1 Samuel
Chapter 6
The Ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines for seven months.
Return of the Ark
The Philistines called their priests and diviners and asked them: “What shall we do with the Ark of the Lord? Tell us how we shall send it back to its place.”
The priests and diviners answered: “If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, do not send it alone. Instead, provide him with a guilt offering. Then you may be healed, and you will know why God dealt with you so severely.”
The chiefs then asked: “What guilt offering shall we provide him with?” The priests and diviners answered, “Make five golden figures of hemorrhoids and five golden figures of mice corresponding to the number of Philistine cities, for the same plague was on all of you and your chiefs.
So you must make images of your hemorrhoids and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will remove his hand from you, your gods, and your land.
But do not harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did. After the Lord had afflicted them, did they not have to let the people go?
Now, then, prepare a new cart and take two milking cows that have never carried a yoke. Yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves away from them.
Then, place the Ark of the Lord on the cart. Put the golden figures you give him as a guilt offering in a box beside it. Then send it off and let it go its way.
Then, watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, through Beth-shemesh, then he has done us this great harm. If not, we shall know that not his hand struck us, that all these things happened to us by chance.”
The people carried out these instructions. They took two milking cows, yoked them to the cart, and shut their calves in their shed.
They then put the Ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the box with the golden mice and the images of their hemorrhoids.
The cows went straight toward Beth-shemesh along the way; they went mooing, and they turned neither to the right nor the left. Meanwhile, the chiefs of the Philistine cities followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley when they saw the Ark drawing near, and they rejoiced greatly.
The cart arrived in Beth-shemesh in Joshua’s field and stopped there. A big stone lay nearby, so the people split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows over the stone as a burnt offering to the Lord.
Meanwhile, the Levites took down the Ark of the Lord and the box containing the golden figures, and they set these up on the big stone. That day, the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord. The five chiefs of the Philistine cities, however,
upon seeing what happened, immediately returned to Ekron.
These Philistine cities sent back golden tumors as a guilt offering to the Lord: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Akron.
Similarly, there were golden figures of mice corresponding in number to all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five leaders, counting fortified cities and unwalled villages. The big stone beside which the people set down the Ark of the Lord in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh is a witness to this day.
The Lord caused the death of seventy men of Beth-shemesh who had looked at the Ark of the Lord. On seeing this, the people mourned greatly.
The people of Beth-shemesh said: “Who can stand before the Lord, this holy God? And where can we send the Ark away from us?”
?So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim with this word: “The Philistines have returned the Ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up with you.”
Commentaries
The Ark in Philistine Territory.
The presence of the Ark of God has truly become a burden for the Philistines. Moving it from one place to another only worsens the troubles among the people. The God of Israel does not favor the Philistines, who are forced to get rid of the Ark to avoid danger.
Return of the Ark.
The Philistines and their god can no longer withstand the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. The description of the Ark’s departure from Philistine territory, along with the conditions for its transport and the payment of restitution, reflects the priestly mindset of Israel. Note that since Chapter 4, the primary focus of the story has been the Ark, which has been moved from place to place, causing major upheaval in enemy territory. The Ark returns to Israel, but the people remain aimless and confused. Then Samuel appears, and his words enlighten the people: “If you return to the Lord with all your heart… he will deliver you from the power of the Philistines” (7:3). Repentance opens the door for the people to walk again with their God. Paul would have preached to them about the need to abandon the old self to embrace the new self (cf. Eph 4:22-24); Jesus would have demanded that they be born again of the Spirit (cf. Jn 3:3-7). The period summarized in 7:15 thus highlights the turn Israel needed to take. How did this opportunity come about, and what kind of life and commitments did it require? The following chapters will clarify this for us.