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Think On These Things Newsletter>
Where Was the Ark Of the Covenant During Judges?
November 13, 2007
In the Disciple study that I am participating in, we were
studying parts of Joshua and the book of Judges this week.
The Ark of the Covenant is rarely, if ever, mentioned in
the book of Judges. The question came up in our discussion
as to what happened to the Ark between Joshua’s death and
it’s reappearance in the first chapter of first Samuel.
After our class, I was determined to find out. The
following is what I found.
In Joshua 18:1, the tent of meeting with the ark was set
up in Shiloh. Shiloh would also be Joshua’s seat of
government (Josh 18:8-10, Josh 21:1-2) from which Joshua
cast lots for the remaining tribes of Israel. Shiloh was
also the place of rendezvous for the tribes (Josh 22:9 and
Josh. 22:12). There was a yearly festival in Shiloh when
everyone brought their sacrifices - presumably for the
year. Eleazar, son of Aaron was the priest at the tent of
meeting. It is ironic that Eleazar dies soon after Joshua,
passing the mantle of priesthood to his son Phinehas (Josh.
24:33). There is no explanation as to why Joshua gathered
the tribes at Shechem to renew the covenant rather than
Shiloh. In chapter 22, the tribes gathered at Shiloh.
However, there is no evidence in scripture that the ark had
been moved from the tent of meeting at Shiloh.
Following the account of Joshua’s death in the second
chapter of Judges, the Israelites begin their next cycle of
downhill spirals. God seems to only appear or talk to
Gideon in the line of judges. It does not seem as if very
many judges are looking for the Lord. The “spirit of the
Lord” comes over a few of the judges before an act of
strength (army or personal), but does not seem to linger
long. It is entirely possible that the yearly festival at
Shiloh continued all the while. If the Israelites were
hedging their bets, they would certainly have made the
yearly trip - just in case. However, there is no mention of
the ark or Shiloh until Judges 18:31.
“So they maintained as their own Micah’s idol that he had
made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.” (18:31)
Shiloh was in Ephraim. Apparently, the tent of meeting and
the ark had remained at Shiloh throughout the reign of the
judges. Again, there is no evidence, but it is possible
that the Ephraimites being “caretakers” of the tent of
meeting is one of the reasons they felt slighted when
Gideon called them last to assist in the battle against the
Midianites. Gideon says that they had the finest grapes,
but he could have simply been pacifying them after they
chastised him.
Shiloh was apparently not the center of government
anymore. Seemingly, each judge had his/her own base of
operations. Deborah and Barak would have had to go through
Shiloh to get to Mt. Tabor, but there is no mention of it.
There is also numerous references to Mizpah (“Lookout” or
“Watchtower”). It may have been no more than a strategic
vantage point from which to view the surrounding land and
plan attacks.
Oddly enough, two chapters after the mention of the house
of God at Shiloh, the ark appears at Bethel. “And the
Israelites inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the
covenant of God was there [Bethel] in those days, and
Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it
in those days)....” (Judges 20:27-28). But “those days”
must have been brief in the overall scheme of things. In
the final passages of chapter 21 and the book of Judges,
the Benjaminites attacked Shiloh. “So they [the
Benjaminites] said, “Look, the yearly festival of the Lord
is taking place at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel...””
(Judges 21:19)
Sure enough, at the beginning of Samuel, the ark and tent
of meeting is back at Shiloh. However, there is no trace of
the lineage between Phineas and Eli as far as the
priesthood. It is possible that Eli is descended from
Phineas. He did name one of his sons Phineas.
So there you have it. The absence of mention of the ark
for the majority of Judges could simply be recognition of
how far the Israelites had strayed from the Lord. If they
had been recorded to have continued to worship at the ark
in Shiloh, they could possible be construed as not so evil.
When the point of the book is to illustrate the evil they
brought upon themselves. Although we will probably never
know for sure, this is my supposition - from the scriptures
and notes - as to where the ark was during the time of
Judges.
Peace be with you.
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