Commentary: Toppling Dagon

Among the Philistines, Dagon was ‘father of the gods’; a cherished idol, they associated with abundant harvests. The Dagonites were so arrogant in their ignorance and rambunctious in their unrighteousness that when they defeated Israel and captured the Ark of God Almighty, they set it at the feet of their idol in Ashdod, one of their prominent cities.

Having celebrated victory over their arch rival, the people of Ashdod feasted and feted before going to bed, only to wake up to find that the chunk of wood they called Dagon had fallen on its face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. They hurriedly retrieved their beloved dummy and put it back in its place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, again fallen on its face on the ground before the Ark of the LORD.

Remember this. King David left the Ark of God in the house of Obededom the Gittite for three months and the Lord blessed that entire household. But not so the Philistines. They suffered unimaginable curses, were defeated by their enemies, and many died of mysterious tumours when they captured the Ark and set it beneath their god. YHWH is above all else. That eternal fact missed them.

Dagonites of today are no different from the Philistines of old. Unfortunately, many of them are in the church; they honour their money, their titles, positions and their abilities above holiness and even above God Himself.

They dismiss the sacred things of God, even His very Word. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all good things will be added, means zero to them. To their ears, ‘the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof’ is gibberish of the highest order.

Although all the wealth in the world belongs to God, Dagonites credit themselves, their links, abilities and schemes for the portion of wealth they manage to amass  through wicked, deceptive and corrupt means, and dalliances with the occult.

Selectively, they elevate sections of Scriptures that are acceptable to them and reject the parts that honour God and are beyond their human understanding.

From pretty painted pulpits, they preach about blessings, favour and prosperity, but not the Cross, Salvation or divine judgement and eternal damnation. They preach freedom, but not the discipline, divine order, Holy ordinances or laws. They accept and embrace the Ark of the Covenant, but not the specifications that come with it. In their self-righteousness, they place it at the feet of what they choose to honour.

They hoard wealth, but do not feed the hungry, provide for the widowed and orphans or bring the tithe into the Lord’s storehouses. They ignore the wisdom in obedience being better than sacrifice.

They reject the notion that God has power over the earth and will shift or shake it at its core for His own purposes. They find an explanation for every act of God. They blame blazing forest fires on climate change, floods on the consequences of environmental action, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on mining, heatwaves or faultline movements beneath the earth’s surface.

This kind of reasoning discounts and seeks to diminish the power of God and promotes the creation as an independent operation outside of divine control.

It is an old, well-rehearsed ploy of the enemy to use the wealth of the world to entice humanity to dishonour God and to position them for their ultimate destruction.

So brazen is Satan that he tried the very same ploy with Jesus, the Son of God. He knew that Jesus was hungry after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, so he offered Him bread. That that offer was spurned did not put off the devil. He attacked Jesus’ faith in God and when that too failed, he increased the pressure. He tried to dazzle the eyes of the Son of God with the world’s idea of riches. He took Jesus up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their riches, glitz and glamour. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Jesus summarily dismissed him, slammed the door shut and backed it up with Scripture : ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Men and women who have swallowed Satan’s bait, hook, line and sinker, have set themselves up as idols, following the leading of the master deceiver. The way to hell is indeed paved with good intentions, and fleshly lust. Those who choose this way will not easily relinquish their chosen kingdoms unless they genuinely repent.

Know this. These kingdoms will come crashing down. Only the things of God will last. God will disease and disfigure the most glamorous, wreck luxury vehicles, wipe out ill-gotten gains, demolish hillside mansions and penthouses, and obliterate global conglomerates. Most importantly, He also has the power to permanently banish souls.

Committed Dagonites will resist the toppling of their empires or the shame of their exposure. Some will commit suicide or choose to continue with the buffoonery with the hope that they can quietly extricate themselves from the scrutiny of public view, cover their demise and move right along.

Dagonites who appear to attain wealth at any cost will discover soon enough that banks full of money cannot purchase eternal life. There is no repentance, or place for material wealth, in the grave.

The enemy is on a relentless mission to block the knowledge of God from ordinary men by blinding the weak with mammon—dazzling wealth and dizzying ambitions.

But there is only one certain outcome when you choose to dishonour God’s Word, which He honours above His very Name, and it is eternal judgement. All nations of the earth, wealthy or not, will eventually discover that God is the Lord, and He will reign regardless of men, their fleshly ambitions, and hand-carved idols. He will make rich those who serve Him and His wealth cannot be bought or diminished, even as it flows down to the third and fourth generations.

Those who know their God will walk humbly, graciously accept His offer of divine grace, and do mighty exploits in His Name. With God, it is a zero-sum mission. It is a matter of losing all to gain all.