Dagon's Ups and Downs

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon

1 Samuel 5:1-5

And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.…

When the civil power was joined with the spiritual, and the arm of flesh came in to patronise and to take into connection with itself the arm of God's strength, then it was that the ark was borne away in triumph by its foes. Another lesson may be learned from the incident before us. When the Philistines had beaten the Israelites in battle, and captured the sacred chest called the ark, they boasted and gloried as though they had defeated God Himself. This touched at once the honour of Jehovah, and because He is a jealous God this boded good for Israel. The fact that God is a jealous God has often a terrible side to us, for it leads to our chastisement when we grieve Him; this, indeed, led to the defeat of Israel. But it has also a bright side towards us, for His jealousy flames against His foes even more terribly than against His friends. Now, then, whenever at any time infidelity or superstition shall so prevail as to discourage your minds, take you comfort out of this — that in all these God's honour is compromised. Have they blasphemed His name? Then He will protect that name. Where the living God comes into the soul, Dagon, or the idol god of sin and worldliness, must go down.

I. THE COMING BACK OF THE ARK INTO DAGON'S TEMPLE WAS AN APT SIMILE OF THE COMING OF CHRIST INTO THE SOUL. Dagon, according to the best information, warn the fish god of Philistia; perhaps borrowed from the Sidonians and men of Tyre, whose main business was upon the sea, and who therefore invented a marina deity. The upper part of Dagon was a man or woman, and the lower part of the idol was carved like a fish. We get a very good idea of it from the common notion of the fictitious, fabulous creature called a mermaid. Dagon was just a merman or mermaid; only, of course, there was no pretence of his being alive. He was a carved image. The temple at Ashdod was, perhaps, the cathedral of Dagon, the chief shrine of his worship; and there he sat erect upon the high altar with pompous surroundings. The ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts was a small wooden box overlaid with gold, by no means a very cumbersome or bulky matter, but nevertheless very sacred, because it had a representative character, and symbolised the covenant of God.

1. We have now Dagon and the ark in the same temple, sin and grace in the same heart, but this state of things cannot long abide. No man can serve two masters, and even if he could then two masters would not agree to be so served. The two great principles of sin and grace will not abide in peace with each other, they are as opposite as fire and water.

2. Very likely your Dagon is in the shape of self-righteousness. I shall call it Dagon, for it is nothing better: one of the worst idols in the whole world is the idol of self. The self-righteous man boasts that he is as good as other people, if not rather better, although he is not a Christian.

3. Perhaps the man never had much of this vainglorious self-righteousness, but he served the Dagon of besetting and beloved sin.

4. Now the parallel may be run a little further: This fall of Dagon very soon began to be perceived.

5. Now, what happened on the night mentioned in the text? Dagon fell before the ark when it was all quiet and still in the temple. Thought is the channel of immense benefit to the soul. Shut the temple doors and let all be still, and then will the Holy Ghost work wonders in the soul.

II. THE SETTING UP OF DAGON THE SECOND TIME, AND HIS SECOND FALL, VERY WELL REPRESENT THE BATTLE GOING ON IN THE SOUL BETWEEN SIN AND GRACE.

1. Even thus Satan and the flesh come into our souls and try be set our fallen Dagon up again with soma measure of success. It often happens that in young converts there comes a period when it looks as if they had altogether apostatized and gone back to their former ways. It seems as if the work of God were not real in their souls, and grace was not triumphant. Do you wonder at it? I have ceased to wonder. The gospel is preached, and the man accepts it, and there is a marvellous difference in him; but when he goes among his old companions, although he is resolved not to fall into his former sins, they try him very severely. He is assailed in a thousand ways! I have known a man when he has been tempted to go into evil company refuse again, and again, and again. His tempters have laughed at him, and he has borne it all, but at last be has lost his temper; and as soon as the enemies have seen his passion boiling up they have cried out, "Ah, there you are! We have got you." At such a time as that the poor man is apt to cry, "Alas, I cannot be a believer, or else I should not have done this." Now, all this is a violent attempt of Satan and the flesh to set Dagon up again. Sometimes they do for a time set Dagon up again and cause great sorrow in the soul. The wan. darers have come back, weeping and sighing, to own that they have dishonoured their profession: and what has been the result in the long run? Why, they bare had more humility, more tenderness of heart, more love to Christ, more gratitude, than they had before.

2. Now, notice that although they again set Dagon up, he had to go down again with a worse fall. The idol's head was gone, and even so the reigning power of sin is utterly broken and destroyed, its beauty, its cunning, its glory are all dashed to atoms. This is the result of the grace of God, and the sure result of it, if it comes into the soul, however long the conflict may continue, and however desperate the efforts of Satan to regain his empire. O, believer, sin may trouble thee, but it shall not tyrannize over thee. Then, too, the hands of Dagon were broken off, and even thus the active power, the working power of sin is taken away. Both the palms of the idol's hands were cut off upon the threshold, so that he had not a hand left. Neither right-handed sin nor left-handed sin shall remain in the believer when God's sanctifying grace fetches Dagon down.

3. This happened, too, if you notice, very speedily; for we are told a second time that, when they arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face.

III. THOUGH THE FISH GOD WAS THUS MAIMED AND BROKEN, YET THE STUMP OF DAGON WAS LEFT TO HIM. The original Hebrew is, "Only Dagon was left to him," or "only the fish": only the fishy part remained. The head and the upper portions were broken away, there remained only the fishy tail of Dagon, and that was all: but that was not broken.

1. Now, this is the business which brings us so much sorrow — that the stump of Dagon is left to him. There is the old corruption within us, and there is no use denying it, because denying it will put us off our guard, will make many of the puzzles of life to be quite unanswerable, and often bring upon us great confusion of soul. The other law is within us as well as the law of grace.

2. The stump of Dagon is still left; and because it is left, dear friends, it is a thing to be watched against, for though that stony stump of Dagon would not grow in the Philistine temple, yet they would make a new image, and exalt it again, and bow before it as before. Alas, the stump of sin within us is not a slab of stone, but full of vitality, like the tree cut down, of which Job said, "At the scent of water it will bud." Leave the sin that is in you to itself, and let temptation come in the way, and you shall see that which will blind your eyes with weeping.

IV. THAT THOUGH THE STUMP OF DAGON WAS NOT TAKEN OUT OF THE PHILISTINE TEMPLE WE MAY GO BEYOND THE HISTORY AND REJOICE THAT IT WILL BE TAKEN FROM OUR HEARTS. The day is coming, brother, sister, in which there will be no more inclination in you to sin than there is in an angel. John Bunyan represents Mercy as laughing in her sleep. She had a dream, she said; and she laughed because of the great favours which were yet to be bestowed upon her. Well, ii some of you were to dream tonight that the great thing which I have spoken of had actually happened to you, so that you were completely free from all tendency to sin, would not you also be as them that dream and laugh for very joy. Think of it — no more cause lot watchfulness, no more need of weeping over the day's sin before you fall asleep at night; no more sin to confess, no devil to tempt you, no worldly care, no lusting, no envy, no depression of spirit, no unbelief, nothing of the kind — will not this be a very large part of the joy of heaven?

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