1 Samuel Chapter 5
The Ark of the Covenant Among the Philistines
A. The Ark in the Philistine City of Ashdod
(1 Samuel 5:1–5)
“Then the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.”
The Philistines, after defeating Israel in battle, carried the Ark of the Covenant to Ashdod, one of their principal cities, and placed it in the temple of their god Dagon. They imagined the Ark as a captured trophy of war, a symbol that their deity had triumphed over the God of Israel. The act of setting the Ark beside Dagon reflected their arrogance and idolatry, as they attempted to equate the living God with a lifeless idol made by men’s hands.
Dagon was a prominent Philistine deity, often depicted as half man and half fish, symbolizing fertility and life-giving powers of nature. Pagan worship of such idols revealed humanity’s foolish attempt to explain the blessings of creation without acknowledging the Creator. As the apostle Paul later wrote, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Romans 1:22–23).
However, God would not allow His glory to be mocked. When the priests of Dagon came into the temple the next morning, they found their god fallen upon his face before the Ark of the LORD. This was no coincidence. It was a divine demonstration that the LORD alone is God, and that even the false gods of the nations must bow before Him. The God of Israel did not need an army to defend His name, for He is able to glorify Himself among the nations.
The following morning, when Dagon was found once more fallen, but this time shattered—his head and hands broken off on the threshold—the humiliation was complete. The head represents wisdom and authority, and the hands represent power and action. God symbolically demonstrated that Dagon possessed neither wisdom, power, nor authority before the LORD of Hosts. Only the torso, or stump, of the idol remained, lying powerless before the presence of God.
The Philistines, confronted with clear evidence of the superiority of the LORD, should have repented and turned from their idols. Instead, they hardened their hearts and made a religious tradition out of superstition. From that time forward, their priests avoided stepping on the threshold of Dagon’s temple, showing that they preferred to cling to their empty religion rather than acknowledge the truth. Their behavior mirrored the stubbornness of mankind described in John 3:19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
Instead of surrendering to the God of Israel, they tried to preserve the dignity of their false god. They lifted Dagon up, glued him back together, and set him again in his place. This scene is an enduring picture of human pride and idolatry—men continually repairing and defending the false gods that continually fall before the living God. It is far easier to patch up a broken idol than to humble oneself before the LORD and change one’s heart and life.
This passage reminds believers that God does not need to be defended; He defends His own name and reveals His glory even among unbelievers. The Philistines’ god was powerless, but the God of Israel was and is sovereign over all. As it is written in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
(1 Samuel 5:6–8)
“But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.”
After humiliating Dagon in his own temple, the LORD now struck the Philistines themselves. The text declares that “the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them”, an expression denoting the direct and severe judgment of God. The people of Ashdod, who had exalted themselves against the LORD, suddenly found themselves under divine affliction. What they could not learn from the fallen idol, they would now learn through personal suffering. When men ignore God’s gentle warnings, He often increases the intensity of His dealings, for His desire is not destruction but repentance. As it is written in Proverbs 29:1, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
The people were ravaged and struck with “tumors,” translated in the King James Version as “emerods.” The Hebrew word ophalim comes from a root meaning “to swell,” which indicates painful and inflamed growths. Many scholars have suggested that these were hemorrhoidal tumors, while others believe they were the swelling buboes characteristic of the bubonic plague. The ancient Jewish rabbis viewed the affliction as a painful humiliation, symbolic of God striking the Philistines in the very area associated with filth and waste—an intentional mockery of their idol Dagon, whose worship involved degrading fertility rituals.
Some interpreters, drawing from historical accounts, connect this plague to an infestation of rodents that carried disease. The Greek Septuagint version of this passage even adds that “mice sprang up in their land, and there was great destruction and death in the city.” This would explain why, later in 1 Samuel 6:5, the Philistines made golden images of both tumors and mice to send back with the Ark. The plague not only struck their bodies but also their economy and agriculture, as rats and mice likely devoured their stored grain and infested their cities. This was no random natural event—it was the sovereign hand of God punishing the nation that dared to profane His holiness.
The Philistines themselves recognized the divine cause of their suffering. They confessed, “The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.” In their own words, they admitted that the hand of the God of Israel was against both them and their false deity. Yet, instead of bowing in humility, they sought only to rid themselves of the presence of God. They gathered the lords of the Philistines and decided to move the Ark from Ashdod to Gath, hoping to shift the problem elsewhere.
This action reveals the hardness of the human heart. Rather than repentance, they sought relief. Instead of submission, they chose evasion. Like many who are confronted with God’s truth today, they preferred to remove the conviction rather than remove the sin. They believed that by sending the Ark away, they could escape the judgment of God. But as Psalm 139:7–8 declares, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” There is no fleeing from the presence of the Almighty.
The lesson is clear: man cannot drive God away by transferring the problem. The Philistines’ attempt to send the Ark to Gath was like a sinner trying to escape conviction by distraction. They did not want to be reconciled to God; they merely wanted relief from the consequences of their rebellion. Their action demonstrated the same blindness that pervades the human race—acknowledging divine power yet refusing divine authority.
The judgment upon Ashdod shows the holiness and sovereignty of the LORD. When His name is blasphemed and His glory profaned, He vindicates Himself. Yet even in judgment, God’s purpose is redemptive. He was revealing Himself not only to Israel but to the Philistines, showing that He alone is the living God.
As the prophet Isaiah declared, “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you” (Isaiah 59:1–2). The same hand that was heavy in judgment could have been extended in mercy had the Philistines repented. But they chose superstition over submission, self-preservation over salvation.
B. The Ark of God in Gath and Ekron
(1 Samuel 5:9)
“And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.”
When the Ark was carried from Ashdod to Gath, the people of that city fared no better. The hand of the LORD was again heavy against them, bringing great destruction. The same plague that afflicted Ashdod now came upon Gath, demonstrating that the God of Israel reigns supreme not merely over one city or one people, but over all the earth. The text emphasizes that “He smote the men of the city, both small and great”, showing that God’s judgment made no distinction between rank, wealth, or age. His holiness and justice reached every person who shared in the Philistines’ rebellion and idolatry.
The repeated phrase “the hand of the LORD” throughout this chapter highlights His active and personal involvement. This was no coincidence, no act of nature—it was divine retribution. As He had struck Egypt with plagues during the Exodus, now He struck the Philistines. The same hand that once delivered Israel from bondage was now defending His glory from profanation. Gath, the city later known as the home of Goliath, was now humbled under the might of the living God. As the Psalmist later wrote, “The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands” (Psalm 9:16).
The plague’s recurrence proved that the problem was not local but spiritual. It was not confined to geography but to the people’s rebellion against God. The Philistines thought they could control the presence of God by moving the Ark, but they failed to understand that His power cannot be contained, managed, or relocated at man’s will.
(1 Samuel 5:10–12)
“Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.”
After seeing what had happened in Gath, the Philistines moved the Ark to Ekron, another of their five principal cities. But the moment the Ark arrived, fear seized the people. The Ekronites cried out in terror, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people!” Their reaction revealed the spreading panic throughout Philistia. Each city that received the Ark suffered devastation. Instead of repentance, they resorted to desperate self-preservation.
The Ekronites recognized that this was no ordinary disaster. The text declares, “There was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.” Death swept through the population, and those who survived were afflicted with the same excruciating tumors. Their agony and fear were so great that “the cry of the city went up to heaven.” This expression signifies the depth of their suffering and the intensity of divine judgment. God’s wrath against idolatry was being publicly displayed before the nations. He was showing both Israel and the Philistines that His holiness cannot be trifled with.
Yet even amid such terror, the Philistines still refused to humble themselves before the true and living God. Instead, they said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place.” They wanted to remove the symbol of God’s presence rather than remove their sin. This is the same response that mankind often has toward divine truth—they would rather push God away than repent. They treated the Ark like a dangerous burden, passing it from city to city like a “hot coal,” hoping to rid themselves of its consequences while refusing its message.
Had they repented and sought the mercy of the God of Israel, the Ark might have become a blessing rather than a curse. The same principle applies today: the presence of God brings comfort and life to the humble, but judgment and fear to the proud. The Apostle Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 2:15–16, “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.” The gospel of Christ, like the Ark of God, reveals the true condition of every heart—it blesses the believing and condemns the rebellious.
The Philistines’ repeated refusal to repent demonstrates the hardness of man’s heart apart from grace. Despite seeing Dagon humiliated, despite being struck by divine judgment, and despite hearing the cry of death in their own cities, they still refused to yield. Their fear was real, but their repentance was not. They desired deliverance from punishment, not from sin. Their actions are a solemn warning that knowing about God’s power is not the same as surrendering to His authority.
