Woe to us, brethren, when we set up any other kind of god other than the one true God. It could be that God will send it toppling. What if that god was the approval of man? Money? Power? Control? We’ve all seen those gods tumble down from high places. They roll their creators underneath until the remains of both smash on the ground. What if that god was the government itself? Should we attempt to hoist the government back onto the shoulders of our beloved Lord?

As a younger man living in Mississippi, I loved to listen to the variety of talk radio options. One that I enjoyed listening to quite a bit was American Family Radio. I enjoyed the programs where listeners were able to call in and ask/answer questions from the host. As a relatively new believer, I gravitated toward programming like this. It sharpened my wits and helped me to better handle my own faith. On one such program, the host discussed some recent changes in the government. Those changes concerned him. A listener called in and said, “the government has fallen off God’s shoulders, and it’s up to us to place it back on.” There was an obvious allusion to Isaiah 9:6, and some obvious misunderstandings of who God is and who we are. Recently, my congregation has been going through 1 Samuel. Our study in chapter 5 made me think back to that radio program.

The Philistines captured the ark of the covenant and they set it up in their temple next to Dagon – who was a kind of mermaid. The Philistines wanted to celebrate the victory the actual God gave them over his own people. So, they displayed the ark – representing God’s presence, next to Dagon, a stone mermaid. When they come back the next morning, Dagon is on the ground. And notice the language – “they took Dagon and put him back in his place” What kind of God needs others to put it in his place?

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