DAILY DIVINE WORD
Tuesday, 11th August 2026
YOU'RE GOD'S TEMPLE: WALKING IN THE REALITY
Text: 1 Samuel 5:1–12 (KJV)
1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.
2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
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.
5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.
6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.
9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
12 And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
The temple in the Old Testament was just an ordinary place without the Ark of the Covenant. Until the Ark was placed in the temple, the temple was just a common place. So, the Ark gave the temple its value once the Ark of the Covenant was available.
In essence, the Ark of the Covenant represents God's presence, and wherever it steps to, the presence of God appears and reigns.
The Scriptures say the Old Testament was a shadow of things to come; it is not the real thing.
Hebrews 10:1 says:
"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect."
So, it was an illustration of how God's presence can reside in a man and that man would be called God's temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16 says:
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"
In the anchor Scripture above, there was an interesting event that happened. Instead of the Ark of the Covenant being placed in the temple, the enemy came and stole it away and placed it in their god's temple.
Remember, it was said that wherever God's presence is, God takes charge and reigns.
Every night, their god was crushed, and the whole nation was destroyed. That explained the efficacy of God's presence.
Now, if it is true that God's presence resides in you, and you are God's temple, it means you are a carrier of God's presence.
And that implies that wherever you get to, people should be able to see God in you, feel God's presence around you, and honour God's presence in you.
It also means there are places you can just go to, and there are also things that can't reside in you.
You've got to be conscious of this and walk in the reality that you have God's presence in you.
If you haven't given your life to Christ, He can't dwell in you, and that means you are no match for the enemy of your soul.
You'd better make a decision today and become God's temple.
Prayer
Thank You for residing in me, Lord. Help me to be conscious that I have You in me, and to walk and live that reality, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Reflection
Can people around you enjoy God in you?
Related Reading
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Categories: Devotional • God's Presence • Christian Living
Tags: God's Temple, God's Presence, Temple of God, Ark of the Covenant, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Samuel 5, Christian Devotional, Daily Divine Word, Ignite Generation
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