NOTES for Sa1 5:1-6:21

The Philistines view the capture of the Ark in an entirely pagan way. They cannot grasp that the Lord is not one among many gods, but the One and Only. This follows naturally from their customary ideas, and so the Philistines prove unprepared for an encounter with an unfamiliar Reality. As a result, their experience of coming into contact with the holy object is painful.

The Philistines' agonizing illnesses could be called punishment for capturing the Ark. But this is no ordinary punishment for breaking a prohibition. Just as an allergy is caused by the body's incompatibility with certain substances, so a reaction of incompatibility can also appear in the spiritual life. The encounter between the distorted pagan spirituality that had permeated the Philistines' souls and the authenticity of the one God provoked an acute reaction, far more painful than any allergy.