DCLM Daily Manna 24 May 2026 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Supremacy Of God Over Dagon
TOPIC: Supremacy Of God Over Dagon (DCLM Daily Manna 24 May 2026)
KEY VERSE: And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him – 1 Samuel 5:4
TEXT: 1 Samuel 5:1-5 (KJV)
1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.
2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.
MESSAGE:
Reverend James Johnson, a prominent Anglican clergyman, identified idolatry as a significant obstacle to the spread of Christianity in parts of West Africa, in the 1880s. In his biography, Holy Johnson, he lamented, “It is not easy work to root out heathenism from the minds of our people; at the sound of every heathen drum they seem to think fondly of olden days.”
In our text, the Philistines defeated Israel, captured the ark of the Lord, the symbol of God’s presence in Israel, placed the ark next to the image of Dagon to demonstrate the supposed superiority of Dagon over Jehovah. Similarly, Dagon was the chief idol in Mesopotamia at the time. It was variously worshipped as the god of fertility, protection god and their creator. The expectation of the Philistines and the symbolism was reversed when Dagon was toppled, and its hands were cut off, thus illustrating the inability of idols to create or save.
Today, people worship idols in various forms. These idols are not restricted to carved images or statues. As Ed Stetzer, an American expert on mission studies, observed, idolatry exists whenever we look to someone or something in the world around us to save or satisfy us. Another great man of God declared, “If you love anything better than God, you are an idolater; If there is anything you would not give up for God, it is your idol; If there is anything you seek with greater fervour than you seek the glory of God, that is your idol, and conversion means turning from every idol.”
Although mankind has always been tempted to place idols on the same pedestal as Almighty God, yet, the Lord will always prove His supremacy. God declares, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Vain religions produce counterfeit gods.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Galatians 4-6
Deeper Life Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
