1 Samuel 5 - Powerless Idols

1 Samuel 5: a short chapter, yet quite powerful in content.  The Philistines soundly defeated the Israelites the previous chapter, and they've shockingly captured the very Ark of the Covenant and brought it back to their land.  But of course, God works in mysterious, and complex, ways.  Allowing the Ark to be taken away from the Israelites was on the one hand to punish His own people.  But on the other hand, it allowed for a powerful demonstration of the One True God's power over false idols and pagan nations.  In the most striking scene of chapter 5, the Ark is placed next to the Philistine god Dagon.  In the morning the statue has toppled over, lying prostrate before the Ark.  It happens again and again, and it is accompanied by diseases and pests and other maladies.  It might be of some interest to note that this god Dagon has been variously depicted throughout the centuries.  It's usual to see it depicted as a great bearded man, but I've also read that Dagon could have been a woman, and some even say that she was the equivalent of Aphrodite and Venus.  But what seems to be a consistent trait is that of a fish.  This god appears to have been half human half fish.  Which means that if Dagon were indeed shown as a woman from the waist up, and a fish from waist down, then were the Philistines essentially worshiping what we today call a mermaid?  Anyway, the point is that whatever these false gods looked like, they were instantly made powerless when confronted with the One True God.  When the Apostles preached the Gospel to faraway nations and presented the Truth that is Jesus Christ to the peoples, the local gods and idols were immediately deemed powerless and soon forgotten.  Such is the Almighty Power of the Lord.