A Verse
1 Samuel 6:1-9
The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.” And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land. Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed? Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. And take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”
A Comment
In today’s passages, we see the Philistines concede that the LORD, the God of Israel, is too great for them. As one OT scholar describes the scene, “To send the ark of Yahweh back would be to acknowledge a religio-political defeat, and such a decision would not be made lightly, especially since there were apparently some who did not believe the link between the ark and the plague was proven beyond a reasonable doubt (vv. 3, 9). But now they admit defeat and ask the priests how to go about sending the ark back.” While the Philistines had defeated the Israelites, they could not defeat the LORD. His presence was too great. So, the Philistine religious authorities made plans to send the Ark away from their presence.
In choosing to send the Ark of the LORD away from their presence, the religious leaders believed that people should make some sort of recompense for their error. Having come to realize that it was likely the LORD God of Israel who had afflicted the people with tumors for the past seven months, they made the decision to fashion and send five golden tumors and five golden mice with the Ark. The significance of the number “five” in this passage is related to the five regions of the Philistines: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. Why golden tumors and golden mice? Because the LORD had afflicted the Philistine people with tumors and ravaged their fields with mice (See verse 5). By sending these golden items, the Philistines were attempting to make a sort of peace offering with the LORD God of Israel.
After deciding what to send with the Ark of the LORD, the Philistines had to figure out how to send the Ark of the LORD. They wanted it out of their region. So, the decision was made to take two milk cows that still had nursing calves but who had never borne a yoke and see if they would carry the Ark of the LORD to Beth-shemesh. There are a few things worth noting here. First, two milk cows that were still nursing their calves would not be inclined to leave the region where their calves were located. It would be against their motherly instinct to leave their nursing calves. Furthermore, given that they had never worn a yoke or pulled a cart, if these milk cows not only left their nursing calves but also carried the Ark of the LORD to Beth-shemesh, then it would demonstrate to the Philistines that it was the hand of the Lord that brought about the plague. So, not only are the Philistines trying to figure out what to do with the Ark of the LORD, but they are also trying to test whether or not the LORD is the One responsible for their misery.
And what do we see in the closing verses? The milk cows who have never been yoked to a cart not only leave their nursing calves but also travel to Beth-shemesh, demonstrating that it was, in fact, the LORD who was bringing calamity on the Philistines. This demonstrates that the LORD not only defeated the Philistines with the plague but also that He was sovereign over nature, causing the milk cows to act contrary to their instinct, leaving their nursing calves behind in service to the LORD. Even the cows obey the sovereign Lord.
Before we pray, I want us to marvel at our sovereign God who rules over His enemies and His creation. The Philistines could not defeat Him. Nor could nature fail to obey Him. He rules with absolute sovereignty over the world to restore His presence among His people, even when His people have gone astray. There is a divine mercy embedded in this story that we must not fail to see. The LORD is free in His actions, and His actions are oriented to His glory and the good of His people.
A Prayer
Would you pray with me?
A Blessing
Now may the Lord of Peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. the Lord be with all of you.
Even the Cows Obey Him (1 Samuel 6:1-9)