Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate St Mary Church Vancouver, B.C Canada.
God's ark journey
the story according to the bible “Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. … So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. Also the ark of God was captured;

and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died” The Philistines took the Ark to Ashdod. The Bible tells us also that, "… the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god”(1 Samuel 4:1, 10-11). (1 Samuel 5:6-7).
comment
Although the Philistines captured the ark of God they decided to send it back to Israel because the hand of the Lord was heavy on them. They could not bear its presence with them. Although God’s willing is to bless all human being, He cursed and ravaged them. The dwelling of the ark among them was not enough to win the blessings. They ought to believe in God first, but they believed in an idol named Dagon. They wrongly thought that their idol is God. Because they captured the ark they wrongly thought that Dagon had overcome God. They were very happy and they put the ark in Dagon’s house, but Dagon fell on its face and was broken into pieces.
conclusion
Beloved brethren, to obtain blessings, it is not enough to possess holy things in your house or your pocket. It is also not enough to attend the church regularly without understanding nor to be a deacon or to have a high rank in the church without loving God nor keeping his commandements. When the Israelites were evildoers, they were dependent on the Ark of God, but they were not good believers. God left them to be defeated by the Philistines and allowed the Philistines to capture the ark. Everybody has to watch his relationship with God and has to deal faithfully and hearty with our awesome God