God’s Hand Lays Heavy on the Philistines

Text: 1 Samuel 5: 1-12

Reflection and Question: : I was well into my adulthood when I read somewhere the suggestion that Israelites might have crept into the temple of Dagon at night to tip over and vandalize the idol of the Philistine god. Likewise, the notes for this passage in the Oxford Annotated New Revised Standard Version of the Bible suggest that the references to tumors here and mice in the next chapter mean bubonic plague could have been moving though that area. The writer sees these as the actions of God. How is the hand of God at work in your life?

Prayer: God of Power and Might, spare us, we pray, from Your heavy hand upon us. Rather than making our lives hard, as you did for the Philistines, lighten our load and show us Your way. Amen.

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).