The Ark Leaving Philistia
First Samuel 6: 1-9
The Ark leaving Philistia DIG: Why did the priests and soothsayers suggest a Guilt Offering? Why did that offering consist of imitation mice and tumors made of gold? Why five of each? What lesson was drawn from the plagues that God sent upon Egypt? Why do you think they built a new cart and unyoked cows to transport the Ark? How were the Philistines to be assured that the God of the Israelites had intentionally brought the plague on them and not by chance?
REFLECT: When was the last time you felt God was angry with you? At such times, do you feel like nothing – not even good behavior or Guilt Offerings – will please Him? What finally turns the tide of His anger? When do you test God? When have you treated God with too much familiarity? How do you maintain proper respect for His holiness? Do you use “signs” to determine if ADONAI is for or against a plan of yours? What signs? How do you know if they are from God?
The Philistines’ instinct in offering costly materials was right,
but their estimation of the cost of forgiveness was simply too low!
The Ark of ADONAI was in the country of the Philistines for seven months (6:1). During that time the people of at least three Philistine cities were thrown into chaos (to see link click Be – The Ark in the Land of the Philistines). Capturing their enemies’ most sacred object was something to be proud of, so at first there was opposition to simply giving up the Ark. But now it clearly had to be sent away. The five Philistine lords, representing five cities, summoned their own priests and soothsayers (who knew so much about the history of Isra’el) and asked them, “What are we to do with the Ark of ADONAI? Tell us how to send it back where it belongs” (6:2). There were so many unnecessary deaths. How I wish that those who live in Gaza today would also see the history of Isra’el and avoid so many deaths. However, they decided to send the Ark back to Isra’el, and the way they did it was extremely revealing.
After what had happened to their god Dagon, to themselves, and to their land, it had created a fear of making things worse by not observing what they believed to be the right protocol. The priests answered: If you do send off the Ark of the God of Isra’el, don’t send it back empty, but return it to Him with some sort of Guilt Offering. This is the offering for one who stole something from its rightful owner (see Leviticus Am – The Guilt Offering: Evidence of Repentance). So, the Philistines were viewed as being thieves who stole the Ark of the covenant from its rightful owner, Isra’el. The expected result was, “Then you will be cured from the plague (5:6), and you will learn why He has not stopped oppressing you” (6:3). The Philistines’ approach revealed both insight and ignorance with respect to Ha’Shem’s holy wrath. What insight they had come from the schooling they had received. They realized they had offended a holy God. Yet, even with that insight, their desperate attempts to rid themselves of the wrath of the LORD ultimately exposed their great ignorance of YHVH and His ways.
Therefore, the Philistine lords asked the priests and soothsayers, “What kind of guilt offering should we send him?” They replied: Five models of golden tumors. The bubonic plague (5:6) produces painful swelling and affects the lymph nodes, which are enlarged and produce visible swelling that can become the size of eggs. So, the golden models of tumors were the size of five golden eggs. This was based on the pagan custom of appeasing the gods. Secondly, the Philistine priests recommended that five golden mice be sent because that’s how many lords the Philistines had, and you and your leaders all had the same illness (6:4). Just like the Egyptians (Exodus 12:35-36), the Philistines recognized the power of the God of Isra’el and gave gold to the Israelites when they left.149
So make models of your tumors (the actual plague) and models of your mice (how it was spread) that are infesting your land, and show respect to the God of Isra’el. Maybe He will stop oppressing you, your gods and your land (6:5). They had some superficial knowledge about YHVH, but they did not actually know YHVH. That was true of both the Philistines and ‘Eli and his sons! Both did not believe, only paying lip service to Him, but their heart really wasn’t in it. This is why it is so important to know the One true God.150
How are we to understand this offering? The priests realized that any payment to God for sin must be costly. The Philistines were paying a high price for what they had done to offend the LORD, and it was obvious that they could only satisfy God’s wrath by making a costly sacrifice. Moreover, the punishment needed to correspond in some way to the punishment they were receiving. Since God’s judgment involved diseased mice and produced tumors on their flesh, they thought to offer ADONAI what 6:18 assures us was a great many golden mice – each not only for the five major cities, but also for each of their fortified towns and country villages – that would memorialize and pay for the dreadful judgment that God had inflicted on them.
What the Philistines should have done was to consult an Israelite priest! A true priest would have told them the proper Guilt Offering, “Bring to the LORD as His compensation, a ram from the flock, one without defect” (Leviticus 5:15b). The prophet Isaiah would have gone further and informed them that the ram looked forward to the coming of the Savior whom YHVH would send. He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:5-6). Finally, in the B’rit Chadashah we learn that this Savior is the Son of God, Yeshua Messiah, of whom John declared: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)!151
The priests asked their lords, “Why then do you harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? Evidently, there was some initial support for opposing the proposed Guilt Offering. The opposition of Pharaoh to the release of the Israelite slaves was evidently well known beyond the borders of Isra’el, as was the fact that he gained nothing by it but extra plagues on his people. The priests continued: When the Israelite God had severely dealt with them, didn’t the Egyptians let the people go (6:6)? In the end Pharaoh had to give in, so the Philistines would be wise to delay no longer.152 The five Philistine lords, having suffered the plague of God, needed to immediately release the Ark of the covenant to go back to its place. They prepared themselves by taking seven steps.
First, take a new cart. Second, and two milk-cows that have never been under a yoke. Third, harness the cows to the cart. Fourth, put their calves back in the shed. Fifth, then take the Ark of ADONAI and lay it on the cart. Sixth, put the gold objects in a box next to the Ark you are sending back as a Guilt Offering. And seventh, then send it away to go off by itself, but watch to see if it goes up the road to Beth-Shemesh, a Levitical city about fifteen miles west of Jerusalem in the Sorek Valley (Joshua 21:16). If it does, the God of the Israelites is responsible for this great tragedy; if not, we will know that it is not His oppression which has been over us, but that what has been happening to us has been only by chance (6:7-9).
Thus, an experiment was set up to test whether or not ADONAI had been responsible for the plagues, for they might have happened quite by chance. Every effort was to be made to do the reverent thing: the cart was to be new and the cows unyoked. Since the cows had never pulled a cart, and had nursing calves dependent on them, all their instructions would be to turn back. If that happened, it would be “proof” that the God of the Israelites wasn’t in control and the Philistines had nothing to fear. But if, contrary to natural instincts, the cows pressed ahead with the precious load, that would show that He had been responsible.153
The Philistines were practicing an approach to discerning God’s will that is sometimes used by God’s people. A famous example is Gideon, who responded to the command of ADONAI by seeking a supernatural confirmation (see the commentary on Judges Ba – The Sign of the Fleece). Just like the Philistines, Gideon was asking ADONAI to confirm His involvement by making things happen contrary to nature. Gideon laid his fleece on the ground and asked the LORD to make it wet with dew while the ground was dry. When that happened, Gideon then asked for the ground to be wet and the fleece dry. However, his “laying out a fleece” is not an example we should follow, but a sign of Gideon’s weak faith.154
The planning of the Philistines was indeed careful and cunning. They set very long odds to prove that the God of the Israelites was not superior to their god Dagan. The same odds that the LORD (and Elijah) faced at Mount Carmel (see the commentary on Elijah and Elisha Aq – Elijah and the Prophets of Ba’al). Yes, the Philistines were frightened, but they were determined to show that ADONAI was a powerless god. Their strategy was to prevent Ha’Shem from demonstrating His sovereignty. Everything was ready. There is dramatic suspense. Waiting to see in their scheme would work; waiting to see if God, represented by the Ark, would leave; waiting to see if He could make a move to freedom.155
The Philistines’ instinct in offering costly materials was right, but their estimation of the cost of forgiveness was simply too low! Our sin causes infinite offense to God’s holy justice, and thus we can only be forgiven and cleansed by an infinitely valuable sacrifice. Peter says that we gain forgiveness not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Messiah (First Peter 1:18-19). God Himself has sent the Sacrifice that fully satisfies His every claim of His holiness, and by which we can escape His wrath against our sins. Only by relying on the blood of Messiah can we receive forgiveness, not by something we have earned, but by grace alone, through faith alone, in Messiah alone.156
Dear heavenly Father, all praise, glory and honor go to you! You could have wiped out the Philistines with one word when they captured Your Ark, but instead You wisely made Your Name great by afflicting them with tumors. You gave definite proof that You are greater than the Philistine gods. You are so wise in all You do. You show that You are God by Your creation. When people take time to look at how special and perfect all creation is, it clearly points to you, a mighty and wise God. What can be known about God is plain to them – for God has shown it to them. His invisible attributes – His eternal power and His divine nature – have been clearly seen ever since the creation of the world, being understood through the things that have been made. So people are without excuse (Romans 1:19b-20).
You are a God of love, and You are also to be feared, for you are Holy, Holy, Holy! You are so far above mankind in Your purity and holiness. No one should try to claim Your mercy and grace and then think that they can’t ignore You by living for themselves. They need to realize that God gives His kindness to draw people to Himself. God asks: Do you belittle the riches of [My] kindness and tolerance and patience- not realizing that [My] kindness leads you to repentance (Rom 2:5)? It is utter foolishness to trust in one’s own deeds. You so graciously sent Messiah to die as the Sacrifice Lamb (Jn 1:29) for all who would love (Jn 14:23) and follow Messiah as their Lord and Savior (Rom 10:9-11). It cost You so much pain and shame (Heb 12:2) to take man’s penalty of death for their sin. Thank You for Your love as our sacrifice. Having You as our heavenly Father is such a wonderful privilege! Your children love to obey and worship You, and rejoice to give You praise! In Messiah Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen!
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