May 12, 2024 – 1 Samuel 6:1-21
May 12, 2024 – 1 Samuel 6:1-21
6 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 and said, “What shall
we do with the ark of the Lord?
Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” 3 They
said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but
by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it
will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.” 4 And
they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They
answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the
number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you
and on your lords. 5 So you must make images of
your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give
glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off
you and your gods and your land. 6 Why should
you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their
hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the
people away, and they departed? 7 Now then, take
and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never
come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away
from them. 8 And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and
put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to
him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9 and
watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it
is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it
is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”
10 The men
did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their
calves at home. 11 And they put the ark of
the Lord on the cart and
the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12 And
the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one
highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left,
and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border
of Beth-shemesh. 13 Now the people
of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when
they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14 The
cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A
great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the
cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 And
the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and
the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them
upon the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt
offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord. 16 And
when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to
Ekron.
17 These
are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to
the Lord: one for Ashdod, one
for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron, 18 and
the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines
belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled
villages. The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in
the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
19 And he
struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of
the Lord. He struck seventy
men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a
great blow. 20 Then the men of Beth-shemesh
said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from
us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants
of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of
the Lord. Come down and take
it up to you.”
Again we see a willful act
of disobedience as they looked upon the ark. In Numbers 4:5 indicates the ark
should be covered. In Numbers 4: 19-20, God warns that looking on the holy
things for even a minute would result in death.
Disobedience is how these
acts would be described. Where are you in terms of obedience to God? Do you
seek out his will and his way daily? I struggle with being obedient at all
times and must go to the Lord for forgiveness. What a mighty God we serve and
how willing he is to forgive us is so important to us. May you and may I repent
and turn away from your disobedient behavior today.
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