Ark of God Travels with Destruction in Path

A search of  I Samuel 5 (KJV)

The Philistines traveled from Ebenezer to Ashdod with the ark of God in their possession.  In Ashdod, they set the ark beside their god, Dagon.  The following morning the people found that Dagon had fallen face-down before the ark of God.  The people returned Dagon to his place.  On the following morning, the people discovered Dagon had fallen again.  This time he was face-down before the ark with his head and hands cut off with “…only the stump of Dagon…left to him” (v. 4).  “Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come  into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day” (v. 5).

The hand of the real God was upon the people of Ashdod  in an unfavorable way for He destroyed them and their god and ‘smote them with emerods’ (v. 6).  The men of Ashdod realized it was the god of Israel destroying them and inquired of the lords of the Philistines about what they should do.  The lords said to have the ark sent to Gath.  The ark was, therefore, sent to Gath with God’s hand falling against that city “…with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city , both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts” (v. 9).

Following the city of Gath, the people sent the ark of God to Ekron where “…the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.  So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that they slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.  And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven” (vs. 10-12).