Capturing the Ark

Between the One Year Bible and an Old Testament class I'm attending this year I'm hearing quite a few stories multiple times in relatively short order. And when you get to know them better they start to sink in, make more sense, the connections become more apparent.

Last week in class we went through the beginning of 1 Samuel, with the birth of ancient Israel's last judge and first major prophet, his call etc. The high priest at the time was a man named Eli, who was righteous but who had evil sons that nevertheless were priests under him. At the time (this is before David btw), the Israelites were in conflict with the mighty Philistines, who had chariots and weapons of iron that made them considerably stronger militarily than their neighbors. After one particular defeat (1 Samuel 4) the Israelite army, in accordance with Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas, took the Ark of the Covenant from the Tabernacle and paraded it before them, and restarted the battle. The Israelites this time were defeated even worse than the last, the two priests were killed and the Ark was captured by the Philistines. It did not go how they wanted.

Let's talk about the Ark. Exodus 25 tells us that God gave Moses specifications for how the Ark was to be designed, and rules for how it was to be handled. For example, it was always to be carried by Levites (the priestly tribe going back to Moses/Aaron) exclusively using poles. It was not to be touched directly. It was to be stored in the Holy of Holies, the innermost sanctuary. The golden lid, with two cherubim (angels), is referred to as the Mercy Seat, literally the throne of God, where his presence would descend. The Ark would house sacred objects including the 10 Commandment stone tablets, Aaron's staff and a jar of manna from the wilderness wanderings. There were times where the Ark did indeed lead the way, as when crossing the Jordan (Joshua 3) and when circling Jericho (Joshua 6) but these were also following God's direction. It did not work like a magic talisman or a lucky rabbit's foot. God's will would not be manipulated. So when the Israelites tried to do this they were slaughtered and lost their priceless physical connection to God.

Here's where that story gets really interesting. The Philistines, in 1 Samuel 5-6, bring the Ark as a war prize back to the temple of their god, Dagon. After one night the statue of Dagon has collapsed and is bowing to the Ark. They put him back upright and overnight the second night it happens again, but this time Dagon's head and heads were broken off, a sign of complete surrender and defeat. Not only that, much physical affliction came upon the city, Ashdod, in a short time, with a widespread outbreak of tumors on the people. It got so bad they sent the Ark to another city, where it happened again, and another city, where it happened again, each time the plagues getting worse. The Philistines quickly decide they can't keep the thing and decide to send it back to Israel. This itself is an interesting tale, where they load the Ark onto a cart, pulled by two cows who've recently calved, and the animals walk the Ark back to Israel all by themselves. Again, the lesson here is God won't be manipulated. You cannot harness His power simply by possessing the Ark. In fact, the opposite happens, you will be punished.

This story is enjoyable all by itself, but it has me making a connection and wondering, what on earth were the Nazis thinking?

I'm, of course, here referring to Raiders of the Lost Ark (one of my favorite movies). In the film we hear that Hitler was obsessed with finding biblical artifacts, believing they'd help win the war. This is probably untrue but it does result in a fun adventure. Indiana Jones then competes with a rival French archeologist who works for the Nazis in a race to find the Ark. Indy finds it first but eventually it's taken from him. In the end the rival brings the Ark to a lonely island to open it and attempt to harness its power. If you know the biblical stories (as Indy seems to), this was always a bad idea. It naturally goes horribly, horribly wrong.

(Videos below get a bit gory.)

Or, if you don't have five minutes...

In other words, they should've read their bibles a little more carefully. Ah well.