March 26 Daily Devotional

1 Samuel 5–7

The Philistines took the ark of God to Ashdod, one of their chief cities. They set it up in the temple of Dagon, the fish-god. The next morning when the people of the city came into the temple, they found Dagon lying face downward on the floor before the ark of the Lord. They took Dagon and set him in his place again. But on the following morning, not only was he fallen down before the ark, but his head and both hands were broken off and were lying on the floor. How pitiful it was for the priests to see their god in this condition! Besides this the people of the city began to have sores and boils; also the Philistines of the surrounding territory suffered from the disease. Then the rulers, investigating the matter said, “The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.” It was decided to send the ark to Gath, another city of the Philistines.

So the ark was taken to Gath, but before long the sores and boils spread in this city. “The hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction.” Therefore the ark was sent to Ekron; but the Ekronites opposed to have it. They cried, “They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.” Then the rulers of the Philistines decided to send the ark back to the land of Israel. They placed it upon a new cart drawn by two young cows. A box containing a present of golden jewels for Israel’s God was added, for seven months the ark had been in the land of the Philistines. Now it should be taken to Beth­shemesh, one of the cities of the Levites.

The men of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest when they saw the new cart coming up the highway. They were glad to see that the ark was returned. The cart turned from the highway and entered the field of Joshua a Bethshemite. There at a great stone some Levites removed the ark from the cart. The cart was cut up for a fire, and on the stone the two cows were offered as an offering to the Lord. All might have been well, had it not been for the men of Bethshemesh; they opened the ark to see what it contained. This was contrary to God’s command; no one except the priests was allowed to touch it. The people knew this, yet they disobeyed, and a number of them had to die.

“Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us?” the men of Bethshemesh exclaimed. They sent messengers to their neighbors at Kirjath-jearim, asking them to take the ark away. They did so, and for twenty years it was kept in the house of a man named Abinadab who was a Levite. The worship at Shiloh after the death of Eli was not restored. No one remained at the tabernacle to offer sacrifices on the altar of burnt offering. Samuel returned to the home of his parents.