Annotations Upon the Historical Books Part 2, 1 Samuel · Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
Verſ. 2. ANd the Philiſtines called for the prieſts and the diviners, ſaying, What ſhall we do to the Ark of the Lord, &c.] Thus was God the more glorified, when their very prieſts, the moſt zealous maintainers of their idol-gods, were brought to give this following advice, which tended ſo much to the honour of the Lord, and the ſhame of their idols. The queſtion they propounded to their prieſts was not, What ſhall we do with the Ark? but What ſhall we do to the Ark of the Lord? Tell us wherewith we ſhall ſend it to his place, that is, in what manner, and with what gifts ſhall we ſend back the Ark? Being convinced by the heavy hand of God that lay upon them, that they had treſpaſſed ſome way againſt the Ark; it ſeems their reaſon led them to think, that ſome ſatisfaction or other was to be made; and thereupon, being reſolved to ſend it away, they conſulted wherewith they ſhould ſend back the Ark,
Verſ. 3. Then ye ſhall be healed, and it ſhall be known to you, why his hand is not removed from you.] That is, if they were healed, as they confidently aſſured themſelves it would prove, then hereby they ſhould know why hetherto his hand had not been removed from them.
Verſ. 4. They anſwered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philiſtines.] Theſe were the treſpaſſe-offerings which their prieſts and diviners adviſed them to ſend back with the Ark, to wit, as by way of acknowledgement, that the God of Iſrael had brought upon them thoſe plagues of the emerods, and mice, for their holding of the Ark of God captive amongſt them; and therefore the reaſon given in the following verſe, why they would have theſe preſents ſent back with the Ark, is that they might hereby give glory to the God of Iſrael, namely, by an acknowledgement and confeſſion of their ſinne, and the juſt hand of God that had been upon them for their ſinne: verſ. 5. Ye ſhall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice, that marre the land, and ye ſhall give glory unto the God of Iſrael; the very ſame expreſſion which Joſhua uſed when he adviſed Achan to confeſſe his fault, Joſh. 7.19. My ſonne, ſaith he, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Iſrael. It may well be indeed which ſome conceive, that the ſending of ſuch abſurd and ridiculous gifts with the Ark, as emerods and mice, was ſuggeſted by Sathan to their diviners in contempt of God: but if it were ſo, whilſt Sathan intended hereby to diſhonour God, the Lord by his alruling providence, intended hereby to caſt the ſhame upon them, and to bring great glory to his own name; whilſt the Philiſtines themſelves, were made to ſend into the land of Iſrael ſuch things, as might there remain perpetuall monuments and memorialls of thoſe ſhamefull puniſhments, wherewith God had humbled them. It cannot well be conceived how they could make images of their emerods, without making images of their ſecret parts, where they were ſmitten with thoſe ulcers, which we call piles or emerods. Now what a ſhame muſt it needs be to the Philiſtines to ſend to the Iſraelites the images of their ſecret parts, thus tortured with an ignominious diſeaſe? Doubtleſſe they muſt needs judge it a great reproch to their nation; but when men are under the wrath of the Almighty, what will they not do to be rid of the judgements that lie upon them.
Verſ. 5. Peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods.] From this paſſage ſome Expoſitours gather that not Dagon onelyonly, but many other of their idol-gods were thrown down and broken to pieces, by a ſecret hand of God, in all the cities whither the Ark was brought, as indeed it is probable the like was done in Egypt, when the Lord puniſhed Pharaoh and his people becauſe they would not let the Iſraelites go. Against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgement, ſaith the Lord, Exod. 12.12. and Num. 33.4. it is ſaid, The Egyptians buried all their firſt-born—; upon their gods alſo the Lord executed judgements. But yet becauſe this is not expreſſed in the ſtory, others underſtand this which is ſaid here, of the hand of the Lord which was upon their gods, onelyonly of the reproch and diſhonour, that was brought upon their idols, partly by the Lords caſting down Dagon, and partly by the heavy judgements he had infflicted upon the people that ſerved them; and that this hand of God it was, which the Philiſtine-prieſts hoped would be lightned from off their gods, if the Ark were ſent back with thoſe treſpaſſe-offerings they had now preſcribed.
Verſ. 6. Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardned their hearts, &c.] By this it may ſeem. that though the greateſt number enclined to the ſending of the Ark back, verſ, 2. What ſhall we do, ſay they, to the Ark of the Lord, Tell us wherewith we ſhall ſend it to his place; yet ſome were of a contrary judgement, and oppoſed it, and therefore are here blamed for hardning their hearts againſt the means which God had uſed to convince them of their ſinne.
Verſ. 7. Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch-kine, on which then hath come no yoke, &c.] It may well be, that theſe idolatrous prieſts and diviners of the Philiſtines, did not merely of their own invention preſcribe this ſtrange way of ſending home the Ark, to make tryall whether the God of Iſrael, would by a ſupernaturall power, cauſe theſe milch-kine to go the right way with it; but were herein directed to do what they did by their practices of ſorcerie and divination: but if it were ſo, even herein too there was an over-ruling hand of providence, that diſpoſed of all as might be moſt for Gods glorie. A new cart was doubtleſſe appointed as a ſigne of their reverencing the Ark: their chooſing young heifers that had never been employed in any profane ſervice, might alſo be done for the ſame cauſe out of reverence to the Ark; but the main end was to make the hand of God the more manifeſt, if they ſhould go along the right way to the land of Iſrael. Cuſtome might make cattel uſed to the yoke to go on right forward, when they are once entred into a beaten way; but young things not uſed to the yoke, eſpecially when their calves were ſhut up from them, were not like to do ſo; it was a wonder that they ſhould endure the yoke at all.
Verſ. 8. And put the jewels of gold which ye return him for a treſpaſſe-offering in a coffer, &c.] Theſe jewels of gold were the golden images of the emerods and mice; which they put in a coffer, as not daring to venture it ſeems, to put them into the Ark.
Verſ. 9. And ſee, if it goeth up by the way of his own coaſt to Bethſhemeſh.] A citie of Judah, Joſh. 15.10. cloſe by the confines of Judea and Philiſtea, and in the way to Shiloh; and therefore propounded here by the Philiſtines Prieſts, as the citie whither the kine would go if Gods hand were in the buſineſſe.
Verſ. 12. And the kine took the ſtraight way to the way of Bethſhemeſh, &c.] And thus did the Lord by his all-ruling power and providence, proſper the device which they had contrived to diſcover whether it was by him, and for their detaining the Ark, that they had been of late ſo ſeverely puniſhed, that he might confound them by their own inventions. Bethſhemeſh was one of the Prieſts cities, Joſh. 21.16. ſo that the kines carrying the Ark thither, was as if they had intended to deliver it up into their hands to whom the cuſtodie of it did of right appertain.
And the lords of the Philiſtines went after them unto the border of Bethſhemeſh.] Thus by the providence of God it was brought about, that they who ere-while as victours did carrie away the Ark as their captive, do now as ſervants and pages attend upon it, when it returned home into the land of Iſrael.
Verſ. 13. And they of Bethſhemeſh were reaping their wheat-harveſt.] Wheat-harveſt in that countrey uſed to be in our May, at the feaſt of Pentecoſt, Lev. 23.16. Whence we may gather, that the Ark was taken about November, ſince it was verſ. 1. ſeven moneths in the countrey of the Philiſtines.
Verſ. 14. And they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt-offering unto the Lord.] That this is ſpoken of the men of Bethſhemeſh, and not as ſome would have it, of the Lords of the Philiſtines, that came after the Ark to ſee what would become of it, is evident by the very connexion of the words: In the foregoing verſe it is ſaid, that they of Bethſhemeſh were reaping, &c. and they lifted up their eyes, and ſaw the Ark, and rejoyced to ſee it; and in this verſe now it follows; And they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine, a burnt-offering to the Lord. Beſides, when the men of Bethſhemeſh came flocking about the Ark, and the Levites had taken down the Ark out of the cart, as it followeth in the next verſe; is there any likelihood that they would ſuffer the uncircumciſed Philiſtines to come amongſt them to offer up a ſacrifice to the God of Iſrael, they ſtanding by, and as it were communicating with them in their ſacrifice? Surely no; rather we may well think that the lords of the Philiſtines followed the Ark aloof off, onelyonly deſiring to ſee what would become of it, and came not near the Iſraelites; and therefore it is ſaid verſ. 16. that when the five lords of the Philiſtines had ſeen it; that is, when they had ſeen what was done, they returned to Ekron the ſame day. The greateſt difficultie is concerning the offering up of kine, which we know was not according to Gods Law, and therefore liker to be the act of the Philiſtines, then of the Prieſts of Iſrael; for the Law did expreſſely command that none but males ſhould be offered in burnt-offerings: Levit. 1.3. If his offering be a burnt ſacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemiſh. But to this it may be anſwered, that either the men of Bethſhemeſh did ſinne herein, being tranſported by the exceſſe of their joy: and that this might be one thing wherewith they diſpleaſed God, and provoked him to bring the following judgement upon them: or rather that this was an extraordinary act of devotion whereto the Prieſts were led, by reaſons grounded upon this ſtrange and extraordinary work which God had wrought, and perhaps alſo by a ſpeciall inſtinct of Gods Spirit; and is not therefore to be judged of according to the rules of other ordinary burnt offerings: They conſidered that theſe kine had been given up by the Philiſtines to the ſervice of the Lord in bringing home the Ark; and that having been employed in ſo ſacred of ſervice, it was not fit they ſhould be imployed to any other uſe; or much leſſe that they ſhould be ſent back to the Philiſtines again; and therefore they reſolved by this way of an extraordinary burnt-offering to yield them up to the Lord, by whoſe all-ruling providence they were ſo miraculouſly ſwayed to bring back the Ark unto that place. And indeed had they ſinned in offering theſe kine for a burnt-offering, why ſhould not this be mentioned verſ. 19. as the cauſe of Gods diſpleaſure againſt them, as well as their looking into the Ark.
Verſ. 15. And the Levites took down the Ark of the Lord, &c.] That is, the Prieſts who were of the tribe of Levi: for Bethſhemeſh as is before noted, was one of the Prieſts cities, Joſh. 21.16. nor was it lawfull for the Levites to touch the Ark: Num. 4.15. And when Aaron and his ſonnes have made an end of covering the Sanctuarie, and all the veſſels of the Sanctuarie, as the camp is to ſet forward; after that, the ſonnes of Kohath ſhall come to bear it; but they ſhall not touch any holy thing leſt they die.
Verſ. 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 countrey villages, &c.] That is, according as all the cities and villages of the Philiſtines were divided into five parts, and were under the command of their five great lords, each of thoſe cities before mentioned being the mother citie in each diviſion; ſo accordingly there were five golden mice given (as was ſaid before, verſ. 4.) and that in the name (and happely at the charge) not of the mother-cities onelyonly, but of all the ſeverall circuits or provinces that belonged to them, becauſe all had been puniſhed with that plague of mice which were ſent amongſt them; even all the land of the Philiſtines unto the great ſtone of Abel; that is, mourning; ſo called doubtleſſe, becauſe of the peoples lamentation (verſ. 19.) as upon a like occaſion the floore of Atad where the ſonnes of Jacob with the Egyptians mourned for the death of Jacob, was called Abel-mizraim, Gen. 50.11. that is, the mourning of the Egyptians.
Verſ. 19. And he ſmote the men of Bethſhemeſh, becauſe they had looked into the Ark of the Lord.] It was not lawfull for any but the Prieſts, no not the Levites who carried it, to look upon the Ark bare and uncovered: Num. 4.20. But they ſhall not go in to ſee when the holy things are covered, lest they die. It was therefore ſufficient to render the people obnoxious to the judgement that fell upon them, if we ſuppoſe that it came covered from the Philiſtines, and they uncovered it to look upon it; or that it came uncovered, and they took libertie without any fear or reverence to ſtare and gaze upon it: But yet the words ſeem to import that they proceeded further, even to look into the Ark; either merely out of curioſitie, or perhaps to ſee whether the Philiſtines had not put any thing into it, or taken any thing out of it; onelyonly I ſee not how ſo many could offend in this kind.
Even he ſmote of the people fiftie thouſand, and threeſcore and ten men.] That is, of them, and of the people together that came flocking from all parts to ſee the Ark, there were ſlain fiftie thouſand, and threeſcore and ten men. It were much that there ſhould be ſo many found in ſo little a citie as Bethſhemeſh was; but amongſt thoſe multitudes that might come from all parts to ſee the Ark, there might well be fiftie thouſand, and threeſcore and ten ſlain.
Verſ. 21. And they ſent meſſengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, &c.] Pretending happely that their citie of Bethſhemeſh was not a place of ſuch ſafetie for the Ark to be in, as Kirjath-jearim was; they ſent to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim to deſire them to fetch the Ark thither: The Philiſtines, ſay they, have brought again the Ark of the Lord, come ye down, and fetch it up to you.