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The religion of the Canaanite people was "an apotheosis of the forces and laws of nature; an adoration of the objects in which those forces were seen and where they appeared most active" (Movers). The Philistines carried (probably on sacred carts) their images or gods (commonly regarded as identical) into battle, expecting victory by their aid; but so sudden was their defeat, and so hasty their flight, that they were compelled to leave them behind, and "David and his men took them away;" and "David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire." "When the ark fell into the Philistines' hands it consumed them; but when these images fell into the hands of Israel they could not save themselves from being consumed" (Patrick). In their destruction we see:

1. A proof of the vanity of idols. These images (atsabim, equivalent to "things fashioned with labour") were only "the work of men's hands" (Psalm 115:4-8), and "profitable for nothing" (Isaiah 40:19; Isaiah 41:7; Isaiah 44:9-20; Isaiah 46:6, 7), disappointing completely the confidence reposed in them. Who could henceforth regard them or others with fear or respect?

2. A testimony to the power of Jehovah, the living and true God, the Holy One of Israel. It was against him that the Philistines fought in attacking his people; and by him they and their idols were overthrown, as aforetime (1 Samuel 5:3; 1 Samuel 7:7; 1 Samuel 17:38-54). Yet how persistent was their opposition (ver. 22)!

3. An expression of abhorrence of idolatry, and zeal for the worship of God alone; the personal fidelity of David to the fundamental principle of the theocracy (Psalm 16:4). During his reign idolatry found no place in Israel.

4. A fulfilment of the injunctions of the Law. "Thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images" (Exodus 23:24), "and burn their graven images with fire" (Deuteronomy 7:5). Idolatry was a direct crime against the state, high treason against the Divine King of Israel, and might not be tolerated in any form.

5. A precaution against exposure to temptation, by the influence of their presence, forms, names, associations, on hearts always too prone to go astray. "Thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein," etc. (Deuteronomy 7:25, 26). No sacrifice was too great to avoid such a snare (Acts 19:19). "Here, perhaps, the admirer of ancient sculpture will be ready to drop a tear of regret over the fine statues and other monuments of antiquity theft must have been destroyed in consequence of the Mosaic mandate; but he may safely dry it up, for the chef d'oeuvres of this period were not worth sparing" (Michaelis). Even if they had been the finest specimens of art, their preservation from the flames would have been an ill compensation for the moral evil which it would have induced.

6. A representation of the design of the true religion. "To destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8), and to maintain and extend the knowledge, love, and service of God; not, indeed, by force, but by the truth (2 Corinthians 10:4; see 1 Samuel 5:3).

7. A prophecy and an earnest of the complete demolition of idols (Isaiah 2:18-20), and the earth being "filled with the glory of the Lord" (Numbers 14:21). "Thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen," etc. (2 Samuel 22:44, 50).

"All nations whom thou hast made,
Shall come and bow themselves down before thee, O Lord;
And shall give glory to thy Name."

(Psalm 86:9; Psalm 22:27; Psalm 97:7; Psalm 96:3, 5, 10.) Conclusion. Those who are zealous in destroying the idols of others should not spare their own. What is an idol? That object (whatever it may be) which a man sets up before his face or in his heart, and which he thinks about, delights in, and relies upon, more than God. "Flee from idolatry!" (1 Corinthians 10:14; Colossians 3:5; Philippians 3:19; 1 John 5:21). - D.

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KJV: And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.

WEB: They left their images there; and David and his men took them away.