Ekron

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Location

 

1. Ekron (Tel Miqne) is located east of Ashdod and the Mediterranean Sea about 13 miles (20 km.) 

 

Historical Background

 

1. In archeological terms, Tel Ekron (Tel Miqne-Ekron) is significant because it is one of Israel's largest Iron Age sites.

 

2. More than 100 oil presses were found here, as well as the Ekron Inscription, which clearly identifies the site as Philistine, Ekron.

 

3. Just to the west of Tel Ekron is Kibbutz Revadim, where a Museum of the History of Philistine Culture shows a reconstructed Philistine street with many artifacts.

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Places of Interest

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1. Tel Ekron

 

2. Kibbutz Revadim Philistine Street ~ Archaeological items from Tel Ekron have been brought here and preserved.

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Ekron in the Bible

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1. Joshua and the Israelites failed to conquer Ekron in the conquest of the Promised Land as found in Joshua 13:3.

 

2. It was allotted to Judah in the division of the land and then to the tribe of Dan as found in Joshua chapters 15-19.

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3. However, the tribe of Dan failed to conquer the area and moved to the northern part of Israel. Judah wound up conquering Ekron and inhabiting it as found in Judges 1:18. 

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4. Ekron was one of the Philistine cities where the Ark of the Covenant resided before being returned to the Israelites at Beth Shemesh.

1 Samuel 5:10: So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!”

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1 Samuel 6:13-16: Now the people of Beth-shemesh were gathering in their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced at seeing it. 14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stopped there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the saddlebag that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the Lord. 16 When the five governors of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day.

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5. After David killed Goliath in the Valley of Elah, the Israelites pursued and defeated the Philistines all the way to Ekron.

1 Samuel 17:52: Then the men of Israel and Judah rose up and shouted, and they pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the Philistine dead lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron.

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6. Ekron is included, among other cities, in pronouncements of judgment by the prophets Amos 1:8, Jeremiah 25:20, Zephaniah 2:4, and Zechariah 9:5–7.

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Faith Lesson from Ekron

 

1. The Israelites failed to conquer Ekron and the surrounding cities of the Philistines. For some reason, they lacked the faith, willpower, and trust in God to fulfill His command to conquer the inhabitants of the Promised Land. Do we fail to trust in God and conquer the tasks God calls us to do?

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2. However, David, as a young man, and later as the king of Israel, would defeat the Philistines and fulfill God's original command to subdue and conquer all of the Promised Land. Do we exercise faith as David did and step out and do mighty things for the Lord?

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3. From Ekron the Ark of the Covenant was returned to the Israelites at Beth Shemesh. It was done in a miraculous way by cows carrying the Ark on a wagon arriving at Beth Shemesh all by themselves. Miracles are one way God reveals Himself to skeptical and unbelieving people. Do we share miracles God has done in our lives with others?