1 Samuel 6

1 Samuel 6:1

3. The Ark Restored (Chaps. 6, 7)6:1-6 In seven short months . . . the Philistines had gained a proper fear of the ark. They wanted to return it to Israel, but in the proper way so as to avoid further judgment. The heathen priests and . . . diviners were consulted. They suggested returning the ark with a guilt or trespass offering of five golden tumors and five golden rats. It was common among these people to appease their gods and make indemnity with an offering of whatever had caused destruction among them.

The reference to rats leads Bible students to think that the plague that afflicted the cities was the bubonic plague carried by fleas on rats. The priests further reminded them of Egypt’s fate at the hands of Jehovah, and urged them not to harden their hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs, but to make every effort to return the ark . . . to its proper place. 6:7-12 To make sure that the things which had happened to them were judgments of Jehovah, and not mere chance, the Philistine priests arranged the details of the return trip in a way that would evidence divine intervention. The two milk cows that were used to pull the cart had young calves and it would violate all natural instincts if they left their calves behind. The cows had never been yoked, yet they pulled well in a yoke together, turning aside neither to the right hand nor the left. Without being guided, the cows headed straight toward Beth Shemesh, in the territory of Judah! 6:13-18 The men of Beth Shemesh were reaping when the ark drew near. What a sighttwo unattended cows bringing the ark of God back to Israel! Great rejoicing broke out. The cart was used to make a fire, and the cows were offered as a burnt offering to the LORD. The ark and the chest containing the trespass offering were placed on top of a large stone. There is a spiritual parallel in the story of the cows of Beth Shemesh. Christian missionaries leave home and family and carry the message of the Lord to wherever the Lord guides them, turning neither to the right nor to the left. Unbelievers rejoice when they hear about the Lord. The missionaries are prepared for service or for sacrifice. 6:19-21 But the men of Beth Shemesh did not treat the ark of the LORD as holy; they had looked into the ark. As a result, God struck fifty thousand and seventy of them. Fearful of having the ark remain in their midst, the people sent messengers to the men of Kirjath Jearim, and asked them to take the ark. (It is doubtful that there were 50,070 men at Beth Shemesh. Josephus, Keil and Delitzsch and many other authorities say that the text should simply read seventy men, since the 50,000 is lacking in many Hebrew manuscripts.)