Previously in 1 Samuel, we saw the Philistines defeat the children of Israel near Aphek. The children of Israel were puzzled as to why they were defeated, and decided to bring the ark of the Covenant into the next battle with them, thinking that it would ensure their victory. Rather than bending their knees and hearts before the Lord, they placed their confidence in a wooden box that merely represented the presence of God. So, the children of Israel went out to battle again against the Philistines, and they were defeated. Only this time, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were killed, and the ark of God was captured by the Philistines. When Eli heard the news of the ark being captured, he fell backwards off his seat, his neck broke, and he died. His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, when she heard of all that had happened, went into labor, and died after giving birth. She named her son Ichabod, because the glory (the ark) had departed from Israel. What a tragic end compared to how things could have turned out if the nation (and more specifically Eli and his house) had repented before the Lord. If we have gone astray, repentance is always the right choice. In fact, it is the only choice, for no other solution will work if sin is the problem. In our human nature, repentance is often our last choice, when it ought to be our first. At the very least we need to be like David who asked the Lord to search his heart. The Lord cares more for our spiritual state than He does our temporal blessing, peace, and safety.
So, we pick back up in chapter 5 with the Philistines bringing the ark back to Ashdod, and they put it in their temple next to Dagon their god. Dagon was the fish god in the form of a merman, and was said to be the father of Baal. They were probably celebrating their victory, but this victory would be short-lived. The Philistines thought they had beaten Israel because their god was superior, but God was about to show them otherwise. In the morning, the people of Ashdod found Dagon fallen down on its face before the ark, so they set it back up again. If your god has to be set back up again, you’ve got problems. The next day, they came in and found Dagon fallen face-down again, only this time, his head and his hands were broken off on the threshold. God was clearly demonstrating to the Philistines that He was superior to their gods. You would have thought they would have seen the futility of serving a god who mysteriously had fallen down twice and whose head and hands had been snapped off, but instead they made a ritual or superstition that no one should walk on the threshold of Dagon. Our human nature likes to take the easy way out. As someone put, “Setting Dagon up and gluing him together is easier than changing your life and your thinking.”
Well, God holds man accountable for what he knows, and since they chose to reject the truth they had been given, He tried a more severe method to get their attention. It states the Lord’s hand was heavy upon them, and He struck them with tumors. These could have been hemorrhoids, but the evidence seems to point to the bubonic plague. For you students of history, this was the plague that wiped out 2/3 of Europe during the 14th century. It is a disease caused by bacterium that are spread to humans by fleas that live on rodents such as mice and rats. Its symptoms include high fever, pains in the abdomen, arms, and legs, and lumps in the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, and groin that can ooze pus. If not treated with antibiotics, it is often fatal. The Septuagint adds to verse 6: “And the cities and the fields of all that region burst up, and mice were produced, and there was the confusion of a great death in the city.” This would also explain why the lords of the Philistines would later place golden mice or rats in the ark when returning it to Israel. So, the men of Ashdod called all the lords of the Philistines together to see what should be done with the ark. The lords stated it should be carried to Gath, and they sent the ark there. Once the ark was there, the Lord struck them with the same tumors in their secret parts. They too, decided to send the ark away to the city of Ekron. When the Ekronites saw the ark coming they cried out, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!” They also called the lords of the Philistines, and asked them to send the ark back to Israel, for it appears the same destruction came to their city as well. The men that did not die were stricken with the tumors. In total, the ark was in Philistine country seven months.
Next, the Philistines called for the priests and diviners to ask them what should be done with the ark. How should they send it back to its place? The priests and diviners stated that if they send the ark away, they should not send it empty, but they should offer a trespass offering. This way they would be healed, and would know why the Lord’s hand was not lifted off of them. They stated the trespass offering should be five golden tumors and five golden rats according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. They were told to make the images of the tumors and of the rats that ravished the land in order to give glory to the God of Israel, that He would remove His hand from them, their gods, and their land. The priests and diviners then chided the Philistines, saying, “Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart?” Again, when our hearts are hard, we can have the truth staring us right in the face, but we cannot see it. Really, it’s not so much that we cannot see it, but that we don’t want to see it. The priests and diviners further advised that they should take two milk cows that had never been yoked, hitch them to a cart, and take their calves home away from them. Next, place the ark on the cart with a chest beside it with the golden images in it, and then let it go. If it goes back to its own territory, Beth Shemesh, then it was the Lord that had done this great evil to them, but if not, then it was by chance.
To this the Philistines agreed, and they sent the cart on its way with the ark and the chest with the images on it. The cows headed straight for Beth Shemesh, lowing as they went, and they did not turn aside to the right or left. For those of you who have had experience with cattle, this is not a natural response. When the calves are separated from their mothers, they begin crying out for them. The mothers’ natural response is to try to get back to their own calf, and they somehow know which one is theirs. The Lord was confirming that He was the one that had brought the plague on them. The lords of the Philistines followed it to the border of Beth Shemesh.
At this time the men of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat, and they rejoiced when they saw the ark coming. It stopped in the field of Joshua where there was a large stone. So, they cut the cart in pieces, and used it for a burnt offering to offer the cows to the Lord. After the lords of the Philistines saw this, they returned back to Ekron. The Levites took the ark and chest off the cart, and set it upon the stone of Abel. The men of Beth Shemesh offered additional burnt offerings to the Lord as well.
We might have a tendency to think that the Lord should have been pleased with them for their offerings, but it states He struck 50 thousand and 70 men of them dead. This is a reminder to us that there is only one way that we can approach unto God. Remember, in the Old Testament the ark was placed in the Holy of Holies, and upon the lid of the ark was a mercy seat of which the presence of God would sit. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter there once a year on the day of Atonement with blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat. If we recall, inside the ark were the tables with the 10 Commandments written on them, so when the Lord would look down, He would see the 10 Commandments and how Israel had violated them. However, if the High Priest came in with blood, then the Lord would see the blood covering their violations of the Law. If the High Priest did anything wrong, he would be struck dead. So too, we cannot stand in the presence of a holy God as sinful people. However, as the author of Hebrews points out, “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” (HEB 9:11-12) And, “For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” (HEB 9:24-26) So then, Jesus is the only prescribed way for us to stand in the presence of God in all His glory. His blood has not covered our sins, but has put them away permanently.
These men did not follow the Scriptures of how to handle the ark, and as a result they were judged for it. Previously they had viewed the ark as a good-luck charm, but now they were reminded of who the God of the ark is. They were reminded of His holiness, and were afraid to keep the ark with them. They sent to the men of Kirjath Jearim to come get the ark, and the men of Kirjath Jearim took the ark to the house of Abinadab and consecrated his son to take care of it. It would remain there in Kirjath Jearim for the next 20 years.
Previously, we saw how the Lord dealt with the nation of Israel in their sin, because judgment starts at the house of God first. God deals with His children first, because He loves them and they should know better. In the last couple of chapters, we see how the Lord was primarily dealing with the Philistines who were nonbelievers. There is a time coming soon when the Lord will bring judgment on the whole world of nonbelievers, and is what we call the Tribulation. During this seven-year period, the world will be without the witness of the Church and the Holy Spirit working through them, and as a result, man will be left largely to his own devices. On top of this, the Lord will be actively pouring out His judgment on a Christ rejecting sinful world. This will unleash a series of catastrophic events that will make the bubonic plague look like a picnic. If you somehow make it through the seven years, you may very well find yourself face to face with Jesus on His white horse and the armies of Heaven behind Him. If so, He is not coming to take you up, but to take you out. It states He strikes the nations with the sword that proceeds out of His mouth. That is His word, folks! All He has to do is speak the word, and you will be finished. You might say, “I don’t deserve such a punishment; I’m a good person.” Although this may seem reasonable when comparing ourselves to others around us, but when compared with the Law of God, we fall drastically short. If we have told a lie, we are liars. If we have stolen anything, we are thieves. If we have taken God’s name in vain, we are blasphemers. If we have merely lusted in our hearts or hated our brother or sister, Jesus states we are adulterers and murderers at heart. These are only five of the 10 Commandments; there are still five more. This is why Paul wrote in Romans, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (3:10) and, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (3:23)
The good news is, that before He comes to judge, He first came to save. That wrath that you and I deserve, Jesus took it upon Himself on the cross. God has provided a way of escape. It is only one way, but that way is sure and steady. This way is Jesus Christ, and if you trust in Him, He will lead and guide you all the way home. He is that good Shepherd who demonstrated His love by laying down His life for His sheep. Trust in Him today, repent from your sins, and He will abundantly pardon you. God will freely justify you by His grace through the redemption that is in His Son Christ Jesus. You will then escape the wrath that is to come. This was a tough time in Israel’s history (and the Philistines’ for that matter), but as we will see in the next chapter, this discipline produced good fruit in the nation of Israel.
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” – Isaiah 55:6-7
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