Problems With Handling the Ark

Click here to read I Samuel 6.

The Ark of the Covenant was in the land of the Philistines for 7 months. Tradition has it that the Ark was at one time in all the cities of the Philistines and each one in turn, came down with the plague. Finally, they took it out into a field and left it. Mice sprung up and destroyed everything that was planted.

At a loss as to what to do, the leaders of the 5 Philistine cities called together their priests and "diviners". First they asked them what they should do with the Ark. Without hesitation, the priests replied, "Send it back to the Israelites." Verse 6 indicates there may have been some who was reluctant to do this to which the priests replied, "Remember what happened to Pharaoh and the Egyptians whose hardened heart only resulted in additional plagues.

Finally, they decided to send the Ark back and send with it a "sin offering", acknowledging the sin of their trespass. Notice their offering. Five gold replicas of the tumors caused by the plagues and five gold replicas of the mice that ravished the land. One each from the 5 cities of the Philistines.

Now notice the plan:

  1. They were to build a wooden cart of new wood.
  2. They were to hitch to it, two cows that had just had calves, cows that had never been yoked before. Designing into the plan many stumbling blocks. The odds of a cow leaving her calf or pulling a cart voluntarily for the first time were high.
  3. They were then to place the Ark upon the cart along with a chest containing the 10 golden replicas for their sin offering and turn the cows loose.

Thus they reasoned:

They surmised that the cows would pull the cart to Beth-she-mesh if the Lord had anything to do with it and sure enough, the cows pulled the cart straight towards Beth-she-mesh (house of the sun). This city was on the border of Dan and Judah about 7 miles from the Philistine boarder. The Philistine leaders followed the cart to the edge of the city. The people of the city were out harvesting wheat and when they saw the Ark, they went wile with joy.

The cows pulled the Ark into a field owned by a man named Joshua. They stopped beside a large stone. The Ark was taken off the cart and put upon the stone by several Levites. Then the cart was broken up and used to make a fire on which the cows were sacrificed as a burnt offering. All seemed to go well, but the Lord was angry. The men of Beth-she-mesh had looked upon the Ark unworthily and the Lord killed *70 of them, and the people mourned.

  • How many men were killed? There are many translated calculations of the original Hebrew. Note some of the following:
    1. From the original we calculate 50,070 men.
    2. Some translate 3 score and 10 (70) plus 50,000.
    3. The Arabic reads 5,070 men.
    4. The Chaldees read 70 elders and 50,000 common men.
    5. Some translate 70 men.
    6. Some scholars believe that 70 men of Beth-she-mesh were killed and 50,000 Philistines. I lean toward this one.

    What else caused God's anger? Back in Numbers Chapter 4, God gave instructions for the handling and transportation of the Ark. In these instructions, the High Priest would cover the Ark with the veil from the Holy of Holies and then cover it with a blue cloth and a leather case. Thus no one but the Priest would view the Ark. The people of Beth-she-mesh now viewed the Ark as the presence of God and remembering the loss of 70 of their people, they cried out, "Who is able to stand before the Lord?" Maybe, they thought, the people of Ramah (Kiriath-jearim) so they sent word to them to come and get the Ark. Since Ramah was on the way to Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was, we assume that the people of Beth-she-mesh thought that the people of Ramah would take it on to Shiloh


    • Previous Chapter
    Return to Outline
    Ask Questions
    Next Chapter