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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Samuel 6:13 - 6:21
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The Ark Accepted, but the People Slain
v. 13. And they of Beth-shemesh, which was a city set aside for priests on the boundary between Judah and Dan, Jos_15:10; Jos_21:16, were reaping their wheat-harvest in the valley, about the beginning of June; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it, very much pleased to know that it had been returned to Israel.
v. 14. And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone, the cows came to a halt there of their own free will; and they, the inhabitants of the city, clave the wood of the cart and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord.
v. 15. And the Levites, who also were living in the city, took down the ark of the Lord, had taken it down as soon as they received news of the joyful happening, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh, in a second sacrificial act, offered burnt offerings, thus consecrating themselves anew to the service of the Lord, and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord, the sacrificial meals being intended to renew their fellowship with Jehovah, who had proved Himself such a mighty God, the only true Lord.
v. 16. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, being witnesses of this Revelation of the God of Israel, they returned to Ekron the same day, having followed the instructions of their priests.
v. 17. And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering unto the Lord, as expiatory gifts: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one, these being the five city-states of the Philistines;
v. 18. and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities and of country villages, every city and town in the five states thus being represented by a figure, evidently because the plague of the mice had extended over the entire country, even unto the great stone of Abel, that mighty attar like ledge in the field of Joshua, whereon they set the ark of the Lord; which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite, a mute witness and monument of the event as here recorded.
v. 19. And he, God, smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they, overcome by a blasphemous curiosity, had looked into the ark of the Lord, in a manner which did not agree with the holiness of Jehovah, to whom the ark was dedicated, even He smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men. And the people lamented because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter Apparently the presence of the ark attracted a great many sightseers from the entire surrounding country, who came with anything but a reverent mind and were therefore punished by Jehovah.
v. 20. And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall He go up from us? They were afraid to keep the ark in their own midst after the great tragedy had occurred.
v. 21. And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, a city of Judah somewhat farther to the east, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the Lord; come ye down and fetch it up to you. The Beth-shemites felt that they were no better than the men who had been killed, and they dreaded a recurrence of the tragedy. All those who dare to draw near to the means of grace, the Word and the Sacrament, with fleshly minds, with sacrilegious hearts, will receive no blessing, but only God's judgment and condemnation.