thus, either becauſe rhey perceived that ſome oppoicd the Decree * Exod. of ſending home the Ark,though the moſt had cooſented to it; or 12- 21» becauſe th-y thought they would hardly ſend ir away in the man- F Heb. ner preſcribed, by giving glory to Ged, and taking ſhame ro them- them. ſelves» » Which they might eaſily learn, either by Tradition from their Anceitors, or by the Reports of the Hebrews,
7 Now therefore make a new Cart s, and take two milch-kine, on which there hath come no yoke p, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home
from them 4q.
s As David did for the ſame uſe, 2 Sam: 6: 3. in Reverence to the Ark. p Partly, in reſpett to the Ark ; and partly, for the better Diſcovery, becauſe ſuch untamed Heifers are wanton, and apt to wander, and keep no certain and conſtant paths, as Oxen accu- ſt>med to che Yoke do, and therefore were moſt unlikely to keep the dire& Road to J/rael's Land. q Which would ſtir up Natural Affe&tion in their Dams, and caule them rather to retura Home, than to go to a ſtrange Countrey.
8 And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart r, and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him fo a treſpaſs-otfering in a cotter by the ſide thereof /, and fend it away, that it may go.
r Which God winked at in them, both becauſe they were igno- rant of God's law to the contrary, and betauſe they had no Levites
to carry it upon their ſhoulders. { For they durſt not prelume to open the Ark, to put them within ir.
9 And ſee, if it goeth up by the way of his own ©:
2 & 4 coaſt
kap. VI.
Or, it. coaſt s to Bethſhemeſ(Þ, then || hehath done us this great
evil t: but if pot,then we ſhall know that z# 7s not his
hand that ſmote us ; it wes a chance that hapned to _ U, s Or, Border, i. e. the way that leadeth to his Coaſt, or =_ bn, z- the Countrey to which it belongs» * Which they ang "_ conclude, if ſach Heifers ſhould againſt their vm—_—_y u - mw natural inſtin&. go into a ſtrange path» and regularly an _ —_ 1y proceed in it, without any man's Condutt » This " _ to us from ſome Influences of the Stars, or other unknown Caules: Which was a weak and fooliſh Inference, depending upon a _ Contingency, it. being uncertain whether GOD would __m _ give them this Sign ; and probable, that he would my t, both to puniſh their Superſtirion, and to harden their hearts to their further and utter Deftru&tion. But wicked Men will ſooner believe the moſt uncertain and ridiculous things, than own the viſible De- monſtrations of GOD'S Power and Providence. 10 | And the men did fo: and took two milch-
kine, and tied them to the cart, and ſhut up their calves
gi - Rs they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart,
| and the coffer with the mice of gold, and the images of
their emerods. ;
12 And the kine took the ſtraight way to the way of Bethshemesh x, and went along the high-way, low- ing as they went z, and turned nor aſide to the right hand, or to the left : and the lords of the Phili- fines went after them z unto the border of Beth-
hemesh. ; p x i. e. Leading to Bethſbemeſb, a Ciry of the Prieſts, Joſh: 21: 16.
who were by Office to take care of it» y Teſtifying at once both their natural and vehement Inclination to their Calves, and the ſu- pernatural and Divine Power which over-ruled them to a contrary Courſe. z Under pretence of an honourable diſmiſſhon of ic ; but in truth, to prevent all Impoſture, and to get aſſurance of the truth of the Event» All which Circumſtances tended ro their greater Confuſion, and Illuſtration of GOD'S Glory.
12 Andrhey of Bethſhemeſh were reaping their wheat- harveft in the valley : and they lifted up their eyes,and
ſaw the ark, and rejoyced ro ſee ir.
14 And the cart came into the field of Joſhua a Beth- ſhemire, and ſtood there, where there was a great ſtone : and they 4 cave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine, a burnr-cffering unto the LORD 5.
z Not the lords of the Philiſtmes, but the Berhjhemires, to wit, the Priefts that dwelt there. b There may ſ-em to be a double Errour in this AQ, Firſt, That they offered Females for a Burnt-offering, contrary to Levitz 1: 3- and 22: 19. Secondly, That they did it in a forbidden place, Deut: 12: 5, 6- into which they might eaſily be led by exceſs of Joy, and eager deſire of returning ro their long- interrupted courſe of Offering Sacrifices. And ſome think theſe Trregularities were partial Cauſes of the following Puniſhment. But this caſe being very extraordinary, may in ſome ſort excuſe it, if they did not proceed by ordinary Rules. As for the firſt, though they mighr not chuſe Females for that uſe, yet when GOD himſelf bad clioſen, ani in a manner Conſecrated them to his Service, and imployed them in ſo Sacred and Glorious a Work, it may ſeem tollerable ro off-r them to the LORD, as being his pecuiiar, and improper for any other uſe. And for the Jatrer, we have many Inſtances of Sacrifices offered to GOD by Prophets, and Holy Men, in other places, beſides the Tabernacle, vpon extraordinary occaſions, ſuch as this certainly was ; It being fit, that the Ark ſhould art its firſt return be received with Thankſgi- ving and Sacrifice ; and this. Place being SanQtified by the pre- ſence of the Ark, which was the very Soul of the Tabernacle, and that by which the Tabernacle it ſelf was San&tified, and for whoſe ſake the Sacrifices were offered at the door of rhe Taber-
naclee
15 And the Levites took down c the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that 2y45 with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great ſtone 8 and the men of Bethſhemeſh offered -burnt- offerings, and ſacrificed ſacrifices the fame day unto the
LORD.
c Or, Fir ths Levites had taken down: for this, though mentioned aftery was done before the Sacrifices were offered.
16 And when thefive lords of the Philiſtines had ſeen it d, they returned to Ekron the ſame day.
d To wit, that prodigious return of the Ark to its own Coun- trey, and the entertainment it found there.
17 And theſe are the golden emerods which the Phi- liſtines returned for a treſpaſs-effering 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 countrey villages e even unto the || great ſtone of Abel f, whereon they
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