1 Samuel 6:1-21
1 And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.a
5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfullyb among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
8 And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.
10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
11 And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.
12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.
16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the greatc stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.
19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
1 Samuel 6:2. The ark of the LordHebrews of Jehovah. The Philistines knew the name of the Lord; and had heard of his wondrous works in Egypt, 1 Samuel 6:6. They had great light, as indeed all the surrounding nations of Israel must have had.
1 Samuel 6:4. Five golden mice. See on 1 Samuel 5:6.
1 Samuel 6:9. A chance that happened to us. מקרה mikreh, a natural consequence, after the fatigues of war, which implies the care of God; for what is accounted chance by men, is all the operations of heaven. See on chap. 10. Luke 10:31. It would seem that the Spirit of God moved the tongue of this pythoness to deliver this oracle, though she might not know it; nor do such favours prove the divine approbation of heathen oracles, more than the rain which falls on the just and the unjust. Isaiah 41:23.
1 Samuel 6:15. Offered burnt-offerings. This was often done, as well by prophets as by gentiles, under visible marks of the divine presence; and no complaint is made against it, though the law required the usual oblations to be offered on his altar alone: 1 Samuel 7:9.
1 Samuel 6:19. He smote fifty thousand and threescore and ten men. Josephus, relating this, mentions no more than seventy men; and as Beth-shemesh was but a small city, originally allotted for the priests, it is probable that the number has been mis-written in the Hebrew copy. Tremellius conjectures the sense of the text to be, that the Lord smote them with emerods, as he had smitten fifty thousand and seventy of the Philistines. Another critic contends that the number should be five hundred and seventy men.
REFLECTIONS.
While all Israel was mourning and troubled for the loss of the ark; all Philistia was mourning and troubled because of its presence. And if all Israel was astonished that the ark should exert no powers for their salvation; both they and their neighbours were soon convinced that it exerted astonishing powers for the punishment of sin. Dagon was confounded, and fell vanquished in its presence. The Philistines died with pestilence, and the survivors were afflicted with disease; and the corn was consumed in the field as soon as it began to shoot in the earth. Here was God's threefold scourge on the enemy, and by these scourges they were brought to repentance.
Mark next the fruits of their repentance. Humbled under the hand of heaven, they consulted the ministers of their religion what they should do. Religion is the only refuge and comfort of the afflicted: let us never neglect it in health, for we know not but the heaviest affliction may be at the door. Let us never dream of turning to God without the trespass-offerings of a broken spirit and a contrite heart; but let us at the same time be fully assured, that no tears are acceptable to God unless the sinner, according to the utmost of his power, endeavour to repair his faults.
Repentance, accompanied with proper fruits, shall soon receive tokens of God's approbation. The two cows, forgetful of their tender calves, looked not behind: the two cows, untutored to the yoke, tractably proceeded with the symbols of JEHOVAH'S presence: the two cows unacquainted with the road, but guided by a divine instinct, proceeded in the highway leading towards Shiloh. Then Philistia saw the profaneness of her sins: then she was humbled before Israel's God, and glorified him in his judgments: then Israel heard and was instructed. Here are the true characters of national repentance; here is the genuine ground of national reform. So the penitent enemy of Israel learned to put away his sin, and God graciously removed his afflicting hand. Learn, oh my soul, even of these young cows, to subject thy carnal nature to the yoke, without making the smallest retrograde motion; and let it be offered up a burnt-sacrifice to the Lord, that the body of sin may be destroyed.
The men of Beth-shemesh were the first to see, and the first to rejoice at the ark's return. How happy did they account themselves to give this early welcome to the return of the hallowed tokens of the Lord's presence. Yes, and happy they were, had they been contented within the line prescribed. But curiosity prompted them to look into the ark; for they could not presume that the Philistines had plundered it of the tables, the parchments, the manna, and the almond rod, seeing it was returned with a trespass- offering. This was a violation of the law fully known and understood, therefore God smote them as he had smitten the Philistines; for with him is no respect of persons. He also designed thereby to make all Israel revere the ark of his strength. Learn then, reader, to revere the mysteries of the christian faith. The touching of the hallowed emblems of bread and wine belongs to hallowed men: without their blessing it is no sacrament. Adore, where thou canst not comprehend. Presume not to decide on secret and future things; and whatever can augment thy happiness shall be revealed in due time. Be assured it is far best to know secret things precisely in the order of providence.