The priests and diviners of the Philistines are advising them how to return the ark of the covenant to the Israelites. In yesterday's text they said to send the ark back with an offering of gold to the Lord. In today's text they will recommend a "contactless delivery" of the ark.
"Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to Him as a guilt offering." (1 Samuel 6:7-8a) The Lord instructed the Israelites only to transport the ark by its poles but the Philistines can't be expected to know that. At least they show the Lord the respect of placing the ark in a clean new cart.
The religious leaders are aware that their political leaders are reluctant to part with the ark. The priests and diviners build a final experiment into the method they're devising for returning the ark to the Israelites. They advise having the cart pulled by two cows who are nursing mothers. It would be natural for these momma cows to refuse to leave their calves behind, which is why these religious leaders say the calves are to be separated from their mothers and placed in a pen. It would also be natural for these cows to balk at being in a yoke and pulling a cart since they've never done this before. The experiment is set up so that if the Lord wants the ark back in Israel, He will have to make these cows behave against their natural inclinations.
The religious leaders continue, "Send it on its way, but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance." (1 Samuel 6:8b-9) In my opinion the priests and diviners probably know the plague was from the Lord but they are between a rock and a hard place. If their advice doesn't please the leaders of their nation, it could mean their death. The experiments they build into the return of the ark are for the purpose of protecting themselves from blame.
"So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the borders of Beth Shemesh. Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight." (1 Samuel 6:10-13) These Israelite men are hard at work but when they hear the cattle lowing they look up and, lo and behold, here comes the ark of the covenant on a cart! This must have been a very dramatic moment. This had to be the last thing they expected to see. But, as so often is the case, the Lord turns their day around in an instant. How many times have you been way down in the dumps and then something unexpectedly great happened to you? Or how many times have your circumstances looked hopeless only to have the Lord suddenly come through for you in a big way?
I was just thinking this morning of a time in my life when a particular situation in my life appeared hopeless. People even kept telling me it was hopeless! I was 90% of the way to believing it was hopeless. The only reason I had 10% of hope left is because I know my God specializes in doing what looks impossible to man. And He did do it, glorifying His name and helping me in my faith and hopefully helping the faith of those who didn't think my particular problem could be solved. Granted, it took three and a half years before I saw the answer to my prayer and the waiting was hard and I wanted to give up many times. I can't help wondering whether the men threshing wheat at Beth Shemesh were feeling pretty low right before the ark appeared. They and all their fellow citizens had probably been wondering, ever since the ark was captured, whether the Lord had deserted them. They may have been on the verge of giving up on ever seeing the ark again.
I don't know what you might be going through today. As for myself, I'm going through a difficult time that's causing me some worry and anxiety. But it would help us to think back on all the times things worked out for us in the past. Our God has solved so many problems for us up until now! He's provided our needs up until now! It's not as if He's been keeping track of how many times He's helped us so that He can say, "Sorry, you've used up your share of all the prayers I'm ever going to answer for you. You've used up the mercies I allotted for you." No, the holy Bible promises us that the Lord's mercies are new every morning! (Lamentations 3:22-23) It's impossible to use up something that's renewed every single day. When you and I woke up this morning, the Lord had new mercies available to us. It would be doing Him a disservice to doubt it. His character is as faithful as it has always been. That should give us the confidence to approach Him with our requests. David lay his requests before the Lord every morning because He knew the Lord's mercies were new every morning, which is why he said: "In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly." (Psalm 5:3)
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