Power in the Ark

1 Samuel 5:3“But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again.“

The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant, where God met with His people, and set it up in the temple of their god, Dagon. The first night, Dagon fell down before the Ark; the second night, he fell down broken in pieces. On the next day, a great plague fell on the people of Ashdod, and forthwith they sent the Ark away!

Just as Dagon fell before the Ark, which was a type of Christ, so the priests and soldiers, who came to take Jesus away, “went backward, and fell to the ground” in His presence

John 18:6As Jesus said "I AM he," they all drew back and fell to the ground!. Similarly, just as the:

The Ark also exhibited its great power both to bless and to curse. It brought death to the Philistines who desecrated it, and even to the Israelites at Beth-shemesh, when they foolishly looked into the Ark

1 Samuel 6:19 But the LORD killed seventy men from Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark of the LORD. And the people mourned greatly because of what the LORD had done.

However, it evidently brought blessing to the house of the Levite Abinadab, where it stayed for 20 years

1 Samuel 7:1-2 So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the LORD. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it. The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time-twenty years in all. During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the LORD had abandoned them,and later to the house of Obed-edom

2 Samuel 6:11The Ark of the LORD remained there in Obed-edom's house for three months, and the LORD blessedObed-edom and his entire household..

The same is true of the Lord Jesus Christ and of all who are:

Colossians 2:10 "complete through our union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority".

The presence of Christ was a blessing to many, but others feared Him

Luke 8:37 And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake.

2 Corinthians 2:15-16 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.

And who is adequate for such a task as this?