1 Samuel 6
The Ark of God Returned to Israel
In this section, the author records how God continued to defend His reputation and prove His superiority in both Philistia and Israel.
What Should We Do with The Ark of The Lord?
A Question
Vs. 2 - What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we can send it back to its place.
The Philistines felt fairly certain that the ark was the cause of their troubles. So they decided to send it back to Israel, along with gifts to Israel’s God to pay for their sin in capturing his ark. - Don Fleming
A Guilt Offering
Vs. 4 - What guilt offering should we send back to him?
Leviticus 5 describes a specific sacrifice called a guilt offering for Jews who committed unintentional sin. Were these Philistine diviners aware of that specific offering, or was this their own version of appeasing a deity? The author gives us no indication that God acknowledged the creation of the gold objects, only that He guided His ark back to His people.
Evidently the reason the Philistines fashioned images of mice was that there was some connection between rodents and the swellings the Philistines suffered. Probably the Philistines intended that the models would trigger sympathetic magic, that is, that they would accomplish what they wanted when they did a similar thing. By sending the models out of their country they hoped the tumors and mice would depart too. - Thomas Constable
A Test
Vs. 9 - Then watch: If it goes up the road to its homeland toward Beth-shemesh, it is the Lord who has made this terrible trouble for us.
It seems that the Philistines already knew the true source of their suffering. Yaweh was defending His name and guiding His ark back to His people. But to fully acknowledge that would have required them to grapple with the superiority of Israel’s God. So the cart and cows provided final confirmation.
Wicked men will sooner believe the most uncertain and ridiculous things than own the visible demonstrations of God’s power and providence. - Poole
Who Is Able to Stand in The Presence of The Lord?
Vs. 19-20 - The people mourned because the Lord struck them with a great slaughter. The people of Beth-shemesh asked, Who is able to stand in the presence of the Lord this holy God?
The people of Beth-shemesh were grateful for the ark, but they were not careful to honor it. Had they been without leadership for so long that they were ignorant of God’s instructions for handling the ark? Had they made the effort to learn? Or did they desire the presence and provision of God but only on their own terms?
Their question, however, becomes the consideration of all men who put their greatest effort into worshipping God in their preferred manner. Who can approach a holy God?
In a strict sense, their offering was against the Mosaic Law. First, they offered female animals to the LORD, which was forbidden (Leviticus 1:3; 22:19). Second, they made a burnt offering to the LORD away from the tabernacle, which violated the command in Deuteronomy 12:5-6. Yet God knew both their hearts and the remarkable circumstances, and He was no doubt honored.
The Israelites were careful to let the Levites handle the ark, as was commanded by the law (Numbers 4:1-6, 15). Beth Shemesh was a priestly city (Joshua 21:16), so priests were on hand.
In their disrespect for God, the men of Beth Shemesh offended the holiness of the LORD. Now they knew the LORD was holy, but it didn’t make them want to be closer to God. It made them want to distance themselves from God. For the men of Beth Shemesh, the holiness of God was a problem, a problem that could be fixed by putting distance between themselves and God. Their question was not, “How can we be made right with a holy God,” but it was “Who can we give this problem to so the holiness of God is no longer a burden to us?” - David Guzik
Here they seem peevishly [angrily] to lay the blame of their sufferings upon God, as over-holy and strict: of their sins, the true cause, they say nothing; but take care to rid their hands of the ark, which they should have retained reverently. - Trapp
Vs. 21 - They sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and get it.”
Why did the Israelites not return the ark to the tabernacle at Shiloh? Kiriath-jearim was not a Levitical city nor is there any reason to believe Abinadab and Eleazar were priests or Levites. One possibility is that the Philistines had destroyed Shiloh (Psalms 78:60; Jeremiah 7:12; Jeremiah 7:14; Jeremiah 26:6; Jeremiah 26:9). Perhaps the Israelites kept the ark there for convenience sake. It evidently remained there for many years. The ark did not reside in an appropriate place of honor until David brought it into his new capital, Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6). - Thomas Constable
