Dagon's Defeat

By Mary Vee
I Samuel 5

A Philistine's Journal

What a great battle. We defeated the Israelites without any effort. I don't know what they did to upset their God, but I do know we showed them.

In fact, to teach them a lesson we took their ark of the covenant of their Lord to show we were stronger. The more gods in our temple, the better.


I was chosen to help carry the Israelite ark back to our city, Ashdod, about  twenty-five miles away. See, if we take the ark away from the Israelites, then they won't have their God, we will. No way will the Israelites ever defeat us, now. They will be our slaves forever.


When we reached Ashdod, my commander told us to put the ark of the covenant of God in our temple. We carried it to the door. One of the priests greeted us. "What have you there?"


"We have the Israelites ark of the covenant of the Lord. The commander wants it here."


The priest smiled. "Good then we will have double protection. Our god Dagon and now the Israelite's ark. Set it over here next to Dagon."


I brushed my hands together and looked at our work. Yes, now we will always win. 


The next morning the priest ran to the commander. His eyes were wide, he babbled some words, the poor fellow was really upset. The commander sent us to the temple to help him. Inside the temple I saw what upset the priest. Our god, Dagon, had fallen...right in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

What did Dagon think he was doing?  Bowing down to the Isrealite God?


We stood there with our mouths wide open. How could Dagon have fallen? It is solid and strong. We couldn't figure it out. Well, a couple of us lifted Dagon back to it's standing position, patted the priest on the shoulder to calm him, and left.


The next morning the priest came running like a wild mad man. He waved his arms back and forth and chattered something about Dagon. A group of us dropped everything and ran to the temple with the priest. He took us into the meeting room and pointed.


In front of our faces--our shocked-heart stopping faces--was Dagon fallen on its face to the ground, right before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off and had landed on the threshold.  Only Dagon's torso was left together. 


How did the Israelite's ark of the covenant of the Lord do that? I don't want to go near that ark again. The Israelite God is too powerful for me. No Philistine ever stepped foot on the temple threshold again, for fear of being killed.


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1. Did the Philistines really take God away from the Israelites?
2. What did the Philistines think when they took the ark of the covenant of the Lord to their town?
3. Where did they put the ark?
4. What happened the next morning?
5. What happened the second morning?
6. Who did it?
7. What did the Philistines learn?

The Second Greatest Ark

By Mary Vee
Exodus 2:3-4

The first great ark mentioned was Noah's ark.  Years later, a much smaller ark, able to hold only one baby, saved an entire nation. Through this nation, our Messiah was born.

Jochebed woke to the her baby's coo.  "You wake me with a song, little one." She scooped him into her arms and pressed him against her body.  She wrapped her finger around his tiny hand. "Yahweh, please protect him."

Her husband had left for work already.  Amram and Jochebed couldn't afford to arouse any suspicions with the neighbors or soldiers.  If the Egyptian soldiers knew their son was alive, they would murder him--like all the other Israelite baby boys.

"Yahweh has taught you to be quiet." A hand touched her shoulder.  She turned toward her daughter. "Miriam, you're awake?"

"Yes, can I hold him?"  Miriam reached for her baby brother.  "I can keep him quiet."

Jochebed sat in the chair. She watched Miriam dance with her little brother and hum her special song for him.  When the song ended, Jochebed stood and sighed.  "It is time.  Are you ready?"

"I'll carry his ark."  Miriam grabbed her shawl and wrapped it around the tiny ark and her body.

Jochebed raised her chin and flung her shawl around her little son and her body.  "Stay close. No one must notice us. Put soiled clothes in the ark so it looks like we going to the river to wash them. Drip the material over the side to hide the pitch."

Miriam ran to prepare the ark.  "I'm ready.  Are you sure this will work?  Will Yahweh save my brother?"

Jochebed rubbed her sons smooth head. "Yahweh loves your brother.  He will do what is best."  She opened the door and looked outside then motioned Miriam to follow.

The two walked down the village street like they would for any other laundry day.  They talked along their journey and lowered their heads when a soldier came near, as was expected.  Deep inside, Jochebed's heart pounded.  Her daughter and baby son kept the secret.  I am so blessed.  Thank you, Yahweh.

Once Jochebed reached the river, she pulled back the bulrushes.  She glanced to her left and right. "No one is here, yet.  Good. Miriam, dump the soiled clothes on the ground and set the ark in the shallow water."

"I will."  She scooped the clothes out onto bent leaves.  "It's ready."

Jochebed uncovered her baby.  "Sleep now, little one.  Yahweh will protect you." She gently laid him in the ark and stroke his face. "I will always love you."  She stepped into the water and steadied the ark. He cooed one more time, yawned and closed his eyes. Jochebed set the lid on top and pushed the ark into the current.

A tear dripped down her cheek. "Yahweh, send him safely to a home."   Jochebed turned back to Miriam.  "He will be safe."

"Can I watch him, now?"

"Yes.  I'll wash the clothes in the river.  Stay hidden in the bulrushes."

Miriam weaved through the shore plants out of her mother's sight.  Jochebed pulled the first soiled cloth and soaked it in the river.  She glanced up from her work in time to see the little ark float away.

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God had a special plan for this baby.  Soldiers managed to kill all the other Israelite baby boys, but they missed this one. Pharaoh allowed the older boys to live. He decided to only kill the male babies. Despite his decision, God stepped in and made a way for this baby to live. How do you think Jochebed knew to make an ark for her son?  How did Jochebed and Miriam successfully travel with the baby and the ark to the river? Do you know what name would be given to this baby? Write your answers in the comment box.

Several weeks ago in this blog, Joseph told his brothers, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." Genesis 50:20.  Pharaoh and the soldiers meant  the killing of the babies for evil, but God had a good, in order that the Israelite nation would see their need to leave Egypt, follow a leader chosen by God, and go home.