(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Samuel 6:10–18, “And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh. And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 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 country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.”
When the men let the cart go the cows went straight towards the nearest Israeli town and didn’t go back to their calves. When the Lord of the Philistines saw what had happened they went him satisfied that the Lord had brought all that trouble on them. When the cart reached the Israelis they were in the fields reaping wheat. They saw the ark and knew that this was the Lord’s doing. The cattle brought the cart with the ark into one man’s field so they cut up the cart and sacrificed the cows on a large rock that was nearby. They wanted to offer their gratitude and praise to the Lord for what He had done for them. After that they left the ark on the rock. When this history was recorded soon after these events the rock was still there so that any reader could go and see it. At that stage the local people just left the ark where it was. After all, the Lord had kept the ark while it was with their fiercest enemies and then brought it back so, surely, it would be safe within Israel’s borders.
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