Ark of God
95
and their mutilated god, and they were convinced that it was because
they kept the ark of God that these distressing afflictions came upon
them. God would evidence to the idolatrous Philistines, and also to his
people, that the ark was strength and power to those who were obedient
to his law, and to the disobedient and wicked it was punishment and
death.
When the men of Ashdod were convinced that it was the God of the
Hebrews who caused their afflictions, because of his ark, they decided
that the ark of the God of Israel should not abide with them. “For,”
say they “his hand is sore upon us and upon Dagon our god.” The
great men and rulers consulted together, relative to what they should
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do with the ark of the God of Israel. They had taken it in triumph, but
knew not what to do with the sacred chest; for instead of its being a
power and strength to them, it was a great burden, and a heavy curse.
They decided to send it to Gath. But the destroying angels carried on
their work of destruction also in that place. Very many of them died,
and they dared not retain the ark longer in Gath, lest the God of Israel
should consume all the people by his curse.
They of Gath decided to send the ark to Ekron. And as the idola-
trous priests bore the ark of God to Ekron, the people of Ekron were
greatly alarmed and cried out, “They have brought about the ark of the
God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.” The Ekronites were
also afflicted, and great numbers of them died. They went to their gods
for help, as the cities of Ashdod and Gath had done, but they obtained
no relief. They had humbled themselves to cry to the God of Israel to
whom the ark belonged for relief from their affliction. “So they sent
and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send
away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place
that it slay us not, and our people; for there was a deadly destruction
throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there. And
the men that died not were smitten with the emerods, and the cry of
the city went up to heaven.”
The ark of God was kept by the Philistines seven months. They
had overcome the Israelites, and had taken the ark of God, wherein
they supposed their power consisted, and thought that they should ever
be in safety, and have no more fear of the armies of Israel. But in the
midst of their joy at their success, a wailing was heard all over the
land, and the cause was at length credited to the ark of God. It was