1 Samuel 5 Boils from the Ark

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 5:6 The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors.[a] 7 When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” 8 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, “What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?”

They answered, “Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.

9 But after they had moved it, the Lord’s hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.(b) 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.

As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.” 11 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it[c] will kill us and our people.” For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it. 12 Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.​

a. 1 Samuel 5:6 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate tumors. And rats appeared in their land, and there was death and destruction throughout the city
b. 1 Samuel 5:9 Or with tumors in the groin (see Septuagint)
c. 1 Samuel 5:11 Or he

The people went from "yay we defeated the Israelites and stole their god" to " “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people.”

This is from the easy English site.

In 4:6-8 the Philistines remembered what the God of Israel did in the time of Moses. Now God was punishing them. Everyone was frightened. The people in Ekron were so frightened that they prayed to God in heaven instead of to their own gods.

This is from the Bible.org site.

From a merely human point of view, it looks as though God is being held hostage by the Philistines. From the perspective of the Israelites, the anguish of Eli, his dying daughter-in-law, and other Israelites at the capture of the Ark, is understandable But Israel’s God is not an idol; He does not need for men to carry Him about. God is the One who carries Israel

And this is from the blueletterbible.org. It's preachy but I like it anyway....

No matter what we decide, no matter what the Israelites decided, no matter what the Philistines decided, God was going to glorify Himself. Period. The unfaithfulness and superstition of the Israelites couldn't deny God His glory. The pride and the arrogance of the Philistines could not take one bit of glory from God. God will be glorified; the only question is "Will we choose to enjoy it?"

:coffee:
 
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