What to Do with the Ark?

Although the Philistines of Ashdod remain mired in their pagan devotion to Dagon, they gradually see at least part of the truth. They come to understand that ” ‘[Yahweh’s] hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.’ ” They are quite correct that God is causing their afflictions. But the solution, as they see it, is not to abandon worship of Dagon and turn to God. Rather, they want to get rid of the ark so that they can settle back into their “blessed” life under Dagon. “They were constrained to acknowledge [God’s] power and dominion, and confess themselves within His jurisdiction, and yet they would not renounce Dagon and submit to [God],” Matthew Henry writes.

Of course, the ark is a Philistine national trophy, and the residents of Ashdod are not free to dispose of it as they please. Therefore, they summon the lords of the five principal Philistine cities to ask them what should be done with the ark. These leaders are obviously quite pleased to have the ark in Philistine possession and do not want to surrender it. Perhaps, they think, simply moving it to another Philistine city, away from the temple of Dagon, will solve the problem. They seem to believe that Dagon has come up short in a battle between regional deities. Such thinking leads to the conclusion that if they can simply move the ark away from Dagon’s temple—separating the two combatants, as it were—things should settle down. But they fail to see that they are dealing not just with “the God of Israel” but with the sovereign King of all creation, the God who is above all gods. His conflict is not with Dagon but with the unbelieving Philistines who exalt Dagon above Him.

Thus, when the ark is moved to the Philistine city of Gath, the same devastation occurs, both sudden death and tumors among all the men of the city, from the greatest to the least. The residents of Gath, therefore, send the ark on to the city of Ekron. But death and illness strike Ekron even before the ark arrives, causing the populace to rise up in protest even as the transfer is being carried out. They call for another meeting of the Philistine lords and virtually demand that the ark be sent back to Israel. Thus, the people prove themselves wiser than their leaders, who, like Pharaoh, are clinging to their prize even as their people suffer and die, and their nation crumbles around them.