THE ARK IS RETURNED. 1st Samuel 6 What are we to do when we are made conscious of our guilt? People respond to guilt in many different ways. Some try to ignore it. Some excuse it as an innocent mistake. Others look for someone else to blame for what is wrong with me, so guilt is not my fault. Still, others get religious and impose on themselves pain and affliction to try to pay for the sin that caused the guilt. Religious symbols have even been formed to identify themselves with snakes and other creatures like demons and gargoyles. Many have formed beads like small tumors, and they pray over these things that symbolize the sins they have committed.
The Philistines made images of those things that had brought disaster upon them. They formed “emerods” (tumors) out of gold and made gold images of rats that spread disease as symbols of the things that plagued them. The focus of the Philistines was on what was wrong, and they ignored repentance for their sin and doing what was right before God.
Our own interests and methods in seeking the Lord are not necessarily what is right before God. Many do what they do in religion to try to get to God their own way. "There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death." Either way, it adversely affects us if we act similarly when God deals with us. The chastening hand of God is to bring us to humble ourselves before Him and commit ourselves to changing what is wrong and doing what pleases the Lord. Bondage to sin makes awareness of God very troublesome to people today, the same as in those days.
So, what are people to do when they face their guilt? A normal reaction is to try to do something or pay for something so we can feel like we took care of the problem, uneasiness, and concern when facing the guilt of sin. To recognize that we have sinned and justice demands judgment for sin is an honest appraisal of the problem. To try to design our own way of dealing with the problem and results of sin is not only dishonest because it means we are the ones who evaluate the guilt of sin and its consequences, but it is also foolish. There is a standard of righteousness that is not made by men, and therefore, we cannot determine the consequences of guilt.
A sum of money, acts of penance, copious tears, hours of labor, and religious forms do not pay the price of sin and the guilt it produces. “The wages of sin is death,” and there is no other acceptable payment. Thousands of Philistines and Israelites died because of the guilt of the elders of Israel and the leaders of the Philistines. No matter who people are or what they may try to do to cover their sins, the wages of sin must be paid before guilt can be removed.
After seven disastrous months, it was easily seen that the ark's presence in the land of the Philistines was impossible to continue. Their victory had turned to disaster that spread and was demonstrated from place to place that it was because of the ark being there. However, they had either not been willing to learn the lesson of humility before God, or they were not willing to act on what they knew. The Philistines were still unsure if it was the "God of Israel" who was bringing judgment on them or if the things happening to them were acts of chance.
When it was misused and taken out of its place, the journey of the ark of God left a path of sorrow behind it. The same happened to those who denied and rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. When people said, “His blood be on us and on our children,” that is actually what has happened. The consequences of that are still being felt today. When people make a choice to do things their own way, whether it be in the worship of God, the remembrance of the Lord, preaching the Gospel, or serving God in some other way, if it is not done in God’s way, it is sin, and sin brings guilt and guilt bring sorrow for sin.
It took seven months for the Philistines to face the fact that they were losers personally, as well as having lost as a nation to the Israelite God, even though the army of Israel was nowhere to be seen or to fight against. Their cries of sorrow, loss, and remorse rose from all over the country, but that didn’t change anything until they faced the fact that it was the God of “the ark of the Lord” who defeated them. They knew it was not the Israelite soldiers who won the battle, but the battle was the Lord’s, and He took the time to make His power and authority known throughout the country and in the major cities of the Philistines.
They knew that God was more powerful than normal acts of nature, so they used two cows with nursing calves as a test. They wanted to rid themselves of the presence of God. The test the idolatrous priest used was that if two cows acted against their natural instinct, it could be concluded that God brought judgment on them. Even though they acknowledged the hand of God in their troubles and the fact that propitiation had to be made, they chose to do it their own way, which was an insult to God. They only recognized that "the God of Israel" was a god among other gods.
Many people today include "God" as another ingredient in the mix to provide for them what they consider a successful life. "Worshipping God" is just one of many things they do to feel satisfied with themselves. It memorializes what is wrong in them rather than what is right about God. The practice of the Philistines is a common practice in religious activity today. A formal, gaudy religion with expensive "new carts" and the trappings of wealth is insulting to God because it exalts man and hides his need for Christ.
A "new cart" is a work of men designed to connect what it carries to the earth to support it and relieve the responsibility of men to carry the weight of truth. Modern methods of worship and remembrance carry little resemblance to the original pattern God gave. These new ways have replaced the biblical practices clearly taught in the scriptures. The natural ability has replaced the filling and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Human learning taught by scholarly people who pass on their own ideas about God and the scriptures have replaced teachers our Lord set in the church in which "the prophets speak two or three," and the others judge.
The teaching of the Lord's people has been taken over by one man (or woman) instead, so those things they hear are without the safety of plurality. Religious ceremonies have replaced divine simplicity, even in the Lord's Supper. That which men in "Christian" churches esteem has no authority from God if it is not according to the word of God. To set aside the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit leaves the people of God open to the attractions of a "new cart" and the appeal of the "traditions of the early fathers." All of this appeals to those who are unsaved or to carnal believers.
God, who can make "the wrath of man" to praise Him, brought the ark back to Israel by His own power even though the materials and the method were not of His choosing. The Holy Spirit is still moving today to give the Lord Jesus Christ His right place among His people who gather in His name. There are still those whom He moves from darkness to light. How gracious it was of God to allow the test of unbelief to work under His divine authority. In His grace, He condescended to act in a way that convinced even the hard unbelief of idolaters. Those animals went from what was natural to an altar, testifying to the fact that the spiritual has precedence over the natural.
The Ark returned, announced by lowing cows walking without human guidance, and followed at a distance by five Philistine leaders who watched this remarkable act of God to its conclusion. The painful tumors God sent to the Philistines finally produced the necessary results. “The ark of the God of Israel” was returned in the Philistine way – on a cart pulled by beasts. To walk in faith is not complicated. It simply means to take the next step God places in front of us no matter what might call to us from either side. "Make straight paths for your feet," and it will lead to the place of blessing, worship, testimony, and rest of the soul.
There was great weeping and wailing when the ark was taken. Now, there was rejoicing when it was returned. Though they reaped in joy what they had sown in sorrow seven months earlier, there was no lasting joy because they still saw only the object, not the “ark of God.” They should’ve fallen down in worship. Shiloh was no more, so the ark had no resting place. Bethshemesh means "the house of the sun, " where the path of separation leads. When the ark came to the valley at the wheat harvest, the harvesters saw “the ark.” In the field of Joshua (Jehovah the Savior), there was a rock that may have been considered a nuisance to farm around. Still, that rock became a very special place when it became an altar where sacrifices were offered, a place of worship, and a resting place for the ark based on a sure foundation.
We may think that because other people do a certain thing and nothing bad comes from it, it is okay for us to do it because, after all, “We are Christians in the family of God.” The Israelis, who saw the ark coming and stopping in Joshua’s field, were overjoyed that the ark was back. Why they wanted to look inside the ark is not clear. Perhaps they had never been taught about holy things, the will of God, and what the ark contained. It may have been just curiosity, or they may have thought that if the Philistines could do it, so could we. After all, we are God’s chosen people.
God manifests Himself in His Person through the light of His word. In times of revival, light from God radiates as truth is preached even in dark places. The truth of God has not changed, and light characterizes the recovery of God's people to Christ and the gathering of them in His name alone. When the truths of God come home to the souls of God's people, the "valley of Baca (weeping)" becomes a well of water, and the spiritual truth recovered moves God's people to rejoice. Even though the testimony of God's people may be reproachable, when "we see Jesus," there is joy.
We do not live in the heady days of the early church during which thousands were saved and gathered to the name of the Lord, but our Lord is the same One they lived for in those days. We rest in our Lord Jesus Christ even in these dark days of departure. We can never design our own methods of worshipping God. We must always serve Him in the way He requires. God’s mighty power overrides all natural things. God cannot allow people to think they use His power for their own ends.
When we look by faith in our Lord and rejoice in Him, we have joy and gladness. His truth is unchanging as the rock is. "Whoso heareth these sayings on mine and doeth them is like a man who built his house upon a rock." His love, mercy, and grace have been shown to us, and they lift our hearts in praise of Him. But when we leave the enjoyment of what we know of Him revealed to us in the Word of God, and go into speculation and questioning about things not revealed to us by the Spirit of God, and try to pry into the mystery of an Infinite Person, we are in danger of being chastised as sons. With our frail, limited, puny, finite minds, we cannot form the right teaching regarding the Person and work of Christ or any other biblical doctrine. Most cults have their own explanation of Jesus. "What think ye of Christ is the test, to try both the state and the scheme. You cannot be right in the rest until ye think rightly of Him."
To presume upon God or to take holy things for granted because of the present condition does not give us the right to do what we want to. There may be good intentions or good reasons to do things in a more convenient way as far as we are concerned. However, there is no license given to ignore God’s word, His specific commands, or in any way consider His holiness and holy things as unimportant. There are times when “lighthearted” words are used, and people speak casually about the Lord God. Never presume upon your relationship with the Lord as allowing you to do what you want in your own way.
We cannot disregard His warnings and treat the things of God lightly. Joy turns into sorrow when we act impulsively according to our own desires rather than in a manner suitable to the holy things of God. When we lose the adoration of our hearts toward God and substitute our curiosity or intellectual interest with the things of God, we have lost the sense of holy awe that is essential in our worship and dealings with Him. A fleshly approach to divine truths dishonors God, hardens our own hearts, and divides God's people. A personal awareness of the holiness of God keeps us from carelessness and carnality when dealing with spiritual truth. Our fellowship with God, communion, and dependence on Him is maintained by the Holy Spirit guiding and leading us "into all truth."
To look into the ark was to disregard God. Everything inside that ark was of special significance to them because of who God is. By their curiosity instead of reverence, they were reducing God to be of no more value than themselves. It is amazing that after the first few gathered around the ark to look in and died, others kept coming and did the same thing until someone must’ve had the sense to close his eyes and cover the ark again.
Don’t think that God has let you down in some way when things go wrong. We reap what we sow. Respect for God, His word, and the holy things of God can’t be just occasionally or when we gather together as an assembly. We are the ones responsible when thing go wrong and we are responsible to make them right.
Bethshemesh, “the house of the sun,” was a town where priests lived, but instead of doing what was right because the fear of God was in the people, there was a pile of dead bodies around the ark instead of worshippers. They acted like the Philistines and did the same things. They sent the ark away to Kirjath-jearim, “the city of the woods,” and it remained there out of sight for seventy years. It seems like not only was it out of sight but out of mind as far as most of the Israelites were concerned. It was guarded by Eleazar in a place where only a few regarded and sanctified it. It didn’t bring trouble to Israel, but it didn’t bring blessings either.
Whether the number was seventy or 50,070 who died, they must be reminded that “the ark” is more than a gold-covered box. It was where God dwelt with His people. Those Israelis died because they still looked at the ark in the same way as they had before - as an idol. They had not, or would not, accept the fact that God alone is to be worshipped because He is the Living God. He could not permit them to make up their own minds about what they believed and use that which belonged to Him in a way that disregarded Him.
His warnings to the people of God who had strayed were very clear. No longer will you disregard, disrespect, dishonor, disobey, and defy that which belongs to God and in doing so - God Himself. This discipline focused on those who looked in the ark and those around "that others might fear." Finally, Israel learned that that box was “The Ark of the Lord.” However, the men of Israel living in Bethshemesh didn't repent or judge themselves. Their curiosity didn't bring them to the ark in a humble spirit or a contrite heart. They actually wanted others to come and remove the ark from their community.
It is possible for an individual, or even an assembly, to be so self-centered and self-satisfied that they do not want even God Himself to upset the status quo to which they are used. Any presumptuous sin affects others besides those who are engaged in it. May the few who love the Lord and give Him the important place in their hearts and homes remain faithful to the Lord despite all that goes on around us here and in other places.
Kirjathjearim seems like a strange place to take the ark of God. Instead of being in the nation's center, it was taken to "the city of the woods" and more or less hidden in the forest. But one man named Abinadab lived out of town on a hill and gladly opened his home to shelter the ark of God. He even had a son with a priestly name, Eleazar, who would tend to the ark. He was glad to have his home used as a sanctuary for the ark of God. That which was of God had a place of affection in his heart, and he "kept" it as a cherished trust from the Lord. He was a true steward. Abinadab and his family opened their hearts and homes to the testimony of that which belonged to God for twenty years. Each child that would be born into that family circle would be conscious of the testimony of God in that home. We must always give our Lord the supreme place in our hearts, homes, and gatherings.
It is one thing when those who don’t know what is right do what is wrong in the sight of the Lord. From the limit of their experience, they often do what they do because of ignorance of God’s Word. But when those of us who know better do what is wrong, and we know it is wrong, it is a terrible and serious spiritual sin. To do something “for God” in a worldly way is ignoring what God says pleases Him and seeking to usurp divine authority to please ourselves.
A new cart is a plan conceived in a moment that makes things easier for us, causing no pain. When one or a group of people begin acting as if what God wants is not a big deal, they may design a “new cart” to make what God wants more “acceptable to the people.” Not wanting to carry the weight of holy things is no gain to me or anyone else. The people of God should continually remember that God doesn’t change, His word does not change, and His edicts are forever. What is important to Him may be small or of little importance to many, but God does not base or accept our value on human endeavor. The things of God must be done as He wants. It is wrong to change anything on a wish, a whim, or a personal preference. His way and plan must always guide our actions.
Our responsibility is to do what pleases Him. When a suggestion is made of some need for change arises and a decision is made in which I have a part, may I never allow myself to stray from His Word. It would be an unspeakable tragedy if others were turned aside or died in their sins because I have allowed a “new cart.”