In chapter 6 of 1 Samuel, how did the Philistines prove whether the disaster came from God?

Chapter 5 says: The Philistines carried the ark of God into Dagon's temple and put it beside Dagon. Their behavior profaned the living God. The ark of God is not in the temple, but in the temple with idols. How can idols and false gods be compared with the living Lord God? Although the ark was exiled to a foreign country, God fought for his name. "I did it for myself. How can I blaspheme my name? " ? I will not give my glory to false gods. When I got up early in the morning, I saw Dagon fall before the ark of the Lord, and his head and hands were broken on the threshold, leaving only the remains of Dagon. The hand of the Lord was very heavy on the people of Ashdod, and he destroyed them and made them suffer from hemorrhoids. Later, the ark was transported to Gath. "the hand of the Lord is against the city? Hemorrhoids can occur regardless of size. "Some people who sent the ark to the city of Ekron also died of panic. The ark of the Covenant, which brought blessings to the Israeli people, brought great disasters to the Philistines, and the victory of the war turned into a cry of terror. The Philistines did not understand that Israel was God's chosen people. Although they have sinned and are far away from God, God still loves them and gives them grace and mercy. As long as they repent and return to God, God will forgive them.

In the land of the Philistines, the ark showed the authority and power of God, which even foreigners had to admit, so they decided to send it back. The sixth chapter begins with the ark of the Lord being in the land of the Philistines for seven months. The Philistines gathered the priests and diviners together and asked them, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD?". ? The magicians answered and said to them, If you want to send back the ark of the God of Israel, but it will not be empty, you must offer a sin offering. So "according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, use five golden hemorrhoids and five golden mice." It means that they admit that their illness is due to God's punishment. And give glory to the God of Israel, perhaps he will lighten his hand from you and your gods and your fields. Why do you harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh? God worked miracles among the Egyptians. Didn't the Egyptians let the Israelis go? "This reminds them of the disaster that God brought to Pharaoh and Egypt, because the Egyptian Pharaoh was stubborn and refused to let the Israelis leave. God sent Moses to keep saying to Pharaoh, "Let my people go out", but here God said, "Let my ark go back".

The Israelites were able to leave Egypt not because they could, but because "God listened to their cry and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (Exodus 2:24), and because God remembered his covenant in his holy name, the Lord's mighty hand was against Pharaoh and Egypt.

When the Philistines decided to return the Ark of God, they seemed to have doubts, so they came up with a way, that is, to put the Ark of God on a new car and let two cows who had never been yoked and suckled pull the cart. If the chariot goes straight to the border of Israel and reaches Beth-shemesh, it will be a great disaster that the Lord has brought on us. If not, we can know that it was not _ that bumped into us, but that we met by chance. That is, "build a new car, put two cows with no yoke and milk in the car, let the calves go home and leave the cows behind." "Put the ark of the Lord in the cart." The ox went straight on the way to Beth-shemesh, barking as he walked, without turning to the right or to the left. "Since the cow has never been yoked, it is unfamiliar, and there is a calf at home, it will not be reluctant to part with the calf. The ox goes straight to Kaminooji, so it comes from the Lord, because it is beyond nature, there is no doubt about it. In this way, God will appear not only to the Philistines, but also to Israel, so that they will know that I am the Lord and there is no true God except _.

The cow abandoned the calf that was still nursing, uncharacteristically, neither turned back nor deviated from the left and right, screaming and heading straight for Besme. After arriving at the destination, the car was chopped into matches, and the cow was offered as a burnt offering on the altar. The reason why these two students can't act according to their intuition and go straight to Besme shows us that God has been dominating the footsteps of cows, and also shows us that cows are loyal to God until death, leaving their cows behind and offering themselves as burnt offerings to God. Before God, cows are so obedient. This is also a lesson for us. Many times, we might as well be obedient as cows. Please have pity on us. Here, we can not only see the work of the cow, but also see God's hand behind the cow.

Section 19: "the Lord killed seventy people in Beth-shemesh because they were good at watching the ark;" There were 50,000 people there. The people wept, because the Lord struck them hard. How could you be killed because you saw the ark of God and touched it? The people of Bethmai know this truth, that is, "Who can stand before the holy God of the LORD?"? Who can stand before a holy and righteous God? Because Adam, the ancestor of mankind, sinned, sin entered the world from one person, and death came from sin, so death came to everyone, because everyone sinned. It is because of this huge scale that God asked Moses to draw a line for the people around Mount Sinai, and the road leading to the most holy place was strictly covered with curtains.

God is holy, just as David is holy, so must God's people. The word of God has been made clear in the law: Numbers 4: 19-20 When they are near the most holy place, Aaron and his sons will go in and distribute what each of them should do and carry. Do this to them so that they may live and not die. However, when they are adjacent, they are not allowed to visit the sanctuary, lest they die. God killed 70 Beth-shemesh people who were good at looking at the ark of God, which showed the holiness and justice of God, and also showed that people could not see the face of the Lord without holiness. The sufferings of the Philistines and Beth-shemesh tell us that God is holy. People can't come to God unless they are holy. When Moses saw God in Horeb, he couldn't go near him, but he had to take off his shoes, because he was standing in the holy place. Our God is not frivolous, he is jealous of evil, and he deserves glory and praise. Therefore, our children should always reflect on themselves, always fear and respect the Lord, always be alert in their manners, words and deeds and life, always _ sincerely worship, always _ sincerely serve, and give their due glory to God. And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who can stand before the Lord, the holy God? To whom can this ark be sent from us? So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, "The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD. Come down and bring it to you. ”。 The ark of the Lord returned from the Philistines to Israel. They asked the priests how to return it and please God. It can be seen that they dare not act arbitrarily and rob the ark of the Lord at will. People should fear God, worship God, and don't despise God and his words. God's word is a double-edged sword, so is the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ. For those who believe, it is the eternal life of the savior, and for those who don't believe, it is a curse and disaster. God's supreme holiness, people, things, things and everything close to God should also be holy. Pray for God to protect our hearts, keep us away from temptations and temptations, and always pray, be grateful and praise! Live a godly and holy life. Don't despise God and her words. God's word is a double-edged sword, so is the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ. For those who believe, it is the eternal life of the savior, and for those who don't believe, it is a curse and disaster. God's supreme holiness, people, things, things and everything close to God should also be holy. Pray for God to protect our hearts, keep us away from temptations and temptations, and always pray, be grateful and praise! Live a godly and holy life.