After the Philistines had captured the ark of God and taken it to Ashdod, the city was
Answer Details
After the Philistines had captured the ark of God and taken it to Ashdod, the city was afflicted with tumors. According to the Bible, the Philistines believed that their god Dagon had triumphed over the God of the Israelites when they captured the ark, and they placed the ark in the temple of Dagon as a trophy. However, the next morning, the Philistines found that the statue of Dagon had fallen face-down in front of the ark. They picked it up and placed it back in its position, but the next morning it had fallen again and its head and hands were broken off.
At the same time, the people of Ashdod began to suffer from tumors, which were seen as a sign of God's judgment against them for taking the ark. The Philistines decided to move the ark to the city of Gath, but the same thing happened there - the people were afflicted with tumors and the statue of Dagon fell down and broke apart. The ark was then moved to Ekron, where the people also suffered from tumors and cried out for the ark to be removed from their city.
The story illustrates the power of God and the consequences of disobeying his commands. The Philistines learned that the God of the Israelites was not to be taken lightly, and that the ark was a symbol of his presence and power.