The Philistines rejoiced greatly over the victory they had gained. They believed their god was greater even than the God of the Israelites, whose ark they had taken. They carried the ark from the battle-field to one of their chief cities, and set it up in the temple beside Dagon, the fish-god.
But troubles began at once for Dagon and for his worshipers. The next morning when the people of the city came to the temple they found their god lying face downward on the floor before the ark. They set him up in his place and went away. The next morning they came again, and this time they found Dagon lying on the floor in the same humble position, but now his head and his hands were broken off his body. What a pitiful condition poor Dagon was in! Surely he could not protect himself before the ark of the God of Israel.
Nor did the troubles end here. The people of the city began to have boils and sores, which caused them much suffering. And all the Philistines in the country near by also suffered from these, terrible boils. Finally they decided that the ark of God in their temple was bringing this trouble upon them. Their rulers gathered together to plan what to do. They said, “We will not let the ark of the God of Israel stay with us, for he is against us and against Dagon, our god.” So they sent the ark away to another of their cities.
Gath was the second place to which the ark was taken, and the people of that city soon began to suffer from boils and sores just as the people of Ashdod had, where the ark had been in Dagon’s temple. And many of the men of Gath died.
Now the Philistines were becoming afraid of the ark. They sent it on to another city, called Ekron. But the people of Ekron cried out in fear when they saw it being carried into their city. They said, “Have you brought this ark here to kill us and our children?”
God was much displeased because the Philistines had stolen the ark away from Israel. He was punishing them, and again in this city he caused many of the people to die, and a great cry of sorrow rose from the homes of the people whose relatives were killed.
Now the Philistines were in very great trouble. They did not know what to do with the ark. They were afraid to keep it among them any longer lest they all die. Ati last they decided on a plan. And this is what they did:
First they built a new cart, then they took two young cows that had never before worn an oxen’s yoke and hitched them to the cart. They set the ark in the cart and put with it a box containing a present of golden jewels for Israel’s God. After they had tied the calves at home they brought the young cows to the road that led toward the land of Israel and let them go. For they said, “We shall see whether they will return home to their calves or whether they will take the ark back to Israel. If they return home we shall believe our troubles have just happened by chance; but if they go straight on to the land of Israel we shall know surely that Israel’s God has troubled us.” This did not seem like a fair test; yet the cows started at once toward Israel, and did not stop until they reached the country of Beth-shemesh.
The men of Beth-shemesh were busy at work in their wheat-harvest when they saw the new cart coming up the highway from Ekron. They noticed at once that the ark of God was in the cart and they were glad. Seven months had passed since the ark had been stolen from Israel. Perhaps the Israelites feared they might never see it again. Now the cows turned from the road and entered a field. They stopped beside a great stone.
The men of Beth-shemesh came quickly to the place and removed the ark from off the cart. They brought axes and chopped the cart in pieces, then built an altar and laid the wood upon it, and offered the two cows in sacrifice to God for returning the ark again to their land. Some Levites had come with them to do this work as they bad seen it done at the tabernacle in Shiloh.
All might have gone well had the men of Beth-shemesh not been too curious. But they wished to see what was inside the ark. Perhaps they wondered whether the Philistines had stolen the tables of stone, which Moses had so very long ago put inside this gold-covered box. So they lifted the lid, called the mercy-seat, and looked inside. This was very wrong, for God had Commanded that no one except the priests should touch the ark, and the men of Israel knew this command. Because they disobeyed, many of them died.
Now even the people of Israel were in trouble because of the ark. They sent quickly to their neighbors at Kirjath-jearim, asking them to come and take the ark away. And when they came they took it to the house of a man named Abinadab, and it was kept in that place for twenty years. Abinadab was a Levite, and they placed the ark in the keeping of Eleazar, his son.
After this time the worship of God was never again restored in Shiloh. Samuel returned to his parents’ home at Hamah, and he be-came the last of Israel’s fifteen judges.