The ark of the covenant was the symbol of God’s presence with the Israelites. On the top was the Mercy Seat. The priest would go to the Mercy Seat once a year with the blood of a sacrificed animal, to atone for the sins of the people.

What a marvellous truth it is that Jesus has once and for all given His life on the Cross so that we are made right with God. Through Jesus we can know the power of the presence of God.

Inside the ark was the word of God, in the form of the 10 Commandments. We know, too, the importance of reading and getting to know the word of God as our Guidebook for life. Hebrews 4:12 “The word of God is alive and active. It is sharper than any double-edged sword.” Through the Word we can know the power of the presence of God.

There was also some manna. It was there to represent God’s wonderful provision every single day. Through His daily provision we can know the power of the presence of God.

Then there was Aaron’s rod, which had miraculously budded.  That, too, speaks of something significant. It reminds us that God can bring life out of something dead. And we have evidence of that right here in our service this morning. Once we were dead in our sins, and now we’ve been made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:4,5).

The Philistines thought they had captured the presence of God. We can’t have two gods side by side. “You shall have no other gods beside me.” Exodus 20:3.

Do we have a “Dagon” side by side with God? Are we putting other things, or other people, before the importance of God in our lives?

God is a mighty God, and no man-made god like Dagon is going to usurp Him. No human can capture God.                                                 

The Pharisees tried to capture Jesus. Colossians 2:15: On the cross Jesus triumphed over the principalities and powers. The cross was His triumph.

We can try and capture God by dictating the way He should answer our prayers. “This is what I want, Lord, and I want it quickly!” But God is bigger than our prayers. His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8,9).

What do we learn from the toppling of Dagon? We see that God is a mighty God, the God of the universe. Just like He toppled Dagon, we need to realise the power of His presence. One day evil will be toppled, just like Dagon. Error will be toppled by the truth. Corruption will be toppled by God’s grace.

Finally, what joy there is in the presence of God.

There was singing and shouting and dancing and instruments playing. David was full of joy. It wasn’t feeble and half-hearted. It was vibrant and loud and ecstatic! Because of our culture here in NZ we may not dance up the aisle of the church. But whatever our culture is with regards to dancing, here should be a place of joy.

 Here is where we rejoice with unspeakable joy because the presence of the Lord is here! It is Pentecost Sunday, and one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is joy. Joy should be one of the most distinctive things about the Christian faith. Jesus says in John 15:11 “I have told you these things so that My joy may be in You, and your joy may be complete.” Do we know that joy today?  We can look forward to that in heaven, and we can know that joy day by day, whatever our circumstances, as we thank God for His goodness to us.