But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. This time, Dagon’s head and both of his hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso remained. (1 Samuel 5:4)
To the Philistines, Dagon was not just a statue. He was considered their greatest god and the reason for their triumph over the Israelites. After defeating the Israelites, the Philistines brought the ark of the Lord into Dagon’s temple to bring honor and glory to him. Little did they know that Dagon would collapse in submission twice before the ark of the Lord! Their greatest god, the idol of their worship, had fallen before the might of the Lord!
In the same way that God conquered Dagon, so he was no longer worthy of worship, in our lives, God often breaks down our idols that we worship because we want to bring glory to ourselves and not Him. We tell ourselves that God is not enough and worship success and acceptance by others when we say to ourselves, “When I finally get this job promotion, then I will be content!” or “When the guy I like finally asks me out, then I will be truly happy!” We worship our possessions, our jobs, our relationships, making them our gods. Then, only when these things falter and God takes the security we have in these things away, do we give God the worship and honor and glory He deserves. And if we are honest with ourselves, we need these idols to be crushed for us to forsake them, because we enjoy these idols and don’t want to let them go.
Are there any idols in your life that you have been relying on to make it in life?
Ask God to break down your idols and turn to worship the Lord, because of the great things he has done and because he deserves our honor and glory. He is the Creator of the world, the Savior of a fallen and broken people, the Conqueror of sin and death, and a King who will come again to establish his everlasting throne!