1 Samuel 6:7-9 Chance

 ”Now therefore, make a new cart, take two milk cows which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.”“

‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Take two milk cows which have never been yoked: Here, the Philistines conducted an experiment. They thought all the calamity of the plagues was from the LORD God of Israel, but they were not 100% sure. So, they devised another test. Men are almost always reluctant to repent, and they guard against repenting “unnecessarily.”

i. The test was simple and stacked against God. By nature, two milk cows which have never been yoked should not pull a cart at all, instead they should have resisted their yokes. Additionally, they decided to take their calves home, away from them. The “maternal instinct” of the cows would draw them not towards the land of Israel, but back home to their own calves. The Philistines devised a test that “forced” the God of Israel to do something miraculous to demonstrate He really was the cause of the plagues.

b. Take the ark of the LORD and set it on the cart: God never wanted the ark to be transported by a cart. He wanted it to be carried by poles set in rings on the side of the ark (Numbers 4:14-15).

i. The ark didn’t have “handles” and was not to be carried by lifting it directly with one’s hands. Instead, it was to be carried by inserting gold-overlaid wood poles into gold rings at each corner of the ark. The poles were to remain inserted in the rings, and to be the source of contact with the ark. Apart from touching the poles, it was forbidden to touch the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:12-15).

ii. Though this way of transporting the ark was prohibited by the law, God excused them because of their ignorance of His law. 

“God winked at it in them, both because they were ignorant of God’s law to the contrary, and because they had no Levites to carry it upon their shoulders.” (Poole)

c. Put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side: The Philistines were wise enough to not open the ark of the covenant and set the articles of gold in the ark itself. Certainly, they were curious about what was in the ark, but they didn’t let their curiosity lead them into sin.

d. If not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance: Is it possible that the tumors and other judgments came by chance?

iv. Realizing that nothing happens by chance should not make us think every event is full of important meaning from God. Some things just happen and have no great eternal purpose that we can discern. Christians can get off track by trying to see a message from God in everything. But nothing happens by chance. We live in a cause-and-effect world. 

“But wicked men will sooner believe the most uncertain and ridiculous things, than own the visible demonstrations of God’s power and providence.” (Poole)

(Guzik)

Chance

The Philistines took a chance with a devised test “that “forced” the God of Israel to do something miraculous to demonstrate He really was the cause of the plagues.”

But we have a Lord of second chances!

”The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.“ ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Will you take a chance by believing that God didn’t send His only begotten Son to give you a second chance?

Blessings