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"Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God
came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of
God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. 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" (5: 10, 11).
To faithful ones in Israel, this Ark, with its tables of the law, the golden pot of manna,
and the rod of Aaron that budded, was a savour of "life unto life". To the uncircumcised
Philistines, that persisted in enmity to God and hostility to His people, it was a savour of
`death unto death'. Their triumph in capturing the Ark was short-lived. It turned into
fear, and the burning question now was what should be done with it. To destroy it was
obviously not the way out. Jehovah was watching over this sacred emblem of His
Presence, so no harm would come to it.
Chapter 6:
The Philistines were a superstitious people, so we read in this chapter of the curious
way in which they dealt with this problem:
"And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 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" (6: 1, 2).
They had grown up with an undefined awe of the golden chest which, as they
supposed, had so often in the days of Moses and Joshua led the armies of Israel to famous
victories. To yield it up now would be a sore blow to them, yet to retain it would only
lead to plague, misery and death. This God of Israel was undoubtedly a powerful God
and must be appeased. The advice of the heathen priests and diviners is given in 6: 3-6.
It was the general custom among nations of antiquity to offer to the deity a gift say for
recovery from a broken leg of an offering in the shape of a leg, which seems to have
influenced their decision:
"Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?
They answered, Five golden emerods (tumours N.I.V.), 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" (6: 4).
This verse, together with verse 5, gives intimation for the first time of a plague of
mice in the land. This was a serious affliction which could result in famine. It affected
not only the five capital cities, but also the entire land of the Philistines. In the warm
countries that border the Mediterranean vast hordes of mice would sometimes arise and
covering the land would devour the crops. In Egypt the mouse was considered so
dangerous that it was made an emblem of destruction.
The reference to Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and the Exodus of Israel from Egypt in
verse 6 must have made a deep impression upon the surrounding nations. Hence the
value they set upon the Ark as the visible symbol of the mighty Hebrew God. The