God's Power

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

GOD’S POWER

1 Samuel 5:1-8

5:1 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. 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! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. 5 That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon's temple at Ashdod step on the threshold. 6 The LORD's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors.   7 When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god." 8 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, "What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?"

“Thou shall have no other gods before me” is exactly what was going on when they put the ark of God next to a false idol. The Philistines had no idea about the power of God, but they were about to find out. This Dagon was nothing but an idol made by the hands of men, and as an idol, it was an inanimate object incapable of movement. Yet, in the morning, there it was, face down in front of the ark of God. The power of God is over all the earth. He caused Mt Sinai to tremble in front of all Israel. He rained fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah. The power of the Most High God, who created all things, could move an idol made by man, causing it to worship before the ark of God. This is our guiding principle. We should never be too invested in any material things of this world, for anything that we have made is still subject to the Lord God Almighty's power. He can, if he desires, cause anything to be laid to the ground. He can, if he wishes, cause an earthquake to level a whole city, or bring about some other disaster upon the wicked. God demonstrates his mighty power every day if we are looking. We are indeed supposed to tend the garden, so to speak, that is, we should be respectful of the creation of God that he put us to live in. Yet, we also must understand that he is the one who sustains the earth and, in fact, sustains our lives. Maybe we get a little lazy about  His majestic power and sovereign control or authority over all things. Maybe we put too much value on things, even on our homes, or dare we think even on the building we label as the church. Some churches have become so invested in their building and all the fancy things within that, maybe they have missed the mark. Is God impressed with the mega churches with their fine things? Who do we worship, the idols of our things or our buildings, or do we worship the living God who dwells within all the universe? We do not think it matters how fancy or comfortable we make our church. What matters is that we fall face down before the presence of God. Of course, we do not actually lie prostrate during our worship services in the sanctuary of God. But we do wonder how respectful we are of his presence upon us. Because God caused an idol to fall down before him, even break it apart, we should take note of his power in our lives, and he is our God, who cares for us. Let us bow our hearts in full worship as we live each day, appreciating our very breath as he sustains us, and when we enter his house, let us bow before God Almighty, respecting God’s power.