1 Samuel: Chapter 6
This chapter chronicles the return of the Ark of God back to Israel.
Chapter Recap
After seven months had passed, and suffering just as long under various calamities, the Philistines narrowed the source of all their troubles to the ark of God. Following the advice of their priests and diviners, the Philistines got a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never yoked hitched to it. They placed the ark of God on it, along with their guilt offering. The cart goes straight to Israel's territory by itself, and this is witnessed by the Philistines who tailed the cart. The people of Beth Shemesh, saw the cart carrying the ark of God as it arrived, and they rejoiced at the sight. The Levites took down the ark of the LORD, together with the guilt offerings and placed them on a rock. The cart was chopped down and the cows were sacrificed as a burnt offering. The five Philistine rulers saw all this and returned to Ekron. However, God stuck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, for they had looked into the ark of the LORD. Mourning the loss of their men, the people of Beth Shemesh, sent word to the people of Kiriath Jearim, asking them to take the ark of the LORD.
Philistines
In the previous chapter, we saw the Philistines correlating the disasters they faced to the presence of the ark of the LORD. However, this chapter notes that the Philistines had the ark for seven months. Maybe they wanted to be sure before sending the ark back. It could be that each place had the ark for a few weeks before sending it elsewhere. Eventually, they had to come in terms with it, and finally consulted thier priests for the optimum way to send the ark back to Israel. It is also clear that at least some fraction of their populace knew about the miraculous exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt and how LORD has been leading them since. Overall, we see that the Philistines reluctantly acknoledged the LORD and were willing to mend their ways, at least temporarily.
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| The Ark Is Returned to Beth-shemesh (1Sam. 6:1-16) |
Israel
The prespective we get from Israel is more intresting. They no doubt rejoiced when they saw the ark returning. It doesn't seem like they even wondered about how it came back. But they quickly offered thanks and sacrifices to the LORD. However, the fact that they were surprised, suggests that, they did not look into the whereabouts of the ark for the past seven months. There is no mention of any treaty or parley between Israel and the Philistines regarding the ark of the LORD. Either the people of Israel had immense faith that the LORD will bring it back, or they weren't bothered enough to go look for it.
Further, some of the people of Beth Shemesh were ignorant of the laws and regulations surrounding the ark and took the liberty to look into the ark of the LORD. For this, they paid with their lives. This once again shows the importance the LORD gives to the objects dedicated to him. The rest of the people of Beth Shemesh, were nevertheless terrified, and maybe not understanding what was the cause or not wanting to have the ark constantly remind them their ignorance, they requested the people of Kiriath Jearim to take it away from them.
So, what can we take away from this chapter. We see that the Philistines tried to make amends to rectify thier missteps. We see the price paid by Israel for their ignorance. The judgement we face is dependent on what is already revealed to us. There is always a way to atone and gave closer to the LORD. But, if we don't, we can't claim ignorance, in a bid to escape the judgement. For, the things are already revealed to us, and if we don't take efforts to understand it, it is on us, and us alone. See you in the next one. Take care of yourself and each other!
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