1 Samuel 6:6 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Samuel 6:6

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Obviously the five lords of the Philistines had been very reluctant to do this, and so they are reproved by their priests. ‘Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts’ – they knew their history, the history of Israel – ‘as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts’ – it will be the worse for us – ‘when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go’ in the end ‘and they departed?’ So the priests exhort the lords of the Philistine, and there is the curious arrangement: there is still doubt in the minds of the lords of the Philistines. ‘How do we know that the God of Israel has done this? What are we doing sending back the ark of the covenant, and making all these valuable offerings? How do we know that these were not just natural disasters, things that would have happened anyway?’ In their anxiety to get the lords of the Philistines to move the ark back to Israel, the priests propose this curious solution. They are to find two cows that have just calved, and therefore will be concerned about their calves. Their calves are to be taken from them, and they are to be hitched to the front of a cart carrying the ark of the covenant, and with the gold offerings. Obviously, cows that have just given birth to calves will be anxious about their calves, and their instinct will be to turn right round and go back to look for them. The cows and the cart are to be put in a place where they will either turn back to look after their calves – the most natural thing for them to do – or they will go in the opposite direction and take the road back to Israel. If they turn back, said the priests, you may assume this is all a natural phenomenon. But if these two cows make a beeline for Israel, then it is a sign from the Lord that this is the right thing for us to do, and that it is God who has smitten us. The cows, making a tremendous noise because they wanted to be with their calves, nevertheless went straight down the road back to Israel. They did all this, and ‘the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.’ The lords of the Philistines followed the two cows and watched carefully to see what happened, and the outcome was entirely conclusive. God caused the animals to go against their natural instincts and to walk straight back to Israel. The animals obey him in the most precise manner possible, not deviating in the smallest degree from the road back to Israel. The sign which they had set for themselves is confirmed beyond dispute. The Lord at times gives clear indications of his displeasure which even the unbeliever is able to read. God is able to look after his own cause, and does not need any assistance from man to bring about what he wills. The fact that God frequently uses his people is a matter of privilege and blessing for us, but he does not need to do so.

Application

The application of the priests is not going to be, ‘Therefore we Philistines ought to repent’, but ‘How long are you going to keep it? Get rid of this ark.’ The Philistines disclose that all those Canaanite nations knew a great deal about the testimony of God. They knew what God had done to Israel way back in the time of Moses, and they probably knew way back to the time of Abraham also. People will always think that outside of Israel everything was dark. Friends are often saying, ‘Yes, but is God not unfair? How does he reach people in darkest ignorance? What about all those other nations around Israel in the days when he was only dealing with one nation? People who had no opportunity to hear the truth, or no access to it.’ One of the remarkable things of the Old Testament is the tremendous spread the word of God. You go back to the times of the patriarchs and have the Book of Job. A Gentile patriarch miles away from many of them, and yet he has absolutely New Testament doctrine. Or think of Abraham. He has just in started to live in Canaan. He has fought a great battle; he has delivered himself a number of pagan kings. He comes across a place which, in those far-off days, was called Salem. Years later it was to become Jerusalem, but in those days it was, you would have thought, a totally pagan piece of territory. But who does he find there? He finds Melchizedek king of righteousness, king of peace, priest to the most high God, king of Salem, in whom he recognises a more mature believer.. You can go all round the middle Far East, and you find people who know the true doctrine, and so it is here. These Philistines understand much about the truth.

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1 Samuel 6:6 Commentary and Bible Study