Who or what was Dagon?

Question: "Who was Dagon in the Bible?"

Answer: Dagon was the chief deity of the Philistines, and the worship of this pagan god dates back the third millennium BC. According to ancient mythology, Dagon was the father of Baal. He was the fish god (dag in Hebrew means “fish”), and he was represented as a half-man, half-fish creature. This image furthered an evolutionary belief that both men and fish had evolved together from the primal waters. Dagon may also have been the provider of grain. So Dagon was similar to many other idols in that he personified natural forces that had supposedly produced all things.

There are three places where Dagon is mentioned in the Bible. The first mention is Judges 16:23, where we are told that Dagon was the god of the Philistines. The Philistines offered “a great sacrifice” to Dagon, believing that their idol had delivered Samson into their hands. First Chronicles 10:10 mentions a temple of Dagon in which the head of King Saul was fastened. Then, in 1 Samuel 5, Dagon is brought to humiliation by the True God of the Israelites.

What an interesting story is found in 1 Samuel 5! The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant, and they “carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of [the city of] Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold. The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors. When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, ‘The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god’” (verses 2-7). Who says God does not have a sense of humor? This has to be one of the more funny passages in the entire Bible. For further reading, see 1 Samuel 6 for the account of the Philistines’ attempt to solve their dilemma— with golden rats and golden tumors (or, as some translations put it, “golden hemorrhoids”)!

Dagon figures into the story of Jonah, as well, although the deity is not mentioned by name in Jonah’s book. The Assyrians in Ninevah, to whom Jonah was sent as a missionary, worshiped Dagon and his female counterpart, the fish goddess Nanshe. Jonah, of course, did not go straight to Ninevah but had to be brought there via miraculous means. The transportation God provided for Jonah—a great fish—would have been full of meaning for the Ninevites. When Jonah arrived in their city, he made quite a splash, so to speak. He was a man who had been inside a fish for three days and directly deposited by a fish on the shores of Assyria. The Ninevites, who worshiped a fish god, were duly impressed; they gave Jonah their attention and repented of their sin.

A TALK IN HEAVEN

A Talk in Heaven

Excerpt from the Book:

The Call

By Rick Joyner

Then a second voice spoke, “I, too, confirm this truth. The Judgment

of God is about to be revealed on the earth. Even so, “Mercy triumphs

over judgment.” The Lord always extends mercy before judgment.. If

you will warn the people that His judgments are near, his mercy will

save many. I did not recognize the one speaking, but it was another 

man of great stature and nobility, with a brilliance that indicated a 

high rank.

“I am Jonah,” he said “When you understand the Lord’s judgments,

you understand His ways. However, even if you understand them, it

does not mean that you agree with them. Understanding is necessary,

but it is not enough. The Lord also wants you to agree with Him. “You

have often asked for the Lord’s presence to go with you. That is wisdom.

I was a prophet, and  I knew Him, yet I tried to flee from His presence.

That was a great folly, but not as foolish as you may think. I had come

to understand the great burning that comes with His presence. I had

come to understand the responsibility that comes from being close to

Him. In His presence, all wood, hay and stubble is consumed. When

you draw close to Him with hidden sin in your heart, it will drive you

to insanity, as many have learned through the ages. I was not trying

to flee from the will of the Lord as much as I was fleeing His presence.

“When you ask for the reality of His presence, you are asking for the

reality that you have seen here to be with you. Heaven is your true

home, and it is right for you to yearn for this. Even so, he is a Holy God,

and if you will walk closely with Him, you too, must be Holy. The closer

that you get to Him, the more deadly hidden sin can be.” “I understand

this,” I replied. “That is why I asked for the Lord’s judgments in my 

own life.” “Now I must ask you this,” Jonah continued. “Will you seek 

Him?” “Of course.” I responded. “ I desire His presence more than any-

Thing. There is nothing greater than being in His presence. I know that

many of my motives for wanting to be with Him are selfish, but being

with Him helps to set me free from that kind of selfishness. I do 

want to be with Him. I will come to Him.

 “Will you?” Jonah continued. “Until now you have been even more

foolish than I was. You can come boldly before his throne of Grace at 

any time and for any need, but rarely do you come. Yearning for His

presence is not enough. You must come to Him. If you draw near to 

Him, He will draw near to you. “Many have come to know and follow

His ways, but they do not come to Him. In the times that you will soon

enter, they will depart from His ways because they did not come to Him.

You have laughed at my folly, which was great, but yours is even greater

than mine. However, I do not laugh at your folly-I weep for you.. Your

savior  weeps for you; he intercedes for you continually. When He

weeps, all of heaven weeps. I weep because I know how foolish His

people are. I know you because you are just like me, and like me, the

Church has run to Tarshish, desiring to trade with the world even more

than sitting before His Glorious throne. At that same time, the sword

of Gods judgments are hanging over the earth. I weep for the Church

because I know you well. “I am guilty!” I pleaded.  “What can we do?”

  

“Great storms are coming upon the earth,” Jonah continued. “I slept

when the storm came upon the ship that I was in while running from

the Lord. The Church is also sleeping. I was the prophet of God, but

the heathen had to wake me up. So it is with the Church. The heathen

have more discernment that the Church at this time. They know when

the Church is going the wrong way, and they are shaking the Church,

trying to wake you up so that you will call on your God. “Soon the 

leaders of the world will cast you overboard, just as the men in that

ship had to do to me. They will not let you keep going in the way you

are headed. This is the Grace of God to you. He will then discipline you

with a great beast that comes up out of the sea. It will swallow you for

a time, but you will be vomited out of it. Then you will preach His mess-

age.”

   

“Is there no other way? I asked. “Yes, there is another way,” Jonah

replied, “although this has come and is coming. Some are already in

the belly of the beast. Some are about to be cast overboard, and some

are still sleeping, but almost all have been on the ship going the wrong

way, seeking to trade with the world. However, you can judge yourself 

and He will not have to judge you. If you will wake yourself up, repent

and go the way He sends you, you will not have to be swallowed by the

beast.” “is the beast to which you are referring the one in Revelation 13?”

I asked. “It is the same. As you read in that chapter, this beast is given

to make war with the saints and to overcome them.. This will happen

to all that do not repent. But know that those who are overcome by

this first beast will be vomited out of it before the next beast comes,

the one that comes up out of the earth. Even so, it will be much easer

for you if you repent. It is much easer not to be swallowed by the beast.

“Just as Lot ’s story is a warning to those who are given over to perver-

sion, my story is a warning to the Lord’s prophet, the Church. The

Church is running from the presence of the Lord. It is running to activity

In place of seeking the Lord’s presence. You may call your activity “min-

istry.” But it is actually running from the presence of the Lord. As I have

said, the Church is running to Tarshish so it can trade with the world

and seek treasures of the sea, while the greater treasures-the treasures

of heaven-few are seeking. “The sin of wanting to trade with the world

has entangled the Church, just as I was entangled in the belly of the beast

with the weeds wrapped around my head. The weeds, the cares of this 

world, have wrapped themselves around the mind of the Church. It toke

me three days to turn to the Lord because I was so entangled. It is taking

Christians much longer. Their minds are so entangled with the world,

and they have fallen to such depths, that many have no hope of getting

free. You must turn to the Lord instead of away from Him. He can un-

tangle any mess, and can bring you up from the greatest depths. Run from

Him no longer! Run to Him!”