Nothing but a Stump

1 Samuel 5:4 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. The Philistines must have been full of pride and excitement after whipping up on Israel and taking the ark of the covenant. The excitement didn't last long though, because God would not be mocked. The ark was placed beside Dagon, the false god of the Philistines. When they came in the next day, Dagon was laying on the ground before the ark. I guess they thought that it could have been a coincidence, so they set him back up in his proper place. The next day, old Dagon was laying down again, but this time he was missing his hands and his head! If this wasn't enough, God struck the people with tumors, and they decided that it might be best to return the ark to God's people! There are several good lessons to be learned here, but here are two really good ones: First, God will not share His glory. He is God, and there is no other. Secondly, false gods are just that, false. You can paint a face on them, carve some hands on them, but they still can't help when you need them. Placed beside Jehovah, they are no more than an inanimate stump! Ask yourself today, "Is God one of my sources, or is He my Source?"