Day 129

1 Samuel 5:1–7:17; John 6:1-21; Psalm 106:13-31; Proverbs 14:32-33

THE LOSS OF the Ark of the Covenant to the Philistines demoralized the children of Israel. But the Philistines didn’t have an easy time of it either. At first, it seemed as if the Philistine god Dagon had defeated the God of the Hebrews. The Ark was transported to Dagon’s temple in one of the five major capital cities of Philistia: Ashdod. Ashdod sits on the Mediterranean coast and still exists today. After the arrival of the Ark, Dagon’s statue was found facedown before the Ark on two consecutive mornings, and then skin tumors began breaking out among the people.

In fear for their lives, the leaders decided to transport the Ark inland to Gath, another of their capital cities. The ruins of Gath also exist today and continue to be excavated. Gath was the hometown of the giant Goliath. Unfortunately, those living in and around Gath suffered the same outbreak of skin tumors.

Next, the Ark was taken north to Ekron —yet another of the great Philistine cities that remain as an archaeological site. But the people there were terrified of what Yahweh might do to them. They begged that the Ark be returned to the Hebrew people, and that is what happened. The Philistines prepared a guilt offering made of gold reliefs of their tumors, as well as golden rats, and loaded the Ark onto a cart, sending it away. They reasoned that if the cattle pulling the cart returned to Israel, then it was in fact the God of Israel who was angry with them. The cows went straight back into Israeli territory, ending their journey at Beth-shemesh, which also still exists and is undergoing continued archaeological study.

Obviously, the people of Beth-shemesh were overjoyed to receive this national treasure and emblem of their heritage and relationship with the Lord —but this joy was short-lived. After multiple sacrifices, seventy men looked inside the Ark and died.

“‘Who is able to stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?’ they cried out” (1 Samuel 6:20). The power of the almighty God was not something to be trifled with, and His commands were to be obeyed.

As grim as the situation was for both the Philistines and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, the entire episode solidified Samuel’s leadership. Through that leadership, all the idol worship was cleansed from Israel, and the Philistines were subdued. The children of Israel had once again returned to the God who had called them out of Egypt and planted them in their homeland.

In Proverbs today, we learned that our hearts are shrines —sort of: “Wisdom is enshrined in an understanding heart” (Proverbs 14:33).

In other words, an understanding heart is a revered place for wisdom. Conversely, “Wisdom is not found among fools,” Proverbs tells us (14:33). Foolishness (in thought, word, or deed) is not a place where wisdom thrives, and wisdom is what we need to grow deeper in intimacy with God.

Are you actively seeking out wisdom in your life? Is it important enough to have it enshrined in your heart? Like everything good in life, gaining wisdom will not happen by default. Wisdom is something we must actively seek and cultivate by the choices we make today and every day.

MEDITATION:

The wicked are crushed by disaster, but the godly have a refuge when they die.