1 Samuel 6:5 Meaning and Explanation
“Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →By sending these images and giving glory to the God of Israel, the Philistines hope He will lift His heavy hand from their people, gods, and land.
What Does 1 Samuel 6:5 Mean?
The counsel continues: fashion the golden tokens and, in doing so, give glory to the God of Israel. The hope is tentative, expressed with peradventure, perhaps, that He will lighten the hand crushing them. Notably they include their gods among the afflicted, an admission that their idols were as helpless as themselves before the LORD.
To give glory to God is to confess His greatness and one's own smallness before Him. Even reluctant lips, hoping only to escape pain, are summoned to honor the true God, while their dead idols stand exposed as powerless. Scripture shows that the LORD's glory presses in upon the whole earth, and that the wise response, whoever you are, is to render Him the honor He is due.
1 Samuel 6:5 in the Original Language
kavod (כָּבוֹד), 'glory' -- weight, honor, the visible heaviness of God's worth that calls for reverence.
Frequently Asked Questions About 1 Samuel 6:5
What does 1 Samuel 6:5 mean?
By sending these images and giving glory to the God of Israel, the Philistines hope He will lift His heavy hand from their people, gods, and land.