Big Idea: The Lord’s willingness to dwell among his people is cause to celebrate, but he expects his people to respect his holiness.

Understanding the Text

When Samuel was young and Eli was old, the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant (1 Sam. 4). The ark wreaked havoc in Philistine territory: the image of Dagon in the Ashdod temple ended up decapitated, and the Philistines’ cities were devastated by a plague (1 Sam. 5). The Philistines sent the ark back to Israelite territory, but when it arrived in Beth Shemesh, several curiosity seekers were struck dead when they failed to show it proper respect (1 Sam. 6). Finally the men of Kiriath Jearim took the ark to their town, where it remained for many years (1 Sam. 7:1–2).1After David has conquered Jerusalem and built his palace ther…