Psalm 78:66

Psalm 78:66

He beat back His enemies

In commenting on verses 63-64 we noted how the Philistines ransacked the land of Israel, killing young soldiers and bringing grief upon the women folk in the land. The wicked sons of Eli were killed, and the Ark of the Covenant was captured and removed from Shiloh, a city that never recovered from these disastrous events. This was the first time that corporate Israel suffered in such a way at the hands of their enemies, and we have noted the causes and the effects of their rebellion against the Lord God. Sadly, this was meant to be a warning shot across the bows, but the lessons were not learned. Even more severe conquests were to follow.

So, what happened to the Ark of God? Well, the Philistines took it to Ashdod, one of their major cities, located near the Mediterranean coast. Here they had built a temple to their god, Dagon, who was believed to be the son of El and the father of Baal. The Ark of the Covenant was taken into Dagon’s temple and set beside his statue. To their consternation, when the people of the city went to their temple the following day, they discovered that their god had fallen flat on his face in front of the Ark! His head and hands were broken off. Further judgements fell on the city as the people were afflicted with tumours and before long the whole nation was begging its leaders to return the Ark to Israel! See 1 Samuel 5.

This verse reminds us that God can deal with His enemies single-handed, His presence amongst them is enough to cause death and devastation. The incident has indeed brought everlasting shame upon those people. Today, the same area of land on the Mediterranean coast is still occupied by Philistines, it’s called Gaza. It is from the name Philistine that we get Palestine and thus the Palestinians! 

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