51 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod . 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon . 3 When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning , behold , Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord . So they took Dagon and set him in his place again . 4 But when they arose early the next morning , behold , Dagon had fallen on 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 on the threshold ; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 Therefore e neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day .
6 Now the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites , and He ravaged them and smote them with tumors , both Ashdod and its territories . 7 When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so , they said , "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god ." 8 So they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said , "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel ?" And they said , "Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath ." And they brought the ark of the God of Israel around. 9 After they had brought it around , the hand of the Lord was against the city with very great confusion ; and He smote the men of the city , both young and old , so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron . And as the ark of God came to Ekron the Ekronites cried out, saying , "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people ." 11 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said , "Send away the ark of the God of Israel , and let it return to its own place , so that it will not kill us and our people ." For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city ; the hand of God was very heavy there . 12 And the men who did not die were smitten with tumors and the cry of the city went up to heaven .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Samuel 5:1-30
Commentary on 1 Samuel 5:1-5
(Read 1 Samuel 5:1-5)
See the ark's triumph over Dagon. Thus the kingdom of Satan will certainly fall before the kingdom of Christ, error before truth, profaneness before godliness, and corruption before grace in the hearts of the faithful. When the interests of religion seem to be ready to sink, even then we may be confident that the day of their triumph will come. When Christ, the true Ark of the covenant, really enters the heart of fallen man, which is indeed Satan's temple, all idols will fall, every endeavour to set them up again will be vain, sin will be forsaken, and unrighteous gain restored; the Lord will claim and possess the throne. But pride, self-love, and worldly lusts, though dethroned and crucified, still remain within us, like the stump of Dagon. Let us watch and pray that they may not prevail. Let us seek to have them more entirely destroyed.
Commentary on 1 Samuel 5:6-12
(Read 1 Samuel 5:6-12)
The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Philistines; he not only convinced them of their folly, but severely chastised their insolence. Yet they would not renounce Dagon; and instead of seeking God's mercy, they desired to get clear of his ark. Carnal hearts, when they smart under the judgments of God, would rather, if it were possible, put him far from them, than enter into covenant or communion with him, and seek him for their friend. But their devices to escape the Divine judgments only increase them. Those that fight against God will soon have enough of it.