Day 100 and Dagon

Day 100

OT Reading: 1 Samuel 4-6

NT Reading: Luke 12:35-59

Day 100. A big CONGRATULATIONS if you've made it with me this far. It has not been easy, and sometimes it has not been the most interesting, but we've pressed on nonetheless. I wish I could say, "From here on out it will be smooth sailing" but that would be a lie. But in the words of the incomparable Dory from Finding Nemo..."Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming..."

In today's reading I'm reminded that God has a sense of humor. The Israelites had gotten it in their minds that they could use the Ark of the Covenant like a magic trinket that would ensure them victory on the battlefield. They found out the hard way that they were very, very wrong. The Ark is captured by their enemies, the Philistines, and taken into the temple of their own god by the name of Dagon.

That's when things start to get funny. The next day everyone wakes up and instead of being in his normal place, Dagon is on the ground, essentially bowing down to the Ark of the Covenant. The people quickly set him upright only to have the same thing happen the next day. Dagon, face down before the Ark.

In all likelihood, this statue was not a small trinket. Typical statues of deities placed in temples would have been as tall, or taller than a man and either carved from stone or made from precious metals. It is quite likely this weighed several hundred pounds. Yet, no one heard a crash during the night. There was no dramatic explosion involved. Instead, each night God just offered a quiet reminder of who was really God after all.

In my own mind, I go so far as to think that maybe God quietly smirked to himself as he did this. Enjoying his little prank on the Philistines as they come to see the condition of their "god."

From there God uses tumors, rats and more to get the Ark of the Covenant back to the Israelites....you know, some of the things we've come to expect. But this is just one of those moments where I love to see God's sense of humor, and even playful attitude on display.