1 Samuel, 5

Name: 1 Samuel
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Punishment Idols God Acknowledging Almighty

The Philistines experience various plagues and misfortunes after capturing the Ark, so they return it to the Israelites.

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Bible version

The Ark in Philistine Hands

1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.

2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.

7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.

10 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 the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.

11 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.

12 And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Commentary

1 Samuel 5 is a chapter that focuses on the Philistines and their capture of the Ark of the Covenant from the Israelites. The Philistines had defeated the Israelites in battle and taken the Ark as a spoil of war. The Philistines then brought the Ark to their city of Ashdod and placed it in the temple of their god, Dagon. The chapter begins with the Philistines celebrating their victory and the capture of the Ark. However, their joy is short-lived as the presence of the Ark brings a plague of tumors upon the people of Ashdod. The Philistines then move the Ark to the cities of Gath and Ekron, but the same plague follows them. The Philistines then realize that the God of the Israelites is punishing them for taking the Ark and they decide to send it back. They place the Ark on a cart and send it back to the Israelites, along with offerings of gold and silver. This chapter is a reminder of the power of God and His ability to punish those who disobey Him. It also serves as a warning to those who would seek to take what does not belong to them. The Philistines learned the hard way that God will not be mocked and that He will not tolerate those who seek to take what is His.