Israel was at war with the Philistines and had just suffered a terrible defeat, losing 4,000 men. The elders asked among themselves why the Lord had allowed this to happen. They could see that God was not helping them so they tried to think of a way to get Him back on their side. They remembered that the Ark of the Covenant was nearby in the town of Shiloh. The Ark of the Covenant was where the Ten Commandments were kept and where God's spirit was said to dwell. So the elders dispatched men to bring the ark back to the camp.

When the men saw the Ark, they let out such a huge roar that the ground shook beneath them. The Philistines were frightened. When they discovered that the Ark of the Hebrew god had come into the Israelite camp, they began trembling with fear saying, “A god has come into the camp. Who can stand against such a powerful god" They told themselves they would have to fight extra hard or they would all be taken as slaves.

So the Philistines fought with all their might and slaughtered the Israelites with an even bigger defeat than before. This time they killed 30,000 men. They captured the Ark of the Covenant, and brought it back home to the town of Ashod. But that is when their problems really began...

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