“The men of Beth-shemesh knew better than to do this. But, as we’ve seen again and again in this period of Israel’s history, people weren’t worried about carefully following the Lord. They did what was right in their own eyes. Look how these priests acted.
First, they sacrificed the female cows. Only male cows were allowed to be used in a burnt offering.
Second, they look into the ark. Big no-no. You know, archaeologists have found Beth-shemesh and studied it. One source writes: “The material culture at the site is indistinguishable from their Philistine neighbor[s].” And we know from the next couple of verses that God’s people were worshiping foreign gods.
When God judges them for their sin, they don’t repent. They act just like the Philistines.
Your version may say the Lord struck down 70 persons or 50,070 persons. What’s the deal? There are manuscript differences, but also linguists say that the terms used are unusual. Here’s something interesting: A possible translation is “one fifth of the clan.”
When an Israelite sinned against one of the “holy things,” they were to make restitution by adding a fifth of the value to their offering.
God is a God of love and grace, but whether it’s Philistine or priest, He expects people to obey Him. To listen to Him. And when we don’t the result is judgment. It may not be as dramatic as what we see here, but judgment is the result of human rebellion against God. Because He is holy.
They say, “Who can stand in the presence of this holy God?” Their implied answer is “no one.” They want the ark carted away. Why not back to Shiloh? It was probably destroyed after the battle.”
