1Samuel 6:13 - Prayer Tents



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1Samuel 6
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Gold Tumors and Rats

6After the Chest of GOD had been among the Philistine people for seven months,H727H3068H7704H6430H7651H2320 2the Philistine leaders called together their religious professionals, the priests, and experts on the supernatural for consultation: "How can we get rid of this Chest of GOD, get it off our hands without making things worse? Tell us!"H6430H7121H3548H7080H559H6213H727H3068H3045H7971H4725 3They said, "If you're going to send the Chest of the God of Israel back, don't just dump it on them. Pay compensation. Then you will be healed. After you're in the clear again, God will let up on you. Why wouldn't he?"H559H7971H727H430H3478H7971H7387H7725H7725H817H7495H3045H3027H5493 4"And what exactly would make for adequate compensation?" "Five gold tumors and five gold rats," they said, "to match the number of Philistine leaders. Since all of you—leaders and people—suffered the same plague,H559H817H7725H559H2568H2091H2914H6076H2568H2091H5909H4557H5633H6430H259H4046H5633 5make replicas of the tumors and rats that are devastating the country and present them as an offering to the glory of the God of Israel. Then maybe he'll ease up and not be so hard on you and your gods, and on your country.H6213H6754H2914H6076H6754H5909H7843H776H5414H3519H430H3478H7043H3027H430H776 6Why be stubborn like the Egyptians and Pharaoh? God didn't quit pounding on them until they let the people go. Only then did he let up.H3513H3824H4714H6547H3513H3820H5953H7971H3212 7"So here's what you do: Take a brand-new oxcart and two cows that have never been in harness. Hitch the cows to the oxcart and send their calves back to the barn.H6213H259H2319H5699H3947H8147H5763H6510H5927H5923H631H6510H5699H7725H1121H1004H310 8Put the Chest of GOD on the cart. Secure the gold replicas of the tumors and rats that you are offering as compensation in a sack and set them next to the Chest. Then send it off.H3947H727H3068H5414H5699H7760H3627H2091H7725H817H712H6654H7971H1980 9But keep your eyes on it. If it heads straight back home to where it came from, toward Beth Shemesh, it is clear that this catastrophe is a divine judgment, but if not, we'll know that God had nothing to do with it—it was just an accident."H7200H5927H1870H1366H1053H6213H1419H7451H3045H3027H5060H4745H1961 10So that's what they did: They hitched two cows to the cart, put their calves in the barn,H582H6213H3947H8147H5763H6510H631H5699H3607H1121H1004 11and placed the Chest of GOD and the sack of gold rats and tumors on the cart.H7760H727H3068H5699H712H5909H2091H6754H2914 12The cows headed straight for home, down the road to Beth Shemesh, straying neither right nor left, mooing all the way. The Philistine leaders followed them to the outskirts of Beth Shemesh.H6510H3474H1870H1870H1053H1980H4546H259H1600H1980H5493H3225H8040H5633H6430H1980H310H1366H1053 13The people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. They looked up and saw the Chest. Jubilant, they ran to meet it.H1053H7114H2406H7105H6010H5375H5869H7200H727H8055H7200 14The cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth Shemeshite, and stopped there beside a huge boulder. The harvesters tore the cart to pieces, then chopped up the wood and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to GOD.H5699H935H7704H3091H1030H5975H1419H68H1234H6086H5699H5927H6510H5930H3068 15The Levites took charge of the Chest of GOD and the sack containing the gold offerings, placing them on the boulder. Offering the sacrifices, everyone in Beth Shemesh worshiped GOD most heartily that day.H3881H3381H727H3068H712H3627H2091H7760H1419H68H582H1053H5927H5930H2076H2077H3117H3068 16When the five Philistine leaders saw what they came to see, they returned the same day to Ekron.H2568H5633H6430H7200H7725H6138H3117 17The five gold replicas of the tumors were offered by the Philistines in compensation for the cities of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.H2091H2914H6430H7725H817H3068H795H259H5804H259H831H259H1661H259H6138H259 18The five gold rats matched the number of Philistine towns, both large and small, ruled by the five leaders. The big boulder on which they placed the Chest of GOD is still there in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, a landmark.H2091H5909H4557H5892H6430H2568H5633H4013H5892H6521H3724H1419H59H3240H727H3068H3117H7704H3091H1030

If You Are Serious About Coming Back to God

19God struck some of the men of Beth Shemesh who, out of curiosity, irreverently peeked into the Chest of GOD. Seventy died. The whole town was in mourning, reeling under the hard blow from GOD,H5221H376H1053H7200H727H3068H5221H5971H2572H505H7657H582H5971H56H3068H5221H5971H1419H4347 20and questioning, "Who can stand before GOD, this holy God? And who can we get to take this Chest off our hands?"H582H1053H559H3201H5975H6440H6918H3068H430H5927 21They sent emissaries to Kiriath Jearim, saying, "The Philistines have returned the Chest of GOD. Come down and get it."H7971H4397H3427H7157H559H6430H7725H727H3068H3381H5927


The Message (MSG). All Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. More details.
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