1 Samuel 6

1 Samuel 6 continues the story of the Ark of the Covenant, which had been captured by the Philistines in a previous chapter. After suffering great affliction due to the presence of the Ark, the Philistines decide to return it to Israel, seeking to appease God’s wrath. This chapter focuses on the process of returning the Ark and the events that follow, demonstrating the consequences of disrespecting God’s holy presence.

1 Samuel 6:1-5 (NKJV)
1 Now 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 with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”
3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”
4 Then they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.
5 Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land.

The Philistines, plagued by the presence of the Ark, sought advice from their religious leaders. The diviners suggested sending the Ark back with a trespass offering, acknowledging their guilt before the God of Israel. They decided to create golden images of the afflictions (tumors and rats) that symbolized the plagues God had inflicted on them. The trespass offering was an attempt to appease God's wrath and bring healing, hoping to stop further punishment on their people, land, and gods.

1 Samuel 6:6-9 (NKJV)
6 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?
7 Now therefore, make a new cart, take two milk cows which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them.
8 Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go.
9 And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.

The Philistine leaders referenced the hardened hearts of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, reminding themselves not to repeat those mistakes by refusing to humble themselves before God. They prepared a new cart, yoked to cows that had never been used for work, and separated the cows from their calves to test whether the God of Israel was truly behind their suffering. If the cows went straight to Israelite territory, it would confirm that their afflictions were indeed divine punishment. If not, they would consider it a coincidence.

1 Samuel 6:10-12 (NKJV)
10 Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
11 And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors.
12 Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

The Philistines followed through with their plan, and the cows, despite being separated from their calves, went directly toward Beth Shemesh, a sign that God was indeed behind the plagues they had suffered. The cows’ unwavering path confirmed God’s involvement, and the Philistine leaders followed the Ark to the border, witnessing the supernatural event.

1 Samuel 6:13-15 (NKJV)
13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.
15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord.

The arrival of the Ark in Beth Shemesh brought great joy to the Israelites, who were in the midst of their wheat harvest. The people immediately responded by offering the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. The Levites, knowing their duty concerning the Ark, carefully handled it and placed it on a large stone, a symbolic moment of reverence and thanksgiving. The people of Beth Shemesh celebrated by making additional offerings to the Lord.

1 Samuel 6:16-18 (NKJV)
16 So when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;
18 and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the Lord, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

The five Philistine lords, having witnessed the Ark's safe return and the people's offerings, returned to their cities, acknowledging God's power. The golden tumors and rats represented the five major Philistine cities, indicating that their trespass offering covered all the afflicted areas. The large stone where the Ark was set served as a memorial, reminding future generations of God’s intervention and the Ark’s return.

1 Samuel 6:19-21 (NKJV)
19 Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.
20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?”
21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.”

Although the Ark was a source of joy, the men of Beth Shemesh sinned by disrespecting its holiness and looking inside. This act of irreverence resulted in a great slaughter, showing the seriousness of violating God's sacred commands. The people of Beth Shemesh were filled with fear and recognized their unworthiness to house the Ark. They sent for the people of Kirjath Jearim, asking them to take the Ark, understanding the need for proper reverence toward God's presence.