7 And the men of Ashdod see that `it is' so, and have said, `The ark of the God of Israel doth not abide with us, for hard hath been His hand upon us, and upon Dagon our god.'
And Pharaoh calleth for Moses and for Aaron, and saith, `Make supplication unto Jehovah, that he turn aside the frogs from me, and from my people, and I send the people away, and they sacrifice to Jehovah.'
And Pharaoh saith, `I send you away, and ye have sacrificed to Jehovah your God in the wilderness, only go not very far off; make ye supplication for me;'
And the servants of Pharaoh say unto him, `Until when doth this `one' become a snare to us? send the men away, and they serve Jehovah their God; knowest thou not yet that Egypt hath perished?'
And the Egyptians are urgent on the people, hasting to send them away out of the land, for they said, `We are all dead;'
And the Ashdodites rise early on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah; and they take Dagon, and put it back to its place. And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him;
And the men of Beth-Shemesh say, `Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and unto whom doth He go up from us?'
And it is displeasing to David, because Jehovah hath made a breach upon Uzza, and one calleth that place `Breach of Uzza' unto this day. And David feareth God on that day, saying, `How do I bring in unto me the ark of God?' And David hath not turned aside the ark unto himself, unto the city of David, and turneth it aside unto the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
because at the first `it was' not ye, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, because we sought Him not according to the ordinance.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Samuel 5
Commentary on 1 Samuel 5 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 5
It is now time to enquire what has become of the ark of God; we cannot but think that we shall hear more of that sacred treasure. I should have thought the next news would have been that all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, had gathered together as one man, with a resolution to bring it back, or die in the attempt; but we find not any motion made of that kind, so little was there of zeal or courage left among them. Nay, we do not find that they desired a treaty with the Philistines about the ransom of it, or offered any thing in lieu of it. "It is gone, and let it go.' Many have softness enough to lament the loss of the ark that have not hardiness enough to take one step towards the recovery of it, any more than Israel here. If the ark will help itself it may, for they will not help it. Unworthy they were of the name of Israelites that could thus tamely part with the glory of Israel. God would therefore take the work into his own hands and plead his own cause, since men would not appear for him. We are told in this chapter,
1Sa 5:1-5
Here is,
1Sa 5:6-12
The downfall of Dagon (if the people had made a good use of it, and had been brought by it to repent of their idolatries and to humble themselves before the God of Israel and seek his face) might have prevented the vengeance which God here proceeds to take upon them for the indignities done to his ark, and their obstinate adherence to their idol, in defiance of the plainest conviction. Lord, when thy hand is lifted up they will not see, but they shall see, Isa. 26:11. And, if they will not see the glory, they shall feel the weight, of God's hand, for so the Philistines did. The hand of the Lord was heavy upon them (v. 6), and he not only convinced them of their folly, but severely chastised their insolence.