Our Message

This week we are following up with the narrative of the ark of God being captured by the Philistines. If this were the first time we read about this particular we would find it peculiar. If we had previously read the books of Moses, we would find it rather odd. And if we had read the book of Samuel, (It was originally written as one book and divided into First and Second Samuel for ease of reading.), we’d wag our heads in a little bit of confusion at the events recorded here.
The questions that mount up in my mind always begin with Uzzah. Later, we will read of King David having the ark returned back to Jerusalem. But on the way back, if you will remember, Uzzah saw the ark starting to become off balance and reached up to steady it. When he touched the ark, the Lord struck him dead. We’ll discuss this event in much more detail later, but for now, that much of the story is sufficient to add confusion to today’s blog.
Here are some of the questions that come to my mind when I read this narrative: How could the Philistines move the ark after they captured it? If Uzzah was struck dead for touching it, how did they handle it and live? How did they get the ark into the temple of Dagon, their god? And why would they place it in Dagon’s temple in the first place? How were they able to load it on the cart to send it back to Israel and why did they send the golden tumors and rats back with it? How were the people of Beth Shemesh able to handle the ark and why did those folks look into it? Yes, this narrative raises a few questions for me, but they pretty much boil down to the same question. It has to do with people handling the ark inappropriately and not getting “zapped” instantly, like Uzzah.
The answer, I believe, is that God was trying to teach them a lesson. The Israelites had begun treating the ark as an idol — see last week’s blog on idolatry. And God wanted to teach them a lesson. So He allowed the Philistines to capture the ark and He allowed them to handle it without being struck dead so that His power might be displayed. If He had struck the first and second and so on Philistine who touched the ark dead, there would have been a few, maybe more than a few, of them killed. At some point, they would have quit trying to carry it. But by allowing them to carry it off, God demonstrated His great power over their god and over all people. In fact, the narrative suggests that many of the Philistines began to honor and fear God — perhaps even more than some of the Israelites did.
I write that because, when the ark is returned to Beth Shemesh the people there did not treat the ark as they should have. Instead they set it up on a pedestal and although scriptures record they sacrificed and made offerings to God, the book also records that God struck fifty thousand and seven men of Beth Shemesh dead because they had looked into the ark. God was teaching them a lesson. The lesson was to worship God alone and trust that His ways are always right. It’s still a valid lesson for us today.

Idolatry, it’s an ugly word. It brings to mind all sorts of things from witch doctors and voodoo to all kinds of ancient rites including human sacrifice. Scripture warns us against idolatry. But, seriously now, in this age of enlightenment, who actually worships idols or icons any more? The answer might surprise you. There are many religious groups today who are actively involved in idol worship; from the obvious ones like Krishna and Buddha, to the less obvious ones like the cross or the flag of a nation. And don’t misunderstand me here, I’m a Patriot who proudly flies the flag every day that reminds me of the price that was paid for my freedom and I have a little cross on a necklace that I sometimes wear to remind me of the price that was paid for my freedom from sin. I’m not saying that flag waving or cross wearing is idolatry. I’m reminding us that even seemingly innocuous things can turn into idols if we allow them too.
In First Samuel, chapter four we see just such an incident. The Israelites are at war with the Philistines and they have been defeated in battle, losing about 4,000 men. The leaders of the Israelite army come to Shiloh to get the Ark of the Covenant and carry it into battle with them so that the Lord can fight their battles for them. Do you see the problem here? God can fight their battles from wherever He must, but they thought they needed to bring God’s power onto the battlefield. Yet we know, as they should have, that God is not actually and physically enthroned between the cherubim on the ark — that was symbolic. At any rate, the elders of the people somehow thought that by bringing the ark into play, it would get God involved. And it did.
When the Israelites saw the ark, they rejoiced loud enough to shake the ground and shake up the Philistines as well. They were terrified that there were mighty gods within the Israelite camp. But eventually battle was joined, the Philistines won, and they captured the ark. Why? Scripture isn’t specific, but I believe it was because the Israelites had made an idol out of the ark of God. Instead of praying to God or praising God, they brought the ark and praised it. You see it’s possible to take something that has inherent religious value and turn it into an actual idol. And many people still do this today. There are those who worship a bone — supposedly from John the Apostle or a splinter of wood — supposedly taken from the cross of Christ, or a shroud from Turin. There are people who venerate supposed saints and even worship Mary, the mother of our Lord. And the list goes on.
Whew, that’s a relief for most of us. You thought I was going to talk about the idols of identity, money, material things, status, physical appearance, alcohol, etc. But I’m not going to go there at all. Let us just be careful to recognize that many times the New Testament warns of being seduced by the things of this world to the point where they become the most important thing in our life — which is, by definition, idolatry.