The Philistines took the Ark of God as spoil.
Who can take God’s power as spoil?
God could have completely destroyed every single one of them.
Instead, he struck them with emerods or tumors in their secret parts.
God does not always destroy our enemies,
but He does make it clear who He is.
Sometimes He is patient with that.
His timing is always perfect.
He allows the wicked to prosper and then, when He has used them for His purposes, He cuts them down or destroys them.
And the Philistines took the ark of God,
and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.
When the Philistines took the ark of God,
they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow,
behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
And when they arose early on the morrow morning,
behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground
before the ark of the Lord;
and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off
upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. 1 Samuel 5:1-4
The Ark of the Covenant represented God.
It was filled with things that exemplified Who He is and what He had done.
His mercy seat was on the outside and was not simply decor
but as a reminder of His mercy and its significance.
Likely, there are further rich meanings that we might not yet understand.
The Ark of the Covenant represented important aspects of God’s character
and what is important to Him.
And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid
round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna,
and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat;
of which we cannot now speak particularly. Hebrews 9:3-5
To elevate a useless idol is offensive to God.
I am and there is no other.
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58
Therefore, He is the Messiah Whom God sent for us.
See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me:
I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal:
neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand. Deuteronomy 32:3
In Exodus 32, Moses was spending time with God.
Aaron, told the people to bring their gold to the fire
and there he made a golden calf for them to worship.
False worship will end.
The idols who can neither see nor hear nor talk don’t stand a chance.
People have to worship something. It’s the way we all were made.
If we do not give our adoration to the Most High, there will be a void.
We could worship the sun or the moon or the stars
or another person or a god of stone or the memory of another or an ideology. Whatever people can find, they will worship.
If not, like Aaron and the Israelites, they will make their own golden calf.
Love the truth so you will not be led astray.
The ultimate in idols and false worship is just around the corner.
As we draw closer to the End of Time, we know that the Antichrist is near and even now, spirits like him, who will draw many through his skill and charm.
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said,
How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him:
but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
1 Kings 18:21