The first scientific experiment in the Old Testament

Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left (1 Sam. 6:12a).

The Philistine leaders follow the suggestions of their priests to the letter. They place the ark of the covenant on a newly built cart, along with their “trespass offering” of golden rats and tumors, and hitch the cart to two never-before-yoked milk cows.

Then they step back, leaving it up to God to take the ark by miraculous means if He wants it. Surprisingly, He does just that. The cows, which have never pulled a burden before, are able to work in tandem, and the cart begins to move forward smoothly.

The cows could go in any direction, of course, but they make a beeline for the road to Beth Shemesh, a city of the tribe of Judah in southern Israel—the very city to which the Philistine priests had said the cart must go as proof that God was guiding it.

The cows aren’t happy about this—their lowing indicates distress, an instinctual desire to return to their calves. But they go steadily toward Israel, clearly led by God’s hand, never stopping until they reach a field outside Beth Shemesh. And the Philistine leaders follow along, witnessing this crystal-clear word of God that He, not “chance,” caused their affliction. God actually meets their demand for a sign, but their failure to put away their idols and submit to His lordship even after this miraculous event only deepens their guilt.

The people of Beth Shemesh are reaping their wheat when the ark arrives. The sight of it fills them with joy. Through God’s providence, Beth Shemesh just “happens” to be a city of Levites (Josh. 21:16), those of the tribe designated to handle the ark and the other furnishings of the tabernacle, so they are able to remove the ark from the cart and set it on a large stone. They then break up the cart and use the wood to make a burnt offering of the cows.

Strictly speaking, this is improper—God had said such offerings were to be made at the place of His choice, which has been Shiloh. 

But God nowhere expresses displeasure with this sacrifice, perhaps indicating that Shiloh has been destroyed by the Philistines by this time (Ps. 78:60–61). Interestingly, however, the ark’s return to Judah places it in the vicinity of the next site God will choose for His “dwelling place”—Jerusalem.

The symbolism of this passage is powerful. The ark of the covenant is back among God’s covenant people. In a real sense, “the glory has returned” to Israel. God is prepared to do good things for His people.