Chapter Introduction
In chapters four and five, the Philistines defeated Israel and captured the Ark, which was seen as proof that their god was more powerful than Yahweh. The elders of the Jews responded to their first defeat: "Why has the Lord defeated us today?” They understood the Lord’s hand in their defeat but failed to seek the answer. This was beside Ebenezer. The Lord was with them, not to give them victory, but to teach them. This entire fiasco was more appropriately named Ichabod because, by all appearance, the glory of the Lord had left them.
The Philistines will be shown to be more perceptive to the truth of Yahweh than Israel. The glory had departed but had little to do with the Ark. The loss of the Ark was a symptom of their apostasy, irreverence, and failure to hold fast to the word of God.
Israel had simply forgotten all they were told not to forget!
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
1 Samuel 6:1-2
God had afflicted the Philistines with a plague of swelling and assaulted their god. The Ark made a tour of all five major Philistine cities as though God wanted to ensure the message He brought went throughout the land. It wasn’t long before they figured out that the Ark's presence was the source of the problem. They knew it was the God of Israel who was overwhelming them.
After seven months of suffering, they decided the Ark had to be returned. They consulted their own priests and diviners, who seemed to understand and revere Yahweh. They knew sending it back had to be done correctly, or things would worsen. What was at first a great war trophy had become the source of death and destruction.
The word translated to priests is specific to pagan priests. They didn't know much about making peace with the God of Israel, but they thought they were specialists in treating holy objects and issues of purity. The diviners were men who used supernatural powers to acquire knowledge. They would use incantations, omens, and magical powers to assist in sending the Ark home. The Philistine hope was in these two groups of people.
The priests and diviners were expected to determine how to appease this angry god. They would use gifts and rituals, knowing that using the correct words and appropriate actions was important. They knew that if they got it wrong, they might further anger Yahweh and worsen matters.
1 Samuel 6:3-6
The priests knew they had offended God, so they suggested a guilt offering. This offering acknowledged their guilt before God. Specifically, it was an effort to make reparations for sacrilege when sacred objects were profaned. Ironically, the Philistines recognized this and sought to remedy it, while the Israelites never understood they had done the same.
The Philistine plan was to:
- Send the Ark back.
- Send it with an offering.
- Then, there would be relief from afflictions.
- If there were any remaining effects, they assumed they would learn what they were and what could be done (v. 3).
The Jewish law said the guilt offering was a lamb or goat; if the person couldn't afford that, they could bring two turtle doves or pigeons. These Philistine priests decided on five gold tumors and five gold rats.
Making symbols of the mice and tumors was an act of sympathetic magic in which the representation of something stands for the reality. By sending the tokens back with the ark they were hoping to rid themselves of these divine punishments. Images of mice and other animals, believed to have been used in magical rituals, have been found in excavations throughout the ancient Near East.
Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000).
The IVP Bible background commentary:
Old Testament (electronic ed., 1 Sa 6:4–5).
InterVarsity Press.
The idea was to send an offering of gold, but also in the shape of the afflictions as though to send them away (or back to where they came from). This was done with the mindset of a magician or diviner.
The Hebrew word means swelling or abnormal mass consistent with hemorrhoids. It is unclear how they made five gold hemorrhoids. (Imagine going to a metal smith and asking for this.) Some suggest the Philistines were afflicted with the Bubonic plague. This is spread through fleas that infest rats.
While their primary intention was relief from the plague, they wanted to give glory to the God of Israel, acknowledging His power and sovereignty over them. They knew there was no value in hardening their hearts against the Lord. These guys had heard about the Israelites in Egypt.
The Philistines softened their hearts with the intention of doing right to the best of their understanding, while the Jews understood how to do right but held fast to their hard hearts. Were the Philistines any more guilty than Israel? We can think back to how this mess started and wonder if the Philistines have as much or more reverence for the Ark as the Philistines.
Isn't it fascinating how God would use the unbelievers and enemies of God to correct the waywardness of His own children?
1 Samuel 6:7-12
The Philistines were asking for an oracle from God. An oracle asked God to provide a yes or no answer to their question: They put the Ark on a new cart and hitched two cows to it that had never been yoked. They would remove the calves from them and take them home.
The cows' maternal instinct and uncomfortable udders would lead them home to their calves. God would have to intervene, overcome their cows’ instinct, and lead them down the road, which was uphill all the way to Beth Shemesh. In this, God would provide the answer, yes, it was him who brought the plagues upon them in His anger.
This was expensive in several ways:
- Gold offering
- Cows were farm tools not everyone had.
- A new cart was not cheap and easy to part with.
- Humility: They were admitting Yahweh, who was greater than Dagon, after having celebrated a military victory.
If the cows returned to their calves, it would prove the plague wasn’t from Yahweh. It would be a relief to some who didn’t want to relent and acknowledge God. It takes a lot of faith to believe in chance, and we, as sinful and fallen mankind, can become quite skilled at it.
Beth Shemesh (house of the sun) was a seven-acre Levitical city on the border between Israel and Philistine territory, about nine miles from Ekron. Archeology has uncovered evidence of the town at this time.
A residence has been found with a spacious courtyard paved with flagstone surrounded by several chambers.
Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000).
The IVP Bible background commentary:
Old Testament (electronic ed., 1 Sa 6:9).
InterVarsity Press.
1 Samuel 6:13-16
The wheat harvest places this event in May or June. We can only imagine the rejoicing of the people of Beth Shemesh when they saw the Ark coming down the road. Interestingly, the cows went straight down the road, not stopping or going to the right or left; they were lowing - a sign they were unhappy. It's as if they were being driven against their will to this spot where they came to a stop. They arrived at a field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. There was a large stone there that could be used for an altar.
The cart was split for firewood, and the cows were offered as burnt offerings, which violated their law calling for males (bulls) to Burnt offerings. This provides insight into the Levites' lack of knowledge. This was a sincere offering, though not done right. The offering doesn't seem to warrant much attention.
1 Samuel 6:17-19
The Philistine gift is detailed. It was provided by the five cities and all the small towns and villages along the way to Beth Shemesh.
Our text says God struck the men of Beth Shemesh because they looked into the Ark. The ESV says they looked upon the Ark, and this closer matches the text. The Ark was always to be shielded from view. Even when it was to be moved, the priests went into the holy of holies and covered it. Once covered, the Levites could pick it up by the poles and carry it along. The Levites should have known this. All of Israel should have known this.
Why was God so adamant about not looking upon the Ark? Because we are inclined to idolatry. We would look at the Ark as a religious icon and assign power to it instead of God. Israel had already done this.
They presumed to be doing God a great favor by receiving the Ark and making an offering. They revered this box more than God. To love God was to be obedient to Him. We’ll see a similar mindset and subsequent results when David attempts to move the Ark, and Uzzah presumes his hand upon the Ark is acceptable because he is doing God a favor.
Our text says that God struck fifty thousand and seventy men. The literal reading is “seventy men, fifty thousand men.” A few Hebrew texts were discovered that did not contain the fifty-thousand line. This, with the fact that the population of Beth Shemesh would have been considerably less than that, led translators to modify the latter translations to seventy men.
This modification creates controversy because many Hebrew manuscripts had the fifty-seventy along with the Septuagint. The fact that this is mentioned may tell us that the Philistines were smart enough not to look in the ark. Yet, those who were supposed to know better did.
If the ark were found today, how long would it take for the curiosity to get someone to remove the lid?
Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. (Ro 11:22)
1 Samuel 6:20-21
Suddenly, the people of Beth Shemesh act very much like the Philistines. They are ready to send the Ark down the road seven miles to Kirjath Jearim.
Big Idea
The holiness of God will always cause sinful man a problem. Our tendency is to distance ourselves from God rather than seek Him and correct the problem. This is the easy way and the way of sinful mankind. It is the broad way that leads to destruction. As God's children, we should seek the Father regarding what He wants from us and requires of us.
©2004 Doug Ford
Further Study and Revision 2015, 2024
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