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hot potato

1 Samuel 5:6-12 (JDV)

1 Samuel 5:6 Yahveh’s hand was heavy on the inhabitants of Ashdod. He terrified the inhabitants of Ashdod and its territory and afflicted them with tumors.
1 Samuel 5:7 When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of Israel’s God must not stay here with us, because his hand is strongly against us and our god Dagon.”
1 Samuel 5:8 So they called all the Philistine rulers together and asked, “What should we do with the ark of Israel’s God?” “The ark of Israel’s God should be moved to Gath,” they replied. So, they moved the ark of Israel’s God.
1 Samuel 5:9 After they had moved it, Yahveh’s hand was against the city of Gath, causing a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors.
1 Samuel 5:10 The people of Gath then sent the ark of God to Ekron, but when it got there, the Ekronites cried out, “They’ve moved the ark of Israel’s God to us to kill us and our people!”
1 Samuel 5:11 The Ekronites called all the Philistine rulers together. They said, “Send the ark of Israel’s God away. Let it return to its place, so it won’t kill us and our people!” You see, the fear of death pervaded the city; God’s hand was oppressing them.
1 Samuel 5:12 Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to the sky.

hot potato

What the Philistines initially regarded as a prize became to them something like a hot potato — a burden each city needed to rid itself of immediately. Fear of the God of Israel’s power was increasing even as the reputation of Israel itself was in shambles.

In today’s society, the God of the Bible is once again a hot potato, but for a different reason. In the modern world of multiculturalism, nobody wants to touch a God who demands exclusive loyalty. He is who He has always been. We must acknowledge Him.