Stubbornness: 1 Samuel 5:6-12
Change is difficult; we frequently dig in our heels and stubbornly resist. This is truer the closer the deeper the change. A change in routine is hard but doable; a change in personal ethics or belief is daunting. When we change a part of who we are, the effects of that change are broad. Changing who we are not only changes a core belief but how we think, act, and relate to others.
The Philistines have a problem. Their problem isn’t how they continue to hold onto the ark. Remember, the ark isn’t a talisman. The plague flowing through them isn’t there because they have the ark. Their problem is their heart now that they possess the ark. Not surprisingly, the problem is one of relationship, not one of ownership.
The problem starts during the meeting of the elders of the first city taking possession of the ark. When God sends a plague among them, they recognize God’s power easily enough. Their response is interesting, however. They remain resilient in their pursuit of Dagon as their god.
God demonstrates His power to the Philistines. The Philistines aren’t interested in learning what God is trying to teach them. If Dagon was worth worshipping, why was he doing nothing to protect the people from the plague?
From the ancient mindset, if the point of worshipping a god was to have a supernatural influence in your life, why would you not want the best supernatural influence you can have? When God uses the presence of the ark to demonstrate His power, why didn’t they get it? Instead of seeing God’s power and acknowledging it, why do they play a deadly version of hot potato and foist the ark of the covenant on their fellow Philistines?
This is how we know the problem is a relational one. The Philistines don’t learn the lesson because the Philistines don’t want to learn the lesson. Dagon is their god. Learning the lesson would require change. It would require an acknowledgment of being wrong. It would require the Philistines look to their communities and recognize the foundational premises upon which they built their community are flawed.
The true depth of the problem is with the elite. The people currently in the elite spot are there because of the system in which they live. The system of their community is what made them powerful. To acknowledge the greatness of the power of God inherently threatens the power structure supporting the elite. Rather than risk losing their place and learning the lesson, the elite pass the problem to someone else.
What an incredible lesson to learn about humanity! How often are we faced with a lesson we know will demand change in our life? Because we don’t want to change who we are, we give the problem to others. Rather than take responsibility and ownership, we pass the buck. Change is difficult; we frequently dig in our heels and stubbornly resist.
