Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Samuel 6:10-12 (New Living Translation)

10 So these instructions were carried out. Two cows were hitched to the cart, and their newborn calves were shut up in a pen. 11 Then the Ark of the Lord and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart. 12 And sure enough, without veering off in other directions, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

Other English translations of these verses note that the cows pulling the cart had never been hitched to a cart before. Note verse 12: And sure enough…the cows went right down the road as if someone were guiding them.

Cows don’t do that sort of thing. Cows don’t go just the direction you want them to go. They tend to wander about to the best grass and idle in the grass while eating.

Back up a paragraph or two about someone guiding the cows. I believe God guided them. I believe God had an angel walk the cows down the road to where God intended them to go. I can’t prove my beliefs, but my beliefs come from other scriptures about God working through animals and angels.

Ever seen an animal go just where you wanted them to do without explanation?