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Punishment: The Ark Taken
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Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there.
So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt
offering to the Lord.” The Philistines had followed the ark “to the
border of Beth Shemesh” and had seen its reception. The plague had
stopped, and they were convinced that their calamities had been a
judgment from the God of Israel.
The People of Israel Do Worse Than the Philistines
The people of Beth Shemesh quickly spread the news that the
ark was in their possession, and many people from the surrounding
country flocked to welcome its return. Sacrifices were offered, and
if the worshipers had repented of their sins, God’s blessing would
have rested on them. But while they rejoiced at the return of the ark
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as a good omen, they had no true sense of its sacredness, so they let
it remain in the harvest field. As they continued to look at the sacred
chest, they began to wonder where its peculiar power came from. At
last, overcome by curiosity, they removed the coverings and dared
to open it.
Israel had been taught to regard the ark with awe and reverence.
Only once a year was the high priest permitted to see the ark of God.
Even the heathen Philistines had not dared to remove its coverings.
Angels of heaven, unseen, always went with it in all its journeyings.
The irreverent daring of the people at Beth Shemesh was quickly
punished. Many were struck with sudden death.
This judgment did not lead the survivors to repent of their sin,
but only to regard the ark with superstitious fear. Eager to be free
from its presence, the people of Beth Shemesh sent a message to
those living in Kirjath Jearim, inviting them to take it away. With
joy the people of this place welcomed the sacred chest and placed
it in the house of Abinadab, a Levite. This man appointed his son
Eleazar to take charge of it, and it remained there for many years.
The whole nation had come to acknowledge Samuel’s call as a
prophet. He had given proof of his allegiance by faithfully delivering
the divine warning to the house of Eli, painful and difficult as the
duty had been. “And the Lord was with him and let none of his
words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew
that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord.”