1 Samuel 5:6 Commentary and Bible Study

Even after the humiliation of Dagon, the ark was not returned; not yet. The Philistines still thought they could get some advantage from keeping it. They still thought they could capture the ark of God and have it as an additional god who would simply adjust himself to the new ownership. But the God of Israel is not like the idols of the pagans. He is not indifferent to the character and behaviour of his worshippers. How careful Israel had to be in all their approaches to Jehovah, and how carefully they had to conform with the statutes and ceremonies of the Mosaic law. To enter into the holy place at any other time than the Day of Atonement meant immediate death for the high priest (Leviticus 16:2). The Philistines understood none of these things. God cannot be worshipped by those who are ignorant of his being. The Philistines were used to getting the externals of worship right with their idols. They were not used to having a God who read their innermost thoughts and attitudes. They were out of their depth, and God was going to show them in language which they could understand, how angry he was with them. They were afflicted and the nature of the affliction was very unpleasant. They suffered from emerods, that is haemorrhoids or tumours. This was extremely painful. The men of Ashdod pleaded for the ark of the covenant to be moved on to Gath, and the same thing happened there. Again it was moved to Ekron, and now the people of Ekron complain bitterly as they see the ark coming. It has become a curse to them and not a blessing. God is against those who treat him as an idol. Perhaps if they had repented, says Matthew Henry, at the downfall of Dagon, it might have prevented God’s vengeance on them.