First Samuel 6:1

The Bible says in First Samuel 6:1-9, “And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.[2] And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.[3] And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.[4] Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.[5] Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.[6] Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharoah hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?[7] Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:[8] And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.[9] And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.” When God decides to bless, His blessings are many and beyond that which we would ask or think. Not only did the Philistines return the ark, but they added gold and jewels to it. God used the superstitions of foolish people in order to add blessings and prosperity to the Israelites. Once again God applies the principle of Romans 8:28 and takes something that appears to be bad, the capture and loss of the ark of God, and turns it into something good. It is interesting to notice that the Philistines knew all about what the Lord had done for the children of Israel when God miraculously brought them out of their enslavement in Egypt. But in spite of knowing what the Lord had done for Israel, the Philistines did not turn from their religion to serve the one true God. It is sad that the religion that one is born into has such a strong hold on some people. It is better to be like Ruth the Moabitess and leave your original beliefs and say, “Your God will be my God.”

The Bible says in First Samuel 6:10-21, “And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:[11] And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.[12] And the kine took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh.[13] And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.[14] And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.[15] And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.[16] And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.[17] And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;[18] And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite.[19] And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.[20] And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?[21] And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.” It is important to notice that it says in verse nineteen that God “smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD…” This is a great illustration of the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament emphasizes the law, and the New Testament emphasizes the grace of God. It says in John 1:17, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” One of the problems with the law was that it was unforgiving. Those who broke the law were punished. The punishment for looking inside the ark was death. Therefore, after they looked into the ark, there was much death as a result. It is much better to live under grace through Christ. When we sin, we ask Jesus to forgive us and He does. As long as Jesus is our Savior, there is no death for breaking the law. Under the law some accesses to God were limited, as we see here with the ark. Later when the temple was built, a veil in the temple isolated the holiest place so that only the high priest could enter and he could only enter once a year. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil in the temple was rent in two, and that symbolizes the fact that every believer now has full access into the presence of God. It says in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

The Bible says in First Samuel 7:1-3, “And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.[2] And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.[3] And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” Things were out of sync. The ark was not where it was supposed to be and everyone knew it. Things just were not right in Israel. We can say the same thing about our country today. Things are not right spiritually speaking. We are headed in the wrong direction. What can be done to fix things? The same advice that Samuel gave to Israel needs to be taken by the people of every country. He said, “return unto the LORD with all your hearts.” Too many people have turned away from God and away from Jesus the Savior. To repent means to change the mind. Change your mind about the direction that you are going and turn to Jesus. True repentance involves changing your ways also. Samuel said, “put away the strange gods.” Take the sinful things out of your life and stop doing them. Samuel said, “prepare your hearts unto the LORD.” That would include Bible study, prayer, and going to a good Bible teaching church to be a part of a group of Christians. Only if these things are done by more and more people will our land be healed.

The Bible says in First Samuel 7:4-9, “Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.[5] And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.[6] And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.[7] And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.[8] And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.[9] And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him.” We know that the children of Israel truly served the Lord and truly repented because they put away the false gods. They also “served the LORD only.” If you are going to be right with God, then you must put Jesus first in your life. If He is not first, then you are not serving Him. Why are there so many people who claim to be Christians who do not go to a good Bible-teaching church? One of the main reasons for this is they have the wrong priorities. They want to go fishing, or they need to sleep in, or they must work, or they need some down time after a busy week. In other words, they have the wrong priorities. They do all those other things during the week, but they do not go to hear the Word of God preached. The same things can be said about their own prayers and personal Bible reading and Bible study.

But at least the people of Israel had this time with Samuel the judge when the people truly served the Lord and got right with Him. We see here that Samuel was a man of prayer. Samuel said to the people in verse five, “I will pray for you unto the LORD.” That is the most important thing that anyone can do for another Christian. The people of Israel requested that Samuel pray for them. They said in verse eight, “Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us.” They knew that they needed help from the Lord and that they could not face the obstacles and enemies they had unless the Lord helped them. Because they were right with God, they also knew that they were sinners who needed mercy and forgiveness from the Lord. They said in verse six, “We have sinned against the LORD.” If you are walking in fellowship with the Lord Jesus, you will be aware of your own sinfulness. No matter how much you have grown in Christ, you never attain the goal even though you are striving for it. The goal is perfection, but because we are still in the flesh, if any man says that he has not sin, he is a liar. Thankfully, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, and whenever we know that we have sinned, we confess it to Christ, and He always forgives us. No matter how many sins, and no matter how bad are the sins, He always forgives us because He died for all sins. It says in verse nine, “And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD.” Jesus is the lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. Jesus was sacrificed for us by the Father so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life.

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