The Covenent Box (There And Back Again)

In the book of 1 Samuel, chapters 4 through 6, the Covenent Box--AKA the Ark of the Covenent--takes an interesting journey.

The Philistines go to war against the Israelites and achieve victory.  The Israelite survivors then reflected on why the Lord let them lose.  They then brought the Covenent Box out to the battlefield, where it not only gave the Israelites hope, it also caused great fear in the Philistines.

Unshaken, the Philistines pushed even harder and against slaughtered many Israelites, including Eli's two sons.  They also captured the Covenent Box.  When Eli heard what fate fell the coveted box, he fell and broke his neck.  Israel now had no leader.

The Philistines paraded the Covenent Box around from town to town, displaying their mighty power.  However, wherever the Covenent Box was brought, great wrath and destruction was delivered onto them by the Lord.

In the end, the Philistines returned the Covenent Box to the Israelites, along with gifts and an offering of burnt sacrifices, so that the Lord would spare them any more heartache.