The Ark in the Land of the Philistines
First Samuel 5: 1-12
The action now shifts to the Philistines as they move the Ark through their territories – and suffer Ha’Shem’s judgment as a result. First Samuel 4 records Isra’el’s defeat at the battle of Ebenezer, in which Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain and the Ark of the covenant fell into the Philistines hands. The Israelites feared that their beloved Ark had been lost forever or, even worse, that ADONAI’s power might now pass to their enemies. But instead of the LORD’s falling into their hands, those who possessed God’s holy vessel discovered what the writer of Hebrews warns us: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).133
Chapter 5 contains the decisive inversion that is at the heart of the entire story. At the beginning of this chapter, YHVH and the Ark are captured and are therefore weak; the Philistines and their god, Dagon, are strong and have prevailed (5:1). By the end of the chapter, God’s “hand” (power) prevails (5:11) and the Philistines are reduced to a helpless cry (5:12). As with the song of Hannah (2:6-7), this is the story of the God who kills and brings life, who brings down and raises up, who makes poor and makes rich, who brings low and exalts. It is the story of the incomprehensible, but wonderful way in which the God of Isra’el, driven into exile and captured (4:21-22), cannot be kept helpless but will act according to His unequaled freedom and sovereign power.134 In the end, neither Isra’el nor the Philistines could explain how it happened, but only that the Philistines couldn’t wait to get rid of the Ark, and the Israelites were only too happy to receive it.
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