And now make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there has come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
and take the ark of Jehovah, and lay it upon the cart, and the golden jewels, which ye return him as a trespass-offering, put in the coffer by the side thereof; and send it away that it may go.
The ark of the Lord has been in Philistine hands for seven months. The plagues have left its captors desperate to be rid of it. This verse holds their plan: put the ark on a cart, set a box of gold beside it as a guilt offering, and let it go. Could such a gift, sent in such a way, ever satisfy the God they had offended?
The instructions in this verse are not God's. They asked their own religious experts instead.
Their choice was typical of their completely unrepentant condition. They did not turn to Him who had afflicted them for instruction. They turned to their own priests, the men who served before Dagon, and to the diviners. These diviners match the magicians of Egypt, who bewitched them and led them astray. How true it is! Whatever the circumstances, the natural man never turns of his own accord to the only source of light there is.
The Philistines shaped their gold into images of the plagues they had suffered. That shows how far their thinking reached.
We notice, however, that the offerings go no further than a memorial of their affliction. They make images of the tumours and of the mice. But what about the sin which brought this judgment upon them? Is there any confession of that? Is there any memorial of that? Ah, no. The natural man sees the affliction. He magnifies it so much that he forgets or ignores the cause for which the affliction came. How different this is from the true trespass offering, the only offering that counts before a holy God! That offering is not so much a memorial of the affliction or the judgment deserved. It is an acknowledgment of the sin which made it necessary. Above all, it is a confession that the only sacrifice God can accept is the unblemished sacrifice of a guiltless substitute — Christ, who alone is the trespass offering, the One who "bore our sins in His body on the tree."
There is a second problem with the gift itself. Metal, however precious, is not what Scripture says clears guilt.
They want this "mighty God of the Hebrews" to relieve them of their plagues. So they think to appease Him with a present, a trespass offering, just as Jacob thought to appease the anger of his brother Esau. But it is "the blood that makes atonement for the soul." And "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." "You were ransomed… not with perishable things such as silver or gold," writes Peter, "but with the precious blood of Christ."
The order to "send it off and let it go its way" sets up a test. The Philistines chose cows that had never worn a yoke, and made the result a trial of the Lord.
These Philistines then propose a new cart and "cows on which there has come no yoke," as a test of the Lord… And the Lord was willing to meet them on their own test. Surely this was very gracious. It shows what a God we have to do with — not only for ourselves, but even for those who know Him less.
Even so, they still wanted proof, though the evidence in front of them was already clear.
The previous evidence had been very clear. Yet men are extremely slow to give God the honour that is rightly His.
A cart carried the ark here, and God let it happen. That does not make the cart His way of moving it.
Now a new cart was all very well for the Philistines, as a way to get rid of the ark. But it was not according to God's instruction about the Levites. But then they were not Levites, and you do not expect a "natural man" to be intelligent about divine things. God's children, however, should be, for they are "spiritual."
The Philistines meant the gold as a way out of their trouble. It amounted to a confession.
God makes clear that the victory of the Philistines over sinning Israel was no victory over Him. They made their trespass offering in ignorance. Even so, it is a recognition that the capture of the ark has only brought judgment from a God whom they now seek to propitiate.
- Counsel — The plan came from Dagon's priests and diviners, not from the God who had struck them. Left to himself, the natural man never turns to the only source of light there is.
- Gift — The gold copied the plagues but never named the sin, so it remembered the pain and ignored the cause.
- Blood — Gold cannot appease God. Atonement comes by the precious blood of Christ, the true trespass offering.
- Test — Letting the cart "go its way" was a test God was gracious enough to meet, even for those who knew Him so little.
- Glory — Enemies are slow to honour God. Yet their offering admitted that capturing the ark had brought only His judgment.
And see, if it go up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, it is he who has done us this great evil; if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that touched us; it was a chance [that] happened to us.
The ark of God had been in Philistine land, and it brought them nothing but misery. So they set up a test to settle one question. Was the God of Israel striking them, or had they just had a run of bad luck? They designed the test so that only God could make it work: a cart, two nursing cows taken from their calves, and no driver.
Consider what those two cows were up against:
It was a most severe test. Nothing but the power of God could make the cows go against nature and head straight on to Beth-shemesh. That was the nearest Israelite town, some nine or ten miles away. Everything was against the ark getting safely out of the land. The cattle were not used to the yoke. They did not know the road to Beth-shemesh. They had no driver or overseer to guide them. They had the strongest instinct of animals — love for their offspring — pulling them back. And like all domestic animals, they felt the pull of home.
The wording of the test gives the Philistines an escape route. If the cows wander, they can file the whole disaster under accident:
The hidden unbelief in the hearts of the Philistines shows in the way they chose to send the ark back to the land of Israel. Who would have thought of taking two heifers that had never worn a yoke and harnessing them to a cart with no driver? Would that not guarantee the destruction of the ark? And to make it harder still, they left the calves of these cattle behind. All of nature was against the ark ever reaching the land of Israel. May we not well believe the people held a quiet hope that things would turn out differently from what they had to believe?
God was under no obligation to answer a test drawn up by pagan diviners. He answered it anyway.
And the Lord stooped to meet them on their own test. Surely this was very gracious. It shows what a God we have to do with — not only for ourselves, but even for those who know Him less.
These men had no Scripture to guide them. They did have a conscience, and that was enough for God to answer:
The priests and diviners, for all their deep ignorance, are at least honest. They admit God's hand in these plagues and try to work out how to "give glory to the God of Israel." They tell the people not to harden their hearts against Him. Finally, they suggest a way of knowing whether it really is He who has caused this great evil, or whether the thing was only accidental. All this shows conscience at work in the absence of the light that revealed truth brings. God always takes account of conscience, even a darkened conscience, and gives a clear answer.
The answer came through animals doing what animals never do:
Contrary to nature the cows leave their calves. With no prompting from man they take the ark to Beth-shemesh, lowing as they go. This proves they acted by some power above the instincts of nature. So God stoops to meet these heathen in their distress, and at the same time vindicates His glory in the sight of His enemies. God makes it plain that the victory of the Philistines over a sinning Israel was no victory over Him.
A sign given to the conscience carries weight. Refusing it does not cancel it:
So God met the thought of the heart where there was only the working of conscience, without the light of revealed truth. It was not the knowledge of God, but the instinctive sense of His hand. He did this so that there might be a voice in their conscience. If they hardened themselves against it, or forgot it, so much the worse would it be for them.
The Philistine rulers watched the whole thing. Their conclusion was not worship but relief:
The lords of the Philistines follow them. At last they have to admit that God has vindicated His honour. He has shown the reality of His own presence and His own care for His throne... And here we leave the Philistines, who return home, glad no doubt to be well rid both of the plagues and of Him who had sent them.
- Hand or accident. The Philistines wrote the test so that one word would settle it: either God's hand struck them, or it was "coincidence". There was no third option.
- Hand hidden by unbelief. They chose every detail of the plan — untrained cows, no driver, calves shut up at home — so that nature could take the blame for failure.
- Hand stooping. God accepted terms set by pagan diviners. He met a conscience that had no Scripture to guide it, and gave it a clear answer.
- Hand above nature. Cows overrode their strongest instinct and walked the straight road. Israel's defeat had never been a defeat of Israel's God.
- Hand refused. They got their answer and used it to send God away. A sign reaching the conscience leaves a man more responsible, not less.
And the men did so, and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
The Philistines wanted rid of the ark — the chest that stood for God's presence with His people — so they set a test for the God of Israel. Men tie two milk cows to a cart, shut the calves away at home, and everything now depends on which way the animals walk.
Shutting the calves away at home was the whole point of the plan.
"The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home." The point of that was to let the cry of the calves and the mother's natural instincts draw her out toward her young. Instead, the cows leave their young. They go in the opposite direction and take a road they had never taken before, against every instinct of their nature.
Everything about the setup worked against the ark ever reaching Israel.
It was a most severe test. Nothing but the power of God could make the cows go against nature and walk straight on to Beth-shemesh, the nearest Israelite town, some nine or ten miles away. Everything was against the ark getting out of the land safely. The cattle were not used to the yoke. They did not know the road to Beth-shemesh. They had no driver or overseer to guide them. They had the strongest instinct of animals — love for their offspring — pulling them back. And like all domestic animals, they wanted to go home.
The result left only one explanation.
Instead of following their young, the cows carried the new cart with the ark on it to the land of Israel. It was a most striking proof of the power of God above nature. It was not chance; it was not nature; it was God who governed.
God could have left their test unanswered. He did not.
God stoops to meet these pagans in their distress, and at the same time vindicates His glory in the sight of His enemies. God makes it clear that the victory of the Philistines over a sinning Israel was no victory over Him.
Who was handling the ark makes a difference here.
Now a new cart was all very well for the Philistines to use to get rid of the ark, though it was not according to God's instruction about the Levites. But then they were not Levites, and you do not expect a "natural man" to be intelligent about divine things. God's children, however, should be, for they are "spiritual."
Israel later used a cart too, and in one way trusted God less than the Philistines had.
In fact, the Philistines gave more credit to God than the Israelites did on these occasions, for the Philistines left the cart without drivers and without a man going in front of it. They decided to let God direct the oxen, and there was no difficulty. The Israelites had two drivers as well as a man in front. No doubt they thought they should take every human precaution to see that the ark was well conducted. This was not faith.
The two cows finish their journey in a field at Beth-shemesh.
God guided the cows, and they had taken the straight way to Beth-shemesh. Surely He guided the cart too: it entered the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stopped beside a great stone. The journey was over. The creatures had served the Creator, and were now to be devoted to Him in death.
- Test — The Philistines shut the calves away on purpose. Instinct should have pulled the cows straight back home.
- Overruled — The cows had no training, no driver, and calves behind them. Still they walked straight for Israel. Not chance, not nature, but God.
- Stooping — God answered a test set by people who did not know Him. He met their fear, and showed His enemies that Israel's defeat was never His.
- Cart — The cart passed in the hands of men who knew no better. The fault came later, when God's own people copied it instead of following His instruction.
- Devoted — The two cows had served their Creator on the road. Their journey ended beside the great stone, where they were given to Him in death.
And they laid the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer with the golden mice and the images of their sores.
The Philistines have held the ark of God for seven months, and every month has hurt. Now they load it onto a new cart and set a box of gold beside it. The verse holds two things together: a real fear of the God of Israel, and a plan for handling Him that God never asked for.
The five golden tumours and five golden mice were models of the very plagues the people had suffered. One writer notes what such a gift does and does not admit:
This trespass offering, which they were to send back with the ark, had to do two things. It had to be a memorial of the judgment. Its value had to suggest the reverence due to the One they had wronged. We notice, however, that the offerings go no further than a memorial of their affliction. Images are made of the tumours and of the mice, but what about the sin that brought this judgment on them? Is there any confession of that? Is there any memorial of that? No. The natural man sees the affliction. He makes so much of it that he forgets or ignores the cause that brought it.
The materials themselves were an odd choice for approaching Israel's God:
So they make images for themselves: five golden tumours and five golden mice. Both things are unclean. The tumours are unclean in themselves, like a running sore. The mice are unclean under the law (see Lev. 11:29; Isa. 66:17). So in their blindness they were not winning God's favour at all. They were offering insult to the Holy One of Israel with their unclean offering. That is why it says, "perhaps He will lighten His hand from off you."
They called their gift a trespass offering. One writer weighs that name against the facts, and then adds what God did anyway:
A trespass offering — when they had made war against the people of God! When they had thought Dagon was master over the Sovereign God, the Creator of heaven and earth! An offering without the shedding of blood, when atonement for sin was necessary! But God takes account of the very least cry of conscience.
Another writer sets the true trespass offering beside it:
How different this is from the true trespass offering, the only one that can stand before a holy God! It is not so much a memorial of the affliction as an acknowledgment of the sin that made it necessary. Above all, it confesses that the only sacrifice God can accept is the unblemished sacrifice of a guiltless substitute — Christ, who alone is the trespass offering, the One who "Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree."
Their own arrangements gave them away:
The hidden unbelief in the hearts of the Philistines is seen in the way they set about restoring the ark to the land of Israel. Who would have thought of taking two heifers that had never known the yoke and harnessing them to a cart without drivers? Would this not guarantee the destruction of the ark?
God did not refuse the terms they set:
And the Lord was pleased to meet them on their own test. Surely this was very gracious, and it shows what a God we have to do with — not only for ourselves, but even for those who know Him less.
The cows themselves answered the test:
It was a most severe test. Nothing but the power of God could make the cows go, against nature, straight on to Beth-shemesh, the nearest Israelite town, some nine or ten miles away. Everything was against the ark getting out of the land safely. The cattle were not used to the yoke. They did not know the road to Beth-shemesh. They had no driver or overseer to guide them. They had the strongest instinct of animals — love for their young — pulling them back. And like other domestic animals, they were drawn towards home. Yet the cows "went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh ... lowing as they went." Only the unseen, irresistible power of their Creator could drive them.
There was a right way to move the ark, and a cart was not it:
God's method was only for the Levites of the family of Kohath to carry the ark by means of the poles (Ex. 25:13-14; Num. 3:27-32)... Philistines might ignore this, but Israel must not. In fact, on these occasions the Philistines gave God more credit than the Israelites did. The Philistines left the cart with no drivers and no man walking in front of it. They decided to let God direct the oxen, and there was no difficulty.
At Beth-shemesh the people found one more use for the cart and the cows:
They take the cattle and the wood of the cart and offer up a burnt offering. This is far more acceptable to God than the golden images sent by the Philistines, which we never hear of again.
- Fear, not faith. Seven months of plagues made the Philistines act. The golden images record what they suffered, not what they did wrong.
- Gold, not blood. God noticed their faint cry of conscience, but the only trespass offering that can stand before Him is Christ, the guiltless substitute.
- A test they set. Two cows that had never worn a yoke and no driver at all — a test nothing but the power of God could pass.
- Nature overruled. Every instinct pulled the cows the other way, yet they walked straight to Beth-shemesh. Only their Creator could do that.
- A method, not a model. God let the Philistines use a cart. When Israel copied it later, they gave God less credit than the Philistines had.
And the kine went straight forward on the way to Beth-shemesh; they went by the one high way, lowing as they went; and they turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
The Philistines had captured the ark of God, and holding it brought them nothing but distress. Their priests set a test — two nursing cows hitched to a new cart, their calves shut up at home — and this verse records which way the cows walked.
The Philistines set the terms. God did not refuse them.
And the Lord agreed to meet them on their own test. This was very gracious indeed. It shows what a God we have to deal with — not only for ourselves, but even for those who know Him less... God met the thought of their heart where there was only the working of conscience, without the light of revealed truth. It was not the knowledge of God, but the instinctive feeling of His hand. He answered so that there might be a voice in their conscience. If they hardened themselves against it, or forgot it, so much the worse for them.
Their test came with a gift, and the gift shows how little they understood.
At the advice of their priests and diviners, they offered golden tumours and golden mice as a trespass offering. A trespass offering — from people who had made war on the people of God! An offering with no blood shed, when atonement for sin was needed! But God takes account of the very least cry of conscience. He gives a clear answer... Such are the Lord's ways, always right!
Consider what these cows would have had to overcome on their own.
It was a most severe test. Nothing but the power of God could make the cows go against nature like this, straight on to Beth-shemesh. That was the nearest Israelite town, some nine or ten miles away. Everything was against the ark getting safely out of the land. The cattle were not used to the yoke. They did not know the road to Beth-shemesh. They had no driver or overseer to guide them. The strongest instinct animals have — love for their young — pulled them back. And like all domestic animals, they felt the pull of home.
The Philistine lords watched their own animals obey the God of Israel, not Dagon, the god they worshipped.
No driver directed them that any human eye could see, yet they went straight along the highway... They were not used to the yoke, yet they pulled together as if trained for the work. They turned neither to the right nor to the left... What a sight it must have been to the lords who watched them. Dagon could never have done that. But they were the creatures of Him whose presence the ark represented. They were creatures doing the will of the Creator, and that day they were furthering His glory.
The detail that the cows lowed as they walked is not decoration. It records what the obedience cost them.
They were untrained, unruly animals. No one directed them. They went against nature, lowing with the pain of overriding their instinct as mothers. Yet they carried the ark straight to Beth-shemesh.
The rulers who had taken the ark now walked behind it.
The five lords of the Philistines followed right to the border of Beth-shemesh. They saw all that took place, and then returned to Ekron. No doubt they were convinced that the God of Israel had indeed been dealing with them, and glad that His ark was no longer among them.
Knapp marks the reversal by quoting Matthew Henry:
Those who thought to triumph over the ark were made to go like lowly servants after it.
Israel had sinned, and the Philistines had carried off the ark. This verse shows what their victory was worth.
So God stoops to meet these pagan people in their distress. At the same time He vindicates His glory in the sight of His enemies. God makes it clear that the Philistines' victory over a sinning Israel was no victory over Him.
- Conscience — The test came from priests and diviners, not from repentance. God answered it anyway. He takes account of the least cry of conscience, even from those who know Him least.
- Contrary — The cows were untrained. They had no driver and no known road, and their calves were shut up behind them. Every natural force pulled the other way, so the straight road to Beth-shemesh proved whose hand had struck them.
- Cost — They lowed the entire journey. Obedience against instinct is still obedience, and the pain of it was audible.
- Creator — Dagon could not move a cow. The living God moved two of them nine miles in a straight line, and they served His glory that day.
- Custody — Israel failed to guard the ark, so God guarded it Himself. He turned the men who captured it into the servants who escorted it home.