Every family has a story about the day somebody came home: from deployment, from the hospital, from a long time away. Nobody stays in their seat on a day like that.
1 Samuel 6:13-18 — KJV
13 And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD. 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite.
1 Samuel 6:13-18 — WEB
13 The people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there, where there was a great stone. Then they split the wood of the cart and offered up the cows for a burnt offering to Yahweh. 15 The Levites took down Yahweh’s ark and the box that was with it, in which the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to Yahweh. 16 When the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering to Yahweh: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even to the great stone on which they set down Yahweh’s ark. That stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
Explanation
We're reading this week a little out of order on purpose. Today's passage happens after Sunday's lesson. On Sunday we'll see the ark of God captured by the Philistines, and it will feel like the end of everything. But today, before we stand in that loss, we get to peek ahead and see how it turned out.
Here's what happened in between. The Philistines carried the ark into the temple of their god Dagon, and the next morning Dagon's statue was lying face down in front of it. They set it up again, and the next morning it had fallen again and broken. Then a plague of tumors broke out in Ashdod, and everywhere they moved the ark, Gath and Ekron, the sickness followed. After seven months, the Philistines had had enough. They put the ark on a brand-new cart, hitched it to two nursing cows that had never pulled anything, and sent it off with no driver. Those cows walked away from their own calves, lowing as they went, straight down the road toward Israel. No Israelite army rescued the ark. God brought Himself home.
That's where today's verses begin. The people of Beth-shemesh are out in the valley bringing in the wheat harvest. Somebody looks up, and there is the ark of God coming down the road. They rejoice. The Levites lift the ark onto a great stone, the cart becomes firewood, and the cows become an offering. The golden tumors and golden mice the Philistines sent along, one for each of their cities, stand as a confession that the God of Israel had beaten them on their own ground. That stone, the writer says, was still in the field "unto this day," a monument people could point to for generations.
Here is what this means for Sunday's lesson, "The Glory Departs." From Israel's side, it looked like the glory was gone for good. But God was never captured. He didn't need rescuing. Corrupt leaders lost the ark; God brought it back on His own terms, in His own time.
Some of us are in a season that feels like Sunday: something precious has been lost, and the people who should have protected it didn't. Today's word is that God is still God in Philistine territory. Keep looking up from the work in front of you. And when He shows up again, when the prodigal calls, when the money comes through, when the joy returns, don't be too busy or too proud to put down the sickle and rejoice. Then set up a stone. Tell the story. Let your children point to it.
Thought for the Day
When God shows up again, put down the sickle and rejoice.
Reflection Question
Where has God already brought something back to you that you haven't stopped to celebrate?
Prayer
Faithful God, thank You that You are never captured, never defeated, and never lost. Thank You for every time You came back down the road to us when we couldn't go get You ourselves. Teach us to look up from our work and recognize You. And make us people who rejoice out loud and tell the story for generations. In Jesus' name, amen.
This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: The Glory Departs.