1 Samuel 5:10

5:6-12 The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Philistines; he not only convinced them of their folly, but severely chastised their insolence. Yet they would not renounce Dagon; and instead of seeking God's mercy, they desired to get clear of his ark. Carnal hearts, when they smart under the judgments of God, would rather, if it were possible, put him far from them, than enter into covenant or communion with him, and seek him for their friend. But their devices to escape the Divine judgments only increase them. Those that fight against God will soon have enough of it.

Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron,.... Another of the five principalities of the Philistines, about ten miles from Gath, where Baalzebub, or the god of the fly, was worshipped: and it came to pass, that as the ark of God came to Ekron; and had been there some little time: that the Ekronites cried out; when they perceived the hand of God was upon them, as upon the other cities; these were the chief magistrates of the city, with the lord of them, as appears by what follows: saying, they have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us; from one city to another, and at length to us: to slay us and our people; not that this was their intention, but so it was eventually.

Verses 10, 11. - The Ekronites cried out. Convinced by this second and more fatal plague that the ark was the cause of their punishment, the people of Ekron, when it was passed on to them from Gath, protested loudly against its presence. Compelled to receive it until the lords of the Philistines could be convened in council to decide upon its ultimate destination, the plague broke out so heavily among them that they were in utter dismay. For the rendering deadly destruction is untenable. Literally the words are, "a dismay of death;" but in Hebrew death added to a word of this sort simply means "very great." So "terrors of death" in Psalm 55:4 are very great terrors. In the next verse we learn that many did die, but the words used here describe the mental agony and despair of the people as they saw the ark, which had wrought elsewhere so great misery, brought unto them. 1 Samuel 5:10

10 . they sent the ark of God to Ekron ] The most northerly of the five confederate cities, about 11 miles north of Gath. It was allotted to the tribe of Judah ( Joshua 15:45-46 ), and was temporarily occupied ( Jdg 1:18 ). Baal-zebub was the local deity ( 2 Kings 1:2 ). The site is marked by the modern village of Akir . to us, to slay us and our people ] Lit., as in the margin, “to me, to slay me and my people.” So too in 1 Samuel 5:11 . The singular seems to indicate that the ‘lord’ acted as spokesman.

3 . send it not empty ] Cp. Exodus 23:15 . All religions regard offering as a necessary part of worship. in any wise ] i.e. “at all events,” “certainly.” Wise means “way of acting,” “manner,” “mode.” return him a trespass offering ] A satisfaction or compensation in return for the injury done him by the removal of the Ark. it shall be known to you ] If the removal of the plague followed the restoration of the Ark with due propitiation, they would know for certain that its detention was the cause of the continuance of the plague. They were not yet convinced that their misfortune was more than “a chance” ( 1 Samuel 6:9 ).

7. the ark of God shall not abide with us—It was removed successively to several of the large towns of the country, but the same pestilence broke out in every place and raged so fiercely and fatally that the authorities were forced to send the ark back into the land of Israel [1Sa 5:8-10].

They therefore sent the ark of God to Ekron, i.e., Akir, the north-western city of the Philistines (see at Joshua 13:3 ). But the Ekronites, who had been informed of what had taken place in Ashdod and Gath, cried out, when the ark came into their city, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to me, to slay me and my people" (these words are to be regarded as spoken by the whole town); and they said to all the princes of the Philistines whom they had called together, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, that it may return to its place, and not slay me and my people. For deadly alarm (מות מהוּמת, confusion of death, i.e., alarm produced by many sudden deaths) ruled in the whole city; very heavy was the hand of God there. The people who did not die were smitten with boils, and the cry of the city ascended to heaven." From this description, which simply indicates briefly the particulars of the plagues that God inflicted upon Ekron, we may see very clearly that Ekron was visited even more severely than Ashdod and Gath. This was naturally the case. The longer the Philistines resisted and refused to recognise the chastening hand of the living God in the plagues inflicted upon them, the more severely would they necessarily be punished, that they might be brought at last to see that the God of Israel, whose sanctuary they still wanted to keep as a trophy of their victory over that nation, was the omnipotent God, who was able to destroy His foes.