The Philistines placed the ark of the covenant in the temple of Dagon, next to an idol of Dagon. They must have believed that they had not only defeated Israel in battle, but had also defeated their God. They put the ark in their temple as a trophy, thinking they had defeated Jehovah.

But they were in for a surprise. The next morning they found their idol of Dagon knocked over by the strong presence and power of God. So they set it up again, but the next morning they found their idol not only toppled over, but his head and hands were broken off! (I Samuel 5:1-4) God’s presence was upon the ark and He refused to be put on display in the temple of a false god. Until the Philistines returned the ark to Israel, they were judged with terrible plagues (I Samuel 5:6-12).

What we need today is a strong presence of the Holy Spirit across our land. Our hope is for God to arise and His enemies to be scattered (Psalm 68:1). Our nation was in a declining and precarious position in the 1960’s, losing battles overseas and experiencing riots at home. Then starting around 1967, God graciously sent us revival and spiritual awakening and one result was that things in our nation became more peaceful and prosperous. The power of God’s presence is well able to make Dagon fall. We must draw near to God and seek Him and He will draw near to us. Drawing closer to God results in receiving more solutions and answers; drawing away from Him results in more problems (James 4:8).

Dagon was a god of war and the Philistines were a warring people. They started wars, not for self-defense, but for aggression. This is relevant because we have seen many political wars in our nation during the last few years. And now we are seeing rioting, looting, burning of buildings and anarchy in the streets (reminiscent of the 1960’s). But I believe our turning to God with all our hearts and speaking His Word will bring Dagon down. Read Ephesians 6:10-18 and employ your weapons! Persevere in prayer and speaking God’s Word and watch God expose the lies that need to be exposed. Pray and believe with me for a mighty visitation of God’s Spirit that will pull down, throw down, and destroy the works of the devil and again build and plant heavenly blessings in our nation (Jeremiah 1:10).

This is Pentecost weekend. What better time to be welcoming and expecting an outpouring of God’s Spirit?

More on this subject next week