the fish god fallen off his pedestal, face to the ground in front of God’s Ark. They lifted their humiliated god back onto his perch. Embarrassing!

The scene was repeated the very next day only this time Dagon’s hands and head were broken off. Just his fishy torso remained; an inert mass prostrate before the majestic symbol of the living God. Philistia panicked.

Lesson #1: You can’t put God on your trophy shelf and celebrate your conquest. He is not a collectable. God, who revealed himself in Jesus, overwhelms all other gods. If you welcome him into your life, everything else must bow down. If you are in a workplace, a family or a season of your life where it seems like God has been downgraded and shoved into a corner with other competing gods, don’t despair. Wait. Something is going to break. Heads are going to roll.

A Touch of Agony (1 Samuel 4)
Prior to this Dagon episode, it was Israel who needed to learn to let God be God. They presumed they could manoeuvre God’s power to achieve their own ends. Wrong!

When the battle was not going well, some bright sparks in Israel decide to bring the Ark of God to the front lines of war. Things went from bad to worse and the Ark was captured. All Israel went into mourning. It was as if God had died. Their offense was great and their pain was deep.

Lesson #2: You can’t put God on a leash and make him do tricks for you. He is not on your side! God is on God’s side. You and I are welcome to join him on his terms. But don’t suppose that God is some sort of pit-bull you can put on a lead to help you get your way.

Reject the small god of culture. Dismiss all notions of “god on the shelf” and “god on the leash”. Let God be God. Untamed, unboxed, unpredictable!

Questions

• When are you most tempted to domesticate God? How does this express itself in your life?
• Do you have a personal story about God that illustrates a contemporary touch of “irony” or a touch of “agony”?
• Please leave a comment.

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