Rashness Punished; Reverence Blessed. The LORD struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck down 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter. 1Sa 6:19
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MONARCHY
INTRODUCTION
The authorship of these books cannot be determined, but there is abundant evidence that they embody the report of eye-witnesses. Some of the more prominent characters in the scenes described are name as writers in 1Ch_29:29.
The First Book of Samuel records the rise of a new political and spiritual order represented by the kings and the prophets. The establishment of the monarchy, with Saul as the first king, is an epochal event in the development of Israel’s national life.
Of no less importance is the appearance of the “schools of the prophets” under the leadership of Samuel. In these institutions we see the beginning of the movement which made Israel spiritually supreme among the nations.
I. FROM THE BIRTH OF SAMUEL TO THE ANOINTING OF SAUL, I Samuel 1-8
7. The Return of the Ark to Israel, 1Sa_6:1-21; 1Sa_7:1-17
12. How did the Israelites provoke God when the Ark was returned?
1 Samuel 6:13-21
and
1 Samuel 7:1-2
THE ARK RETURNED TO ISRAEL
Now the men of Beth-shemesh were gathering their wheat harvest in the valley, and they looked up and saw the ark and rejoiced to see it.
The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A large stone was there; and the men split up the wood of the cart [for firewood] and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
The Levites had taken down the ark of the LORD and the box beside it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices that day to the LORD.
When the five lords of the Philistines saw what happened, they returned to Ekron that day.
These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath and one for Ekron [the five chief cities of the Philistines];
also the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and [unwalled] country villages. The large stone on which the Levites set the ark of the LORD remains a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
The LORD struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck down 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter.
The men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?”
So they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up to you.”
1 Samuel 7:1-2
So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated Eleazar his son to care for the ark of the Lord.And from that day the ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a very long time, for it was twenty years [until the reign of King David]; and all the house of Israel lamented (wailed) and grieved after the LORD. [2Sa_6:3-4; 1Ch_13:5-7]
F.B.Meyer
On
1 Samuel 6:13-7:4
RASHNESS PUNISHED; REVERENCE BLESSED
The new cart, with its precious burden, must have come upon the men of Beth-shemesh like an apparition. The Ark was welcomed by them, after its seven months of absence, with great joy. But privilege entails responsibility; and their wanton curiosity and irreverence could not be permitted. Reverence for God Himself demanded the most careful behavior toward the Ark of His Presence, and when this was lacking, swift judgment ensued. See Num_1:50-51; Num_4:5; Num_4:16-30.
It is interesting to notice that when the Israelites were weaned from the Ark, their hearts lamented after the Lord, 1Sa_7:2. We cannot be permanently happy without God. Seasons of apathy and irreligion will sooner or later be succeeded by faith and love, as the frost of winter yields to the touch of spring. In this case, the revival was due to the patient labor of Samuel, and he did splendid service in urging the people to deal drastically with the idols of Canaan, which had cut them off from God as clouds hide the sun.
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