Irreverent Curiosity

It was harvesttime in Israel, and men were in their fields when the cart carrying the ark came to a stop in the field of a man named Joshua.

As the ark had stopped near a large stone, the Levites placed the ark upon the stone, and then, breaking up the cart, they offered the cattle as a burnt offering to the Lord.

The Philistine leaders who had followed the ark now returned to a plague-free Ekron with the belief that their calamities had been a judgment from the God of Israel.

Rather than prepare a suitable place for the ark to rest, these men of Beth-shemesh allowed the ark to remain on a rock in the middle of the field.

“As they continued to gaze upon the sacred chest and to talk of the wonderful manner in which it had been restored, they began to conjecture wherein lay its peculiar power. At last, overcome by curiosity, they removed the coverings and ventured to open it. “All Israel had been taught to regard the ark with awe and reverence. When required to remove it from place to place the Levites were not so much as to look upon it. Only once a year was the high priest permitted to behold the ark of God. Even the heathen Philistines had not dared to remove its coverings. Angels of heaven, unseen, ever attended it in all its journeyings. The irreverent daring of the people at Beth-shemesh was speedily punished. Many were smitten with sudden death.” Many commentators agree—seventy men from fifty families were slain.

This would have constituted a large share of the male population of such a small town. The Philistines, no doubt, heard of the judgment and rejoiced that they had not been so reckless as to open the ark. Remarkably, the survivors of Beth-shemesh did not repent of their sin in opening the ark. Instead, with superstitious fear, they wanted it removed from their midst.

herefore, they sent a message to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, inviting them to take it away. “The spirit of irreverent curiosity still exists among the children of men. Many are eager to investigate those mysteries which infinite wisdom has seen fit to leave unrevealed.”