The deaths of seventy men from their village has reminded the people that the Lord is holy and that he must be treated with respect. No sinner is safe in the presence of the Lord.1 The return of the ark did not mean that the Lord was now under the control of the Israelites.2 The ark therefore had to go to the place that the Lord had appointed for it, but with Shiloh having been destroyed and the deaths of Eli and his sons, no one knew where it should have been sent (see Psalm 78:56–64).3
20 Les gens de Beth-Schémesch dirent: Qui peut subsister en présence de l'Eternel, de ce Dieu saint? Et vers qui l'arche doit-elle monter, en s'éloignant de nous?