1 Samuel 6:1-9
1 Now the ark of the Lord had been in the territory of the Philistines for seven months.
2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What are we to do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we may send it to its place.”
3 And they said, “If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel away, do not send it empty; but you shall certainly return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be revealed to you why His hand does not leave you.”
4 Then they said, “What is to be the guilt offering that we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice corresponding to the number of the governors of the Philistines, since one plague was on all of you and on your governors.
5 So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that are ruining the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, your gods, and your land.
6 Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, did they not let the people go, and they left?
7 Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves back home, away from them.
8 Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you return to Him as a guilt offering in a saddlebag by its side. Then send it away that it may go.
9 But watch: if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then He has done this great evil to us. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.”
The Advice of the Priests and the Diviners
Seven months of calamity
The Ark of the Lord remained in the territory of the Philistines for seven months. This means that the Philistines were afflicted with tumors during this period. It’s curious why they didn’t try to resolve this issue sooner. Similarly, the Israelites did not attempt to retrieve the Ark, which is also strange. However, considering how sinners often fail to separate themselves from sin, this might not be so surprising after all. Finally, the rulers of the Philistines took action and summoned the priests and diviners of Dagon to ask how to return the Ark of the Lord to its original place.
Detail of the advice
The advice of the priests and diviners was based on pagan customs. (1) Sending back the Ark with a guilt offering was a custom practiced when returning stolen goods. They acknowledged that they had taken something that did not belong to them. (2) The guilt offering was to consist of “five gold tumors and five gold mice,” corresponding to the five cities of Philistine. The tumors they suffered from seem to have been swellings in the groin area, possibly caused by infections spread by mice. These swellings ultimately grow to the size of an egg. The golden mice were included in the offering for this reason. (3) The diviners referred to the history of the Exodus, advising not to harden their hearts. The history of the Exodus was vividly remembered even by these pagan people. (4) Their proposal involved placing the Ark of God on a new cart and having it pulled by two milk cows which had not been weaned from their calves. Cows naturally want to return to their calves, but if they go against this instinct and head towards the land of Israel, it can be asserted that the calamity is from the God of Israel. If not, it can be considered a coincidence. (5) In the direction which the cows would head was the town of Beth-shemesh. As this was a Levite town, the Ark of the Lord could be properly taken care of. The point of this passage is the repentance that was too late and halfhearted. If we hear God’s voice in the midst of affliction, we should repent immediately.
Today's prayer
O God of Israel, please give me the discerning ears and a broken heart, so that I can respond immediately to Your voice. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.