Test Before Committing

In the seven months the Philistines had the Ark, the plague had killed thousands.  The Philistine leaders could no longer ignore the crisis.  They decided to send the Ark back to Israel, in hopes that would resolve the problem.  They asked their Shamans how to do it properly, as we see in I Samuel 6:2.  “And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.

Wanting to impress people with what they are doing, political leaders often take major actions without taking the time to make sure their actions will produce the desired results.  The Shamans warned them that if their taking the Ark was the cause of the plague, they would need to send a trespass offering with the Ark, as an apology and repayment for having taken it, in I Samuel 6:3-5.  “And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.

Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him?

They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.  Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.”

The Shamans recognized there was a connection between an infestation of mice and the bubos or swollen lymph nodes of those who got sick.  Bubonic plague is carried by rodents, and is passed to humans by fleas who have bitten infected mice, resulting in extreme fever and swollen lymph nodes, often overwhelming the body’s natural defenses.  They could only hope that by acknowledging God had caused their problems and offering gold would satisfy God. 

If the problem was truly from God, delay would only make things worse, but if it was just a result of a natural invasion of mice, they would be losing their trespass offering as well as the value and psychological advantage having the Ark gave.  The Shamans suggested a way to check out whether it was a natural occurance or something caused by God, in I Samuel 6:6-9.  “Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?  Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:  And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.  And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.”

Left to themselves, cows naturally wander from one clump of grass to another aimlessly.  Having never been worked as a team, they would constantly be struggling to go their own way rather than working together, and being mothers, they would be especially concerned about protecting their calves.  If the cows followed their natural instincts it would be safe to assume that the timing of the plague was just a coincidence and keep the Ark, but if they violated all their natural instincts it would indicate there was a supernatural cause and they should let it go.   

When they followed the Shamans’ advice, it quickly became clear they had been right to assume the plague was the result of their having taken the Ark, as we see in I Samuel 6:10-12.  “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.”

Just to make sure, the Philistine leaders followed the cows all the way to the border at Bethshemesh.  The cows never wandered or hesitated, sticking to the road and ignoring both the food along the way and the cries of their calves.  It was conclusive proof God was directing the cows, and that the plague had been caused by God.   

It is always wise to test ones ideas before committing fully to a course of action.    Entrepreneur Mark Morgan Ford recommends a strategy he calls Ready, Fire, Aim, in which you develop your idea, then try it on a small scale to see what happens.  Based on the results of that first test, you then adjust your plan and try again, only committing fully when it is clear the plan will work.  Using such a strategy one can develop a successful program without spending excessive amounts of resources on unworkable ideas.  Unfortunately, because they are using their follower’s money rather than their own, many leaders do not take the trouble to test their ideas before committing, costing their constituents dearly.   The Philistines were doing the same thing Gideon did with his fleece.