1 ซามูเอล 6:14 วิจารณ์

In this chapter we have the return of the ark to the land of Israel, whither we are now gladly to attend it, and observe, I. How the Philistines dismissed it, by the advice of their priests (Sa1 6:1-11), with rich presents to the God of Israel, to make an atonement for their sin (Sa1 6:3-5), and yet with a project to bring it back, unless Providence directed the kine, contrary to their inclination, to go to the land of Israel (Sa1 6:8, Sa1 6:9). II. How the Israelites entertained it. 1. With great joy and sacrifices of praise (Sa1 6:12-18). 2. With an over-bold curiosity to look into it, for which many of them were struck dead, the terror of which moved them to send it forward to another city (Sa1 6:19-21).

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 6 In this chapter we are told the Philistines advised with their priests what to do with the ark, and wherewith to send it home, Sa1 6:1 whose advice was to send with it a trespass offering, golden images of emerods and mice, and to put it on a new cart, and the images in a coffer on the side of the ark, and draw it with two cows, Sa1 6:3, and gave them a token whereby they might know whether they had been smitten by the God of Israel or not, Sa1 6:9 which advice they took, and acted in all things according to it; and the lords of the Philistines accompanied the ark to the border of Bethshemesh, Sa1 6:10, where they of Bethshemesh received it with joy, and offered the kine for a burnt offering to the Lord, and the Levites took care of the ark and presents in it, and the lords of the Philistines returned home, Sa1 6:13, but they of Bethshemesh looking into the ark were smitten of God, upon which they sent to the men of Kirjathjearim to fetch it from them, Sa1 6:19.

And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite,.... In that part of the valley where they were reaping wheat which belonged to him, whom we nowhere else read; whether a priest or Levite, which is not improbable, since this was a city of the Levites, or a common Israelite, is not certain: and stood there where there was a great stone; afterwards called the great stone of Abel, Sa1 6:18. By the providence of God it was so ordered, that the kine made a stop just at this place; and proceeded no further, as if sensible they were come to their journey's end, and had brought the ark into the hands of its friends, and to a proper place for them to express their thankfulness for it; for this stone seemed designed to be, as it was, the altar on which the burnt offering, by way of thanksgiving for the return of the ark, was to be offered; the Jews say (w) this stone was the altar built by Abraham: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord; the cart they cut in pieces, and laid the wood of it in order upon the stone, and slew the two cows, and laid their pieces on the wood, and set fire to it, and burnt them with it, as expressive of joy and thankfulness that the ark was returned. This was done, not by the lords of the Philistines, as some of the ancient Jews thought, as Kimchi relates, in which they are followed by some Christian interpreters; but by the men of Bethshemesh, as Kimchi, by the priests there; for though this was not the proper and usual place for sacrifice, nor were cows offered in sacrifice; yet this being an extraordinary case, and thank offerings were necessary as soon as the ark was returned, these things were dispensed with; and the rather, since Shiloh, where the tabernacle was, was destroyed; and besides, the ark of the Lord was here present, which sanctified the place, as it did the tabernacle, and made it fit for such service; and as for these cows, they had been employed in sacred service, and the Lord had a right unto them, and claim upon them; and it seemed not fitting that they should be after employed to any other use and service than his own; nor were the men of Bethshemesh blamed or punished for this, though they afterwards were for looking into the ark. (w) Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 75. D.

You are aware, then, that when the ark of the testimony was seized by the enemies of Ashdod, and a terrible and incurable malady had broken out among them, they resolved to place it on a cart to which they yoked cows that had recently calved, for the purpose of ascertaining by trial whether or not they had been plagued by God's power on account of the ark, and if God wished it to be taken back to the place from which it had been carried away. And when they had done this, the cows, led by no man, went not to the place whence the ark had been taken, but to the fields of a certain man whose name was Oshea, the same as his whose name was altered to Jesus (Joshua), as has been previously mentioned, who also led the people into the land and meted it out to them: and when the cows had come into these fields they remained there, showing to you thereby that they were guided by the name of power; just as formerly the people who survived of those that came out of Egypt, were guided into the land by him who had received the name Jesus (Joshua), who before was called Oshea.

22. If Bethshemesh is interpreted as "house of the sun," the house of the sun is the heavenly city. Here Joshua the Bethshemite signifies the Redeemer of the human race not so much by type as by his very name and dignity. For Joshua is called "savior" in our language. And the Lord says of himself: "The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Hence it is also that Joseph is promised in a dream through the angel: "He shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). He also manifests himself to be a Bethshemite, saying: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:41). Hence John the Baptist says: "He who comes from heaven is above all" (John 3:31). What then is the field of Joshua the Bethshemite, if not the delight of the contemplative life? For there both the greenness of herbs, and the fragrances of spices, and the diverse beauty of flowers are seen; because indeed the more clearly that heavenly society is beheld—what blooms incorruptibly in the angels, what flourishes unfadingly in the saints, what gives off an inviolable fragrance in virgins—the more graciously it is displayed to the eyes of those who contemplate. And rightly is this same field said to belong to the Savior; because lovers of the contemplative life, the more secretly they dwell, are more pleasing and more familiar to our Redeemer. The cart also comes into the field of Joshua the Bethshemite when the elect mind, separated from worldly concern, attends to heavenly things alone, when it already enjoys the delight of heavenly vision; because it disdains to look back upon earthly things through love. And it should be noted that this cart was said to be new, as was related not far above; because indeed a mind worn out by the oldness of sins does not deserve to be received into such great glory. 23. But the more hidden life has its delights in the pleasantness of vision, and has immense labor in the vigor of struggle; because indeed, just as we obtain divine rewards from triumph, so also we guard them by fighting strenuously. Well therefore is it added concerning the cart of Jesus coming into the field: "And it stood there." For to stand pertains to the guarding of battle, not to the rest of peace. For the cart stood in the field; because even if the mind already inhabits the pleasant regions of that heavenly and ever-green homeland by seeing and loving, nevertheless what it delightfully possesses through the love of vision, it by no means preserves without the anxiety of unceasing care. But indeed the human mind, placed in so great a struggle, would fail, if He who strengthened human weakness in His divinity did not offer it the help of His presence. Therefore, also explaining the reason by which the cart was able to stand in the field, he added, saying: "For there was a great stone there." 24. For by the great stone is understood the Redeemer of the human race. Concerning which stone it is said through the Psalmist: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner" (Ps. 117:22). Hence the distinguished teacher, praising, says: "Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone" (Eph. 2:20), "in whom you also, as living stones, are built up" (1 Pet. 2:5). And He is indeed called a great stone, because He is proclaimed with incomparable strength. When therefore the cart is said to have come and stood still in the field, it was added: "There was there a great stone"—so that by hidden mysteries it might signify that those devoted to the contemplative life are able to preserve such great gifts for this reason: because they are, through grace, near to Him from whom they received those same gifts. 25. What are the wood pieces of the cart of the Ark of God, if not the statements of Holy Scripture and the examples of the righteous? For the Bethshemites cut up the wood when those set over the more secluded life more subtly open the meanings of the Scriptures to the minds of their subjects, when they bring forth the more excellent examples of the Fathers for their imitation; so that the flame of heavenly love may burn all the more fervently in their hearts, the more quickly they supply the fuel of the fire, like cut-up wood. They are indeed the wood of the cart, because the mind, renewed through the grace of God, retains them through memory. Concerning these pieces of wood the holy lawgiver decrees, saying: "Fire must always be on my altar, which the priest shall feed, adding wood each morning every day" (Lev. 6:12). But because the wood is recorded as having been cut up, this more openly indicates that for those seeking the purity of the contemplative life, not common things from sacred Scripture, but rather the higher and more excellent things must be laid open; so that they may raise themselves up more powerfully in beholding lofty things, the more the nobler goods they hear please them. Hence it is also well added: "That they placed the cows upon it as a holocaust to the Lord." For a holocaust is called a whole burning. Therefore, when the wood is cut up, holocausts are made with the cows placed upon it: because those who receive extraordinary things from the Scriptures with a devout mind, the higher they extend themselves into heavenly desires, the more nothing is left in them that is not consumed by the flame of divine love. And then indeed it is necessary for the teacher to take care that his religious subjects contemplate lofty things, and yet do not hold lofty opinions of themselves through their own estimation; lest, the higher they advance by beholding the highest things, the more dangerously they are dashed down by falling through pride.

And the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, etc. And wherever the Church sees hearts bringing forth fruit for Jesus Christ, the Lord of eternal clarity and the inventor of perpetual light, it prepares to make a dwelling there, as if finding rest after the labor of seeking. Such was always the progress of the Church; such was its coming into the nations; such will be its return to Israel.

Now there was a great stone there, etc. There was in the field of the Church that exceptionally great stone, which was cut out of the mountain without hands and grew into a great mountain and filled the whole earth. And concerning which the Psalmist says: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone" (Psalm 118); that is to say, to make both one. And the persecutors of the Church cut down the structure, which, erected in the likeness of the Lord's cross, rejoiced in the firm state of new grace. Moreover, they slaughtered as a most pleasing victim to the Lord, even though unknowingly, the teachers and those who were able to bear the burdens of the weak, consumed in the flame of martyrdom. For the wood of the new cart, which had carried the ark of the Lord, was cut down when, persecution arising in the Church of Jerusalem, all were scattered through the regions of Samaria and Judea, except the apostles. The cows were made a burnt offering to the Lord upon it when all were pricked by the ardor of intimate love and dissolved into mourning and tears. Stephen was stoned, and James, the brother of John, was killed by the sword; and reading the church history, you will find innumerable such events, and infinite acts of martyrs. Among all these, the greater cutting down of this cart, that is the perturbation of the Church in the times of Antichrist, is not doubted to come. Nor is there anything preventing these two cows, which bearing the ark of the Lord were given as a burnt offering to the Israelites, from being interpreted as Enoch and Elijah, who will then reveal the grace of faith to the Jews and are believed to receive death from Antichrist without delay. Nor should you marvel that the good deeds of the Beth Shemites are interpreted by us in the opposite manner, because it is the custom of Holy Scripture to sometimes delineate evil through good and good through evil. Indeed, how many kinds of sacrificial victims in the law, which by command of the Lord were offered with devoted minds, typologically foretell the death of the Savior, which He received at the hands of the wicked.

After the ark had been seven months in the land of the Philistines, they consult their priests and diviners about sending it to Shiloh, Sa1 6:1, Sa1 6:2. They advise that it be sent back with a trespass-offering of five golden emerods, and five golden mice, Sa1 6:3-6. They advise also that it be sent back on a new cart, drawn by two milch kine from whom their calves shall be tied up; and then conclude that if these cows shalt take the way of Beth-shemesh, as going to the Israelitish border, then the Lord had afflicted them, if not, then their evils were accidental, Sa1 6:7-9. They do as directed; and the kine take the way of Beth-shemesh, Sa1 6:10-13. They stop in the field of Joshua; and the men of Beth-shemesh take them, and offer them to the Lord for a burnt-offering, and cleave the wood of the cart to burn them, and make sundry other offerings, Sa1 6:14, Sa1 6:15. The offerings of the five lords of the Philistines, Sa1 6:16-18. For too curiously looking into the ark, the men of Beth-shemesh are smitten of the Lord, Sa1 6:19, Sa1 6:20. They send to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, that they may take away the ark, Sa1 6:21.

They clave the wood of the cart - Both the cart and the cattle having been thus employed, could no longer be devoted to any secular services; therefore the cattle were sacrificed, and the cart was broken up for fuel to consume the sacrifice.

THE PHILISTINES COUNSEL HOW TO SEND BACK THE ARK. (Sa1 6:1-9) the ark . . . was in the country of the Philistines seven months--Notwithstanding the calamities which its presence had brought on the country and the people, the Philistine lords were unwilling to relinquish such a prize, and tried every means to retain it with peace and safety, but in vain.

and they clave--that is, the Beth-shemites, in an irrepressible outburst of joy. offered the kine--Though contrary to the requirements of the law (Lev 1:3; Lev 22:19), these animals might properly be offered, as consecrated by God Himself; and though not beside the tabernacle, there were many instances of sacrifices offered by prophets and holy men on extraordinary occasions in other places.

The Ark of God Sent Back. - Sa1 6:1-3. The ark of Jehovah was in the land (lit. the fields, as in Rut 1:2) of the Philistines for seven months, and had brought destruction to all the towns to which it had been taken. At length the Philistines resolved to send it back to the Israelites, and therefore called their priests and diviners (see at Num 23:23) to ask them, "What shall we do with regard to the ark of God; tell us, with what shall we send it to its place?" "Its place" is the land of Israel, and בּמּה does not mean "in what manner" (quomodo: Vulgate, Thenius), but with what, wherewith (as in Mic 6:6). There is no force in the objection brought by Thenius, that if the question had implied with what presents, the priests would not have answered, "Do not send it without a present;" for the priests did not confine themselves to this answer, in which they gave a general assent, but proceeded at once to define the present more minutely. They replied, "If they send away the ark of the God of Israel (משׁלּחים is to be taken as the third person in an indefinite address, as in Sa1 2:24, and not to be construed with אתּם supplied), do not send it away empty (i.e., without an expiatory offering), but return Him (i.e., the God of Israel) a trespass-offering." אשׁם, lit. guilt, then the gift presented as compensation for a fault, the trespass-offering (see at Lev. 5:14-6:7). The gifts appointed by the Philistines as an asham were to serve as a compensation and satisfaction to be rendered to the God of Israel for the robbery committed upon Him by the removal of the ark of the covenant, and were therefore called asham, although in their nature they were only expiatory offerings. For the same reason the verb השׁיב, to return or repay, is used to denote the presentation of these gifts, being the technical expression for the payment of compensation for a fault in Num 5:7, and in Lev 6:4 for compensation for anything belonging to another, that had been unjustly appropriated. "Are ye healed then, it will show you why His hand is not removed from you," sc., so long as ye keep back the ark. The words תּרפאוּ אז are to be understood as conditional, even without אם, which the rules of the language allow (see Ewald, 357, b.); this is required by the context. For, according to Sa1 6:9, the Philistine priests still thought it a possible thing that any misfortune which had befallen the Philistines might be only an accidental circumstance. With this view, they could not look upon a cure as certain to result from the sending back of the ark, but only as possible; consequently they could only speak conditionally, and with this the words "we shall know" agree.