Daily Devotional for Wednesday, June 21

The People of Gath amd Ekron Are Afflicted

“And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven,” 1 Samuel 5:12.

God watches and evaluates the choices of men and moves as needed to accomplish His purposes.  Israel’s sin and specifically the sin of Eli’s household who held the priesthood, abounded.  God allowed the Philistines to afflict Israel as judgement.  The pagan Philistine nation was God’s tool as He executed his hand of judgement.  This passage is one of those few times in the Bible where we see recorded how God dealt with the tool after He is done using it.  

The Philistines had no regard for the creator God.  Their national religion consisted of idolatry, primarily consisting of the worship of Dagon. History tells us that they were often mercenary, acting as enforcement agents for the Egyptian empire. They treated the ark of the covenant as a mere object, a prize that had been won over an inferior God.  That is easily done with an idol that you select.  When you worship what you have established with your own hand, it is easy to determine the form that worship will take and how it is appropriate to treat your sacred items. 

The Philistines quickly realized that they were dealing with power beyond their control when the plague of emerods turned fatal in Gath and then in Ekron. The Philistine council decided to send the Ark back to Israel even as their people’s cries for mercy reached the ears of heaven.  They had afflicted God’s people and God was now afflicting them in ways they could never have imagined. In Ecclesiastes 11, the preacher wrote, encouraging men to pursue their heart and follow their eyes, but to remember that God will hold everyone to account for everything. 

THOUGHT: Commit today to stop doing the things that are bringing God’s judgement into your life.

David Thompson