Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to Him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us and that it happened to us by chance."
So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.
Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. The Levites took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.
These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord - one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers — the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock, on which they set the ark of the Lord, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
But God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them, and the men of Beth Shemesh asked, "Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?"
Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, "The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your place."
So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They took it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.
1 Samuel 6:7-21, 7:1
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the start of Chapter 6, we read where the Philistines were trying to get rid of the ark of God because of the plague they were suffering from. You’ll recall that they had gone to their pagan priests and diviners for guidance and were told not to return the ark without also giving a guilt offering.
So as the Chapter continues in our passage, we see where the Philistines are told to “…get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked”. They were to “hitch the cows to the cart but take their calves away and pen them up” before taking the ark of the Lord and putting it on the cart with a chest beside it with gold objects being sent back to God as a guilt offering.
Once the cart was ready, there were specific instructions as to how to send it off. They were to see it “on its way” but were to “keep watching it” to see which direction the cart went. The Philistine priests and diviners believed that the direction the cart took would indicate whether the suffering their people were going through was from God or just by happenstance. And so they gave the following guidance:
“If it (the cow-driven cart) goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us and that it happened to us by chance."
And so the Philistines followed the guidance. Scripture tells us they “took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves” before placing “the ark of the Lord on the cart” with “the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors”. They then set the cart on its way and watched the cows go “straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way”…not turning to the right or to the left. And “the rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh”. And so, it was clear through what had happened that God had definitely brought His judgment down on the pagan Philistines.
As the cart brought the ark of God into Beth Shemesh, the people saw it as they were “harvesting their wheat in the valley” and just the sight of the ark brought them into a spirit of rejoicing. As the “cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh”, it stopped beside a large rock and the “people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord”. The Levites then “took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock” and “the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord” that day. After viewing the sacrifices, the “five rulers of the Philistines…returned that same day to Ekron”.
So all seemed to be fine in Beth Shemesh. The ark of the Lord had returned! The people had rejoiced and brought their offerings and sacrifices before God. And all would have stayed well if the people had stayed obedient to God’s commands. But then again…that wasn’t the Israelites nature. No matter how hard they tried, they just couldn’t seem to avoid the temptation of disobedience.
So what happened in Beth Shemesh to spoil all the celebrating? Seventy men were struck down by God because they “looked into the ark of the Lord”. Although God had clearly warned that no one was to enter the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle…the place where the ark and testimony were kept…except once a year on the Day of Atonement. And even then, only the High Priest was allowed to enter. And so as the ark was transported, it was to be revered but respected. No one was authorized to open the ark and view the contents because they were holy and of the Lord God Almighty.
But temptation is a powerful evil unchecked and the seventy who gave into it found themselves suffering the fatal consequence for their disobedience…a consequence that left the people mourning and the men of Beth Shemesh asking, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?"
Indeed…who can stand face to face in the presence of the Lord? No one had the right then and no one on earth can truly stand before Him now either. We’re not on God’s level. Not even close. In fact, we won’t see Him face to face until we pass from this earthly life and into the eternal promise that He has given us through His son Jesus Christ. Until then, we are His servants and we are to bow down and serve Him. We are His children and He is our heavenly Father…a Father we are to honor…always.
So let us not be so bold to think we are on an even level with God. He and He alone is God…holy, omnipotent, mighty and above all things. We should only bow before Him in honor and reverence…in respect and thanksgiving for His infinite mercy, grace and love. As long as we stay in a mindset of surrender and submission toward God, then we will find ourselves guided by His will and way.
It’s only when we decide to do what we want to do, that we, like the men of Beth Shemesh, will ultimately violate God’s commands and expectations, giving into temptation, dishonoring Him and finding ourselves subject to His correction. And that’s not a place any of us should want to be. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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