The next couple chapters deal not with a person, but with an object – the Ark of the Covenant. The story line reminds me of the movie “The Raiders of the Lost Ark.” The Philistines capture the Ark of God, and naturally they place it in the temple beside the idol Dagon, one of their gods. The Philistines believed in the God of Israel, but only as one of many gods. Since they conquered Israel, Israel’s god became one of their gods. They were truly a polytheistic people, believing in many gods.
But the Lord shows them that He is the one true God. First he decapitates the idol of Dagon in the middle of the night. Then, He hits the people of that town with terrible tumors. The people of one town tried to send the Ark to another, but everyone was afraid of the God of Israel.
God demonstrated that He truly is the One and Only God. He is not One of many. There is one way to Him, and that is through His only Son, Jesus Christ our Savior! He is God, there is no other!