The Philistines Plan to Return the Ark
Study note
After seven months, the Philistines consulted their priests and fortune-tellers about how to return the ark. They were told to send it back with a guilt offering of five gold tumors and five gold mice, one for each of the five Philistine cities. The mice represented a plague of rodents that had also devastated their land. They devised a test: they placed the ark on a new cart pulled by two mother cows that had never been yoked before, with their calves taken away from them. If the cows walked straight toward Israel, it would prove that Israel's God had caused the plagues.
1 The ark of the Lord sat in Philistine territory for a total of seven months. And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2 The Philistines called their priests and fortune-tellers together and asked, "What do we do with the Lord's ark? How are we supposed to send it back where it belongs?" 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 The advisers said, "If you return the ark of Israel's God, do not send it back empty. You need to include a guilt offering. That way you will be healed, and you will finally understand why his hand has been punishing you so harshly." 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 The Philistines asked, "What kind of guilt offering should we send?" The reply came: "Five gold tumors and five gold mice, one representing each of the Philistine rulers, since this same plague has hit all of you and your leaders." 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.
5 "Make gold models of your tumors and gold models of the mice that have been ruining your land. Show respect to the God of Israel. Maybe then he will stop bringing disaster on you, your gods, and your country." 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 "Why be stubborn the way the Egyptians and Pharaoh were? After God struck them over and over, did they not finally give in and let the people go?" Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
7 "Here is what you need to do: build a new cart and hitch up two mother cows that have never pulled a cart before. Take their calves away from them and lock the calves in the barn." 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 "Put the Lord's ark on the cart. Place the gold objects that make up your guilt offering in a box beside it. Then send the cart on its way and let it go." 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 "Keep your eyes on it and see where it goes. If the cows head straight toward Beth-shemesh in Israelite territory, then we will know it was the Lord who caused all this suffering. But if the cows go some other direction, we will know it was just a coincidence and not his doing." And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, 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.
The Ark Returns to Israel
Study note
The cows went straight toward the Israelite town of Beth-shemesh, mooing as they went but never turning aside. This confirmed to the Philistine rulers, who followed at a distance, that Israel's God had caused their suffering. The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat and were overjoyed to see the ark. They broke up the cart for firewood and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. The Levites carefully removed the ark and the gold offerings.
10 The Philistines followed the instructions. They got two mother cows and hitched them to the new cart, keeping their calves locked up in the barn. And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
11 They placed the Lord's ark on the cart along with the box that held the gold mice and the gold models of their tumors. 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 The cows headed straight down the road toward Beth-shemesh without wandering off course at all. They mooed as they walked but never turned right or left. The Philistine rulers followed behind them all the way to the Beth-shemesh border. And the kine took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, 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 Beth-shemesh.
13 The people of Beth-shemesh were out harvesting wheat in the valley. When they glanced up and spotted the ark, they were overjoyed. And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 The cart rolled into the field of a man named Joshua of Beth-shemesh and came to a stop beside a large boulder. The people chopped up the cart for firewood and used the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, 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 The Levites carefully lifted the Lord's ark and the box containing the gold objects down from the cart and set them on the large boulder. That day, the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and other sacrifices to the Lord. 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 Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.
16 The five Philistine rulers watched everything that happened, then turned around and went home to Ekron that same day. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 Here are the five gold tumors the Philistines sent to the Lord. One was for Ashdod. One for Gaza. One for Ashkelon. One for Gath. And one for Ekron. 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 The number of gold mice matched the total number of cities that belonged to the five Philistine rulers. This included both the walled cities and the open villages. The large rock where they set the Lord's ark still stands in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh today. 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 great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite.
Judgment at Beth-shemesh
Study note
God struck down some men of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark, which was strictly forbidden. The ark was so holy that even the priests were not supposed to look inside it. The people were filled with fear and asked, 'Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?' They sent word to the people of Kiriath-jearim to come and take the ark.
19 But God struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they opened the ark of the Lord and looked inside. He killed seventy men, and the people grieved deeply because the Lord had dealt such a devastating blow. And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, 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 The men of Beth-shemesh asked, "Who can possibly stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? And where should the ark go from here so it is no longer with us?" And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
21 They sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim with this message: "The Philistines have sent the Lord's ark back. Come down and take it up to your city." And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.