Introduction: Seven Months of Clarification
Chapter 6 of Shmuel A is a chapter of clarification. The Ark of the covenant of Hashem had been captured by the Philistines, and the plagues that came upon them because of it continued without stopping. The Philistines were uncertain: Is this truly the hand of Hashem, or is all of this mere coincidence? The entire chapter is a series of "tests" that they set up for themselves, until the Ark is returned to the border of Israel. And at its end we find the other side of the coin as well: the people of Beit Shemesh, who received the Ark with joy, are punished for not treating it with the proper respect.
וַיְהִי אֲרוֹן־יְהֹוָה בִּשְׂדֵה פְלִשְׁתִּים שִׁבְעָה חֳדָשִׁים׃ - And the Ark of Hashem was in the field of the Philistines for seven months.
There is a principle: chance does not endure. Something coincidental cannot continue over a long period of time. Here we see a month and another month and another month, seven months, and the affliction continues. This is no longer chance, it is from Hashem. The very fact that it persists is the proof.
Two Questions, Two Kinds of Advisors
וַיִּקְרְאוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים לַכֹּהֲנִים וְלַקֹּסְמִים לֵאמֹר מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לַאֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה הוֹדִעֻנוּ בַּמֶּה נְשַׁלְּחֶנּוּ לִמְקוֹמוֹ׃ - And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: What shall we do with the Ark of Hashem? Tell us with what we should send it back to its place.
The Malbim explains: they had two questions. The first question - whether to send the Ark back at all. This was not simple, for they held such a great prize, the Ark of the covenant of the God of Israel, and it is not so easy to give up such a strategic asset. The second question - if we decide to send it, how shall we send it? On a wagon or on the shoulder? With an offering or empty handed? And so they called upon two kinds of people.
The first question, whether to send it back, they directed to the diviners. The diviners deal with hidden matters, with things above nature, with matters of the supernatural. Through their arts they would know whether this affliction came by Divine providence or by chance, and whether sending the Ark away would cause the affliction to depart. The second question, how to send it, they directed to the priests. Who knows what constitutes honor for the deity? The priests. They know whether to carry the Ark on the shoulder or in the hands or on a wagon, and whether to appease Him with an offering or to send it empty. Even though they are gentiles, a priest has, so to speak, a path in the service of the deity, and even if it is idolatry, he has an understanding of what is the more honorable way.
Note an example from halacha: a gentile does not render wine to be forbidden libation wine when the wine is cooked. Why? Because such wine is not poured upon the altar. But seemingly, what do we care how it is poured upon the altar, since we are dealing with a gentile who would pour it out for idolatry? Rather, the explanation is that even gentiles have certain foundations in their idol worship, foundations that were taken from the service of Hashem. For sacrifices began in ancient times: already Noach offered a sacrifice, and so too Avraham our father with a three year old heifer and a three year old ram. The foundations of offering sacrifices come from then, and therefore the introductions and beginnings of the way one serves the Divine powers were also in the hands of the gentiles. And so they came to ask them. And so too we find with Bilam, that Balak offers sacrifices.
The Priests' Answer: Not Empty Handed
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִם־מְשַׁלְּחִים אֶת־אֲרוֹן אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אַל־תְּשַׁלְּחוּ אֹתוֹ רֵיקָם כִּי־הָשֵׁב תָּשִׁיבוּ לוֹ אָשָׁם אָז תֵּרָפְאוּ וְנוֹדַע לָכֶם לָמָּה לֹא־תָסוּר יָדוֹ מִכֶּם׃ - And they said: If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but you must surely return to Him a guilt offering; then you will be healed, and it will be made known to you why His hand does not turn away from you.
Notice: did they answer whether to send it back or not? No. The diviners here keep the right to remain silent - they have no answer. The ones speaking are the priests, and they say: let the diviners decide whether to send it. We will only tell you that if you decide to send it, do not send it empty handed but with an offering, "you must surely return to Him a guilt offering," and then you will be healed and the affliction will depart from you.
And what does "and it shall be known to you why His hand does not turn away from you" mean? This very test will demonstrate to you what the cause is: whether it is the Ark or some other reason. Sometimes a person is in doubt, and the very fact that he eliminates one direction of the question eases his mind. He knows the problem is not here, and he calms down a little even though he has not yet found the solution. This is what they told them: even if you will not have a complete solution, at least you will know that the problem does not come from the Ark.
What is the guilt offering: five golden hemorrhoids and five golden mice
וַיֹּאמְרוּ מָה הָאָשָׁם אֲשֶׁר נָשִׁיב לוֹ וַיֹּאמְרוּ מִסְפַּר סַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים חֲמִשָּׁה טְחֹרֵי זָהָב וַחֲמִשָּׁה עַכְבְּרֵי זָהָב כִּי־מַגֵּפָה אַחַת לְכֻלָּם וּלְסַרְנֵיכֶם׃ - And they said, What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him? And they said, According to the number of the lords of the Philistines, five golden hemorrhoids and five golden mice, for one plague was upon them all and upon your lords.
They ask what is fitting to bring as the guilt offering, and the answer is: the atonement must correspond to that with which they were smitten. The "hemorrhoids" are the rectum, that part of the intestines that the mice would drop out; and the mice are what smote them. Therefore they made a form of the intestines and a form of the mice. The Malbim says: the punishment came in this form, and if you elevate this thing to the domain of holiness, making one of them as a replica in gold and offering the other as a sacrifice to Hashem, this will serve as atonement for the punishment.
Therefore they said: bring the same quantity, five, corresponding to the number of the lords of the Philistines; and let them be of gold, so that they will have great value; five corresponding to the lords who are the great ones, and five corresponding to the people. Furthermore: the plague dominated the entire produce of the land, for the mice were destroying the crops, and therefore atonement must come for this as well.
The remedy through its opposite, and in this is the honor
וַעֲשִׂיתֶם צַלְמֵי טְחֹרֵיכֶם וְצַלְמֵי עַכְבְּרֵיכֶם הַמַּשְׁחִיתִם אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וּנְתַתֶּם לֵאלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כָּבוֹד אוּלַי יָקֵל אֶת־יָדוֹ מֵעֲלֵיכֶם וּמֵעַל אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וּמֵעַל אַרְצְכֶם׃ - And you shall make images of your hemorrhoids and images of your mice that ravage the land, and you shall give honor to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from upon you and from upon your gods and from upon your land.
Where is the honor here? The ancients said, and so it is brought in the books, that a person who was struck by a certain animal is in danger if he sees that same animal while he is still ill. A person bitten by a dog must not see dogs, and one bitten by a snake must not see a snake, for the very sight worsens the problem. So it is according to nature, and so it was in their time.
But in holiness it is the opposite. With what did the Holy One, blessed be He, sweeten the bitter waters? With a bitter tree. And when there was a problem with the snakes, what does Moshe Rabbeinu bring? A copper snake, precisely the opposite. So too King Chizkiyahu, who had boils, and they healed him with a fig that they spread on his flesh, and the Gemara wonders: but a fig increases boils! Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, heals a thing through its opposite. An ordinary person needs the way of nature, but with the Holy One, blessed be He, it is the opposite.
Therefore specifically here, through images of the hemorrhoids and the mice, which seemingly run contrary to the healing of your illness and which you should not see at all, this very act will give honor to the God of Israel, for it shows that we recognize that the plague is divine, and that God heals through the opposite. Therefore we shall bring it specifically in this way, and in this we give Him honor.
Do not harden your heart like Pharaoh
וְלָמָּה תְכַבְּדוּ אֶת־לְבַבְכֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר כִּבְּדוּ מִצְרַיִם וּפַרְעֹה אֶת־לִבָּם הֲלוֹא כַּאֲשֶׁר הִתְעַלֵּל בָּהֶם וַיְשַׁלְּחוּם וַיֵּלֵכוּ׃ - And why should you harden your heart as Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their heart? Was it not that after He had made a mockery of them, they let them go, and they departed?
"Tichbedu" here does not come from the sense of honoring and giving, but from the sense of hardening the heart, like Pharaoh. Here they return to the first question. Until now the diviners were silent, and the priests had said: we do not know whether to send it away, that is not our question, we will only tell you how to send it. And now they return to the first question and say: if you admit that the plague came because of the Ark, why would you harden your hearts? Come and see what happened to Egypt. They too at first attributed everything to natural causes and to chance, that Moshe Rabbeinu was a sorcerer and the like, and did not attribute it to Divine causes, and because of this they received ten plagues. Had they sent them off immediately, they would not have suffered so much. Do you too want this? One lesson was not enough for you, you want a whole series of lessons until in the end you send the Ark away?
The Test: A New Cart and Nursing Cows
וְעַתָּה קְחוּ וַעֲשׂוּ עֲגָלָה חֲדָשָׁה אֶחָת וּשְׁתֵּי פָרוֹת עָלוֹת אֲשֶׁר לֹא־עָלָה עֲלֵיהֶם עֹל וַאֲסַרְתֶּם אֶת־הַפָּרוֹת בָּעֲגָלָה וַהֲשֵׁיבֹתֶם בְּנֵיהֶם מֵאַחֲרֵיהֶם הַבָּיְתָה׃ - And now take and make one new cart, and two nursing cows on which no yoke has come, and harness the cows to the cart, and take their calves home away from them.
After they raised the question of whether the plagues came through the Creator's providence or by chance, they offer them a plan: let us make a test. First, a new cart, to place the Ark upon it. Why new? For reasons of honor, since it is not fitting to seat the king in a cart that a commoner has used. And the Malbim gives another reason: a new cart does not travel so smoothly, it needs to be "broken in," like a new vehicle on which they used to hang a sign "being broken in." Such a cart does not go along the road by itself, it requires more effort, and if it nonetheless goes in the right direction, that is greater proof that the matter is from Him, blessed be He.
Second, "two nursing cows," meaning ones that are still nursing, and it is not the way of nursing cows to carry loads. Third, "on which no yoke has come," that they are not accustomed to carrying a load at all; and this too has a reason of honor, for it is not honorable to take the Ark of the covenant of Hashem with cows that have already been used for plowing and other uses. And fourth, to send their calves back home away from them. For naturally, when one places the young of the animal behind it, it returns to them. Therefore: send the calves home so that they low behind them, and release the cows, and let us see in which direction they go, whether toward Beit Shemesh, or whether they will turn back because they do not want to leave their calves.
וּלְקַחְתֶּם אֶת־אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה וּנְתַתֶּם אֹתוֹ אֶל־הָעֲגָלָה וְאֵת כְּלֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר הֲשֵׁבֹתֶם לוֹ אָשָׁם תָּשִׂימוּ בָאַרְגַּז מִצִּדּוֹ וְשִׁלַּחְתֶּם אֹתוֹ וְהָלָךְ׃ - And take the Ark of Hashem and place it on the cart, and the golden objects which you are returning to Him as a guilt offering put in a chest at its side, and send it off, and let it go.
Place the Ark on the cart, and the chest with the golden objects at its side, and send it off to go by itself.
וּרְאִיתֶם אִם־דֶּרֶךְ גְּבוּלוֹ יַעֲלֶה בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ הוּא עָשָׂה לָנוּ אֶת־הָרָעָה הַגְּדוֹלָה הַזֹּאת וְאִם־לֹא וְיָדַעְנוּ כִּי לֹא יָדוֹ נָגְעָה בָּנוּ מִקְרֶה הוּא הָיָה לָנוּ׃ - And you shall see: if it goes up by way of its own border toward Beit Shemesh, then He has done us this great harm; and if not, then we shall know that it was not His hand that struck us, it was chance that befell us.
And this is still not a sufficient test, so they added: you shall see whether it goes up by itself along its border toward Beit Shemesh, then you will know that everything is from Him, blessed be He. And if it does not go toward Beit Shemesh, you will know that it was chance that befell us.
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים כֵּן וַיִּקְחוּ שְׁתֵּי פָרוֹת עָלוֹת וַיַּאַסְרוּם בָּעֲגָלָה וְאֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם כָּלוּ בַבָּיִת׃ - And the men did so, and took two nursing cows and harnessed them to the cart, and shut their calves up in the house.
"Kalu" means the same as "kal'u," they enclosed: they shut the calves in the house, locked them in a pen so that they would low, and sent off the cows. Naturally the cows do not leave their calves and should have turned back; and if they go toward Beit Shemesh, this is proof that the matter is from Hashem, since by the way of nature they should not have gone there.
וַיָּשִׂמוּ אֶת־אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה אֶל־הָעֲגָלָה וְאֵת הָאַרְגַּז וְאֵת עַכְבְּרֵי הַזָּהָב וְאֵת צַלְמֵי טְחֹרֵיהֶם׃ - And they placed the Ark of Hashem on the cart, and the chest, and the golden mice, and the images of their tumors.
They placed the Ark of Hashem on the wagon, along with the box containing the golden mice and the images of their tumors, the "afolim," which somewhat resembled hemorrhoids, as the Metzudat David explains.
Vayisharnah HaParot: The Cows Sing a Song
וַיִּשַּׁרְנָה הַפָּרוֹת בַּדֶּרֶךְ עַל־דֶּרֶךְ בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ בִּמְסִלָּה אַחַת הָלְכוּ הָלֹךְ וְגָעוֹ וְלֹא־סָרוּ יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול וְסַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים הֹלְכִים אַחֲרֵיהֶם עַד־גְּבוּל בֵּית שָׁמֶשׁ׃ - The cows went straight along the road, on the way to Beit Shemesh; they went along a single highway, lowing as they went, and turned neither right nor left, while the lords of the Philistines walked behind them as far as the border of Beit Shemesh.
The word "vayisharnah" is puzzling. Rashi says: this word is androgynous, teaching that the calves sang a song. The Minchat Shai explains: an androgynous is one who has both male and female signs, and this word too is half male and half female. If it were masculine it should have been "vayisharu haparot"; if feminine, "vatisharnah haparot." But "vayisharnah" begins as masculine and ends as feminine. What does this come to teach? Chazal say that "vayisharnah" is from the word shirah, song, meaning the cows walked along and sang, and not only they, but the calves as well. "Calf" is masculine and "cow" is feminine, which is why the word is androgynous: the male and female sang together.
And what was the song? The Gemara in Avodah Zarah says: And what song did they sing? Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Meir: "Then Moshe and the children of Israel sang." Rabbi Yochanan said: "And you shall say on that day, give thanks to Hashem, call upon His Name." Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: "A psalm, sing to Hashem a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand and His holy arm have wrought salvation for Him." Rabbi Elazar said: "Hashem reigns, let the nations tremble." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said: "Hashem reigns, He is clothed in majesty." And Rabbi Yitzchak Nafcha said that the cows not only composed the melody but also composed the words, and this is what they sang: "Sing, sing, O acacia, sway in your abundant glory, girded with embroidery of gold, praised in the sanctuary of the palace, glorified with the choicest adornments."
One must know, and we have spoken of this several times, that Tosafot say in a number of places in the Talmud that wherever we find an animal speaking or singing, or an inanimate object speaking and the like, the reference is to its heavenly minister. Here, where it is written that the cows sang, the reference is to the heavenly minister of the cows.
And what does the song mean? "Sing, sing, O acacia": the acacia is the Ark made of acacia wood. "Sway in your abundant glory": be lifted up, for the Ark carries those who carry it. "Girded," meaning bound, "with embroidery of gold," meaning overlaid with pure gold within and without. "Praised in the sanctuary of the palace" and glorified: praised and glorified for what lies within it, for it held the Tablets of the Covenant and the Torah scroll that Moshe Rabbeinu wrote. "With the choicest adornments": and there is no adornment greater than the Tablets and the Ark, which are the greatest splendor of all.
The Wonders in the Verse
First, "vayisharnah haparot" in its plain sense: they went straight. Second, "on the way to Beit Shemesh": they could have gone by another road, yet they went toward Beit Shemesh, toward the people of Israel. Third, "they went along a single highway": even though the road has many branchings, and every branch could divert the cow in another direction, they kept to one road, the straight and short road to Beit Shemesh. Not like a taxi driver whom you ask to take you to a particular place, and when he sees the ride is short he gives you a guided tour of the whole city. Rather, on the highway, by the shortest route.
"Lowing as they went": out of the great joy they felt at returning the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem to its place, they were singing. "And turned neither right nor left": even though there are mountains and valleys and the road winds. "While the lords of the Philistines walked behind them": for had the lords walked in front of them, one could say it is the way of a cow to follow its master; but here the lords walked behind them, and even so the cows continued on their way.
And who were these cows? The Rama MiPano says in Gilgulei Neshamot that they were the reincarnation of Shlomit bat Divri and her daughter, both of whom were harlots, one with Datan and the other with Aviram, and they were rectified through these cows.
Beit Shemesh: Joy That Was Not in Keeping with Honor
וּבֵית שֶׁמֶשׁ קֹצְרִים קְצִיר־חִטִּים בָּעֵמֶק וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת־עֵינֵיהֶם וַיִּרְאוּ אֶת־הָאָרוֹן וַיִּשְׂמְחוּ לִרְאוֹת׃ - And Beit Shemesh were reaping the wheat harvest in the valley, and they lifted up their eyes and saw the Ark, and they rejoiced to see it.
"Beit Shemesh" here refers to the people of Israel. On "and they rejoiced to see it," Rashi says: they saw how it was coming on its own, and out of their joy they treated it with levity, for they did not look upon it with awe and in a manner of honor. The Radak adds an explanation: they opened it to see what was inside, and this is not a way of honor, as it is said, "that they not come to see when the holy is covered." Another point: they should have gone out toward the Ark and received it with dancing and joy, but they did not rejoice properly. Rather, all their joy was in the seeing: how lovely, the Ark has arrived. And a further explanation: they continued busying themselves with their harvest while the Ark was coming, and therefore it says "and Beit Shemesh were reaping the wheat harvest" - they keep on reaping while gazing at the Ark. Further on we will see the punishment that came upon them for this.
וְהָעֲגָלָה בָּאָה אֶל־שְׂדֵה יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֵּית־הַשִּׁמְשִׁי וַתַּעֲמֹד שָׁם וְשָׁם אֶבֶן גְּדוֹלָה וַיְבַקְּעוּ אֶת־עֲצֵי הָעֲגָלָה וְאֶת־הַפָּרוֹת הֶעֱלוּ עֹלָה לַיהֹוָה׃ - And the wagon came into the field of Yehoshua of Beit Shemesh and stood there, and a great stone was there, and they split the wood of the wagon and offered up the cows as a burnt offering to Hashem.
The cows did not stop in the middle of the way, but reached the field, and there they came to a stone that was fit for an altar. The Philistines split the wood of the wagon, and since it was a new wagon its wood was fit to serve as altar wood, and they offer up the cows as a burnt offering to Hashem.
וְהַלְוִיִּם הוֹרִידוּ אֶת־אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה וְאֶת־הָאַרְגַּז אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ כְלֵי־זָהָב וַיָּשִׂמוּ אֶל־הָאֶבֶן הַגְּדוֹלָה וְאַנְשֵׁי בֵית־שֶׁמֶשׁ הֶעֱלוּ עֹלוֹת וַיִּזְבְּחוּ זְבָחִים בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לַיהֹוָה׃ - And the Levites took down the Ark of Hashem and the box that was with it, in which were the objects of gold, and set them upon the great stone, and the men of Beit Shemesh offered up burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to Hashem.
וַחֲמִשָּׁה סַרְנֵי־פְלִשְׁתִּים רָאוּ וַיָּשֻׁבוּ עֶקְרוֹן בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא׃ - And the five lords of the Philistines saw it and returned to Ekron on that day.
They see this entire event and return to Ekron on that very same day. The Malbim says: this is a further miracle, the way was leaped for them. Not only was their going brief, but so too their return. And why? In order to sanctify the Name of Heaven, so that in Ekron they would recount the great miracle that Hashem had done for them.
וְאֵלֶּה טְחֹרֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר הֵשִׁיבוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אָשָׁם לַיהֹוָה לְאַשְׁדּוֹד אֶחָד לְעַזָּה אֶחָד לְאַשְׁקְלוֹן אֶחָד לְגַת אֶחָד לְעֶקְרוֹן אֶחָד׃ - And these are the golden hemorrhoids that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to Hashem: for Ashdod one, for Azza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gat one, for Ekron one.
One corresponding to each city.
וְעַכְבְּרֵי הַזָּהָב מִסְפַּר כָּל־עָרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים לַחֲמֵשֶׁת הַסְּרָנִים מֵעִיר מִבְצָר וְעַד כֹּפֶר הַפְּרָזִי וְעַד אָבֵל הַגְּדוֹלָה אֲשֶׁר הִנִּיחוּ עָלֶיהָ אֵת אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה בִּשְׂדֵה יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֵּית הַשִּׁמְשִׁי׃ - And the golden mice were according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, from the fortified city to the unwalled village, and up to the great stone upon which they set the Ark of Hashem, which is to this day in the field of Yehoshua of Beit Shemesh.
Note this: the golden mice they brought more than what the priests had told them, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, from the fortified city to the unwalled village.
The Plague at Beit Shemesh
וַיַּךְ בְּאַנְשֵׁי בֵית־שֶׁמֶשׁ כִּי רָאוּ בַּאֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה וַיַּךְ בָּעָם שִׁבְעִים אִישׁ חֲמִשִּׁים אֶלֶף אִישׁ וַיִּתְאַבְּלוּ הָעָם כִּי־הִכָּה יְהֹוָה בָּעָם מַכָּה גְדוֹלָה׃ - And He struck among the men of Beit Shemesh because they looked into the Ark of Hashem, and He struck among the people seventy men, fifty thousand men, and the people mourned because Hashem had struck the people a great blow.
This is a strange number: how many were there, seventy or fifty thousand? In one explanation Chazal say that He struck seventy men who were equal in worth to fifty thousand. And the Malbim says that perhaps the meaning is seventy men out of the fifty thousand men who stood there: those who came to see the Ark were fifty thousand, and out of them seventy were struck. That is why it says "seventy men, fifty thousand men," meaning that out of fifty thousand men, seventy were struck.
And why were they punished? One reason, as we said, is that they were reaping and bowing down and did not leave their work in honor of the Ark. A second reason is that they spoke improperly toward the Ark. They said, as it were, to the Ark: who angered you that you became angry, and who appeased you that you returned? In other words, why did you go and why did you return. And this was contemptuous speech toward the Ark.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אַנְשֵׁי בֵית־שֶׁמֶשׁ מִי יוּכַל לַעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה הָאֱלֹהִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ הַזֶּה וְאֶל־מִי יַעֲלֶה מֵעָלֵינוּ׃ - And the men of Beit Shemesh said: who can stand before Hashem, this holy God, and to whom shall He go up from us?
They were in doubt: did the plague come because of the holiness of the Ark and we did not sanctify ourselves properly, perhaps we needed to immerse in a mikveh and sanctify ourselves, or does the Holy One, blessed be He, not want to dwell in this place and it must be brought up to another place. That is why the question has two parts: "who can stand before Hashem, this holy God" from the aspect of holiness; "and to whom shall He go up from us" where shall we take Him, perhaps in another place there will be no plague.
וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ מַלְאָכִים אֶל־יוֹשְׁבֵי קִרְיַת־יְעָרִים לֵאמֹר הֵשִׁבוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֶת־אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה רְדוּ הַעֲלוּ אֹתוֹ אֲלֵיכֶם׃ - And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiryat Yearim, saying: the Philistines have returned the Ark of Hashem, come down and bring it up to you.
They send to Kiryat Yearim and say: take the Ark to yourselves and do not fear, for "the Philistines have returned the Ark of Hashem." Their intent was: Kiryat Yearim was somewhat close to the Philistines, and there was concern that they would say "what, you are bringing it to us again? The Philistines will come to take it a second time, this is close to the Philistines." To this they said to them: no, it is the Philistines themselves who returned the Ark on their own, and after the serious blow they received they will no longer take such risks. Therefore you can be confident and secure that, with Hashem's help, nothing bad will happen, so come and take the Ark.
In summary:
Chapter 6 teaches two great lessons. The first: the Philistines, gentiles and sorcerers, constructed a complete test to determine whether there was a hand of Hashem here or mere chance: a new cart, nursing cows that had never borne a yoke, and their calves shut up behind them. At every stage their nature should have drawn them back, yet they went straight, on a single road, lowing as they went, all the way to Beit Shemesh. "Chance does not persist," and seven months of plague combined with all these miracles left no room for doubt. They even returned a guilt offering, and honored the God of Israel specifically through images of the very plague itself, since the Holy One, blessed be He, heals a matter through its opposite. And the second lesson, the more painful one: precisely in Israel, in Beit Shemesh, they received the Ark with a joy that lacked honor. They did not leave the harvest, they did not go out toward it in dance, they peered at what was inside and spoke about it frivolously, and they were punished with a great blow. Joy in holiness must come together with awe and reverence and in a manner of honor.