I recently read the story of the Ark of the Covenant’s adventures in Philistine territory, 1 Samuel chapters 4 – 6. Go ahead and read it – I’ll wait! Here’s the short version:

• Israel was under the leadership of Eli the high priest and his sons Hophni and Phineas. The sons were evil, and God had already predicted their soon demise. (See 1 Samuel 3.11 – 13)

• So in chapter 4, it happened. The Israelites went battle against the Philistines and lost. So they decided to bring the Ark so that “it” might save them.

And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. (1 Samuel 4.3, 4, ESV)

• There’s a lesson right there – it’s not the Ark, it’s the God of the Ark. But God decided to let Israel be defeated and the Ark captured:

So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. (1 Samuel 4.10, 11, ESV)

• Here’s where the fun starts. Even though God did not respond to the superstitions of the Israelites, he did communicate to the Philistines through the Ark:
  • The Philistines put the Ark into the temple of their god Dagon, and the next morning, Dagon is facedown before the Ark! The next morning, Dagon is missing his hands and head! (See 1 Samuel 5.1 – 5)
  • Then the Philistines were afflicted with tumors, and the people of Ashdod, the original location, sent the Ark to Gath and then Ekron. (See 1 Samuel 5.6 – 12) The people of Ekron weren’t stupid. They said, “We need to get this thing out of here!”
• So the Philistines decide to send the Ark back and run an elaborate experiment at the same time.

Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. And take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence. (1 Samuel 6.7 – 9, ESV)

And here’s the reason I’m writing about this: as you know if you read the story, the two milk cows pulled the cart with the Ark straight to Israeli territory, and the Philistine leaders saw it. Their test proved that God was real. So the leaders went back to their people, told them that God was real and that they should be worshipping the true God. Oops! That’s not what the leaders did. In fact, nothing happened with respect to the Philistines’ relationship with God. Belief does NOT equal commitment! That’s the lesson, and there’s a verse for that:

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! (James 2.19, ESV)