Jacob Chanikuzhy

The easiest way the rulers can make their subjects obey them without question is to claim that they have the divine right to rule. Since the king is said to have been chosen by God, any disobedience to the king was understood as an affront against God’s own authority. Although in the western Christianity the concept of the “divine right of the King” also included the notion of the total submission of the king to God, later the concept paved way only to the absolute tyranny of the rulers. The corollary idea in association with the “divine right of the king” that the king is accountable to no one except God led to the extreme decadence of monarchy. In political realm, the “the divine right of the king” is now an outdated idea. In civilized societies where human rights are respected, the political rulers are accountable to the people and no one enjoys unquestionable authority.

In religious realm, the source of the power and authority of the priests is their consecration to minister to God and divine things. Since they are engaged in activities related to God, divine worship, divine places, divine objects, people ascribe great respect to them. Nevertheless, when the priests misuse their authority and abuse God’s people, God will not remain a mute spectator. A strong reminder is the story of the ignominious death that struck Eli, the high priest, and his two priest sons (1 Samuel 4).

When philistines defeated Israelites, the Israelite princes decided to take the ark of the covenant to the battlefield. They believed that if God was with them, they could easily defeat the Philistines. In order to make God wage war against the Philistines, they brought the ark of the covenant to the battle field. Supposedly, the two wicked priests Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli carried the ark.

The devastating failure of the Israelites who fought with the help of the Ark of the Covenant warns us against making things attached to God an idol and use it for our fights however legitimate they be.

However, in the battle that followed, the Philistines dealt a severe blow to the Israelites massacring thirty thousand of them.  The ark itself was captured by the enemies. The outcome of the war was quite devastating to the Israelites. If a war waged with the help of the Ark of the Covenant itself was lost, what does it tell about the power of Yahweh who is believed to reside in the ark? Is Yahweh helpless before Dagon, the chief god of Philistines?

Israel’s defeat in the war issues a stark warning against abusing God, cult, religion and spirituality to win even our legitimate battles. Actually, the sons and priests of the high priest Eli, the supreme cultic authorities in the temple at Shiloh, had already made them victims of God’s wrath by their unethical behaviour. Although they were deeply immersed in cultic activities, they did not bother even to live a moral life, if not a virtuous life, befitting a consecrated priest. They sought false security from the Ark of the Covenant of which they were the custodians. They made the Ark of the Covenant an idol. They had greater interest in their idol than the ethical God who had promised to be present in the ark. They believed that as long as the Ark of the Covenant was with them they were invincible. By allowing the Philistines to win the battle, Yahweh taught Israelites that they could not take Yahweh for granted. He taught them that God was not bound to their cultic objects and practices, and that they could not manipulate him to achieve their goals.

In the subsequent events, Yahweh proved that he is all-powerful God. When Philistines placed the Ark of the Covenant beside the idol of the Philistine god Dagon, Dagon prostrated before Yahweh. The next day Dagon’s statue fell again breaking its head and hands. While Yahweh began to act with a mighty arm, Dagon lost his hands and head. Dagon was reduced just to a wooden piece without the ability to think with head or act with hands. He was made totally helpless. Wherever the ark was brought plague and fear haunted the Philistines. Thus, Yahweh proved himself capable of defeating the Philistines all alone without using a single sword and without the help of a single Israelite.

The devastating failure of the Israelites who fought with the help of the Ark of the Covenant warns us against making things attached to God an idol and use it for our fights however legitimate they be.