e the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, until the eventide,
he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads, and Joshua
said: Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people
over Jordan?" After the Lord had appeared to Solomon at Gibeah, and had
given him the promise, he went before the Ark of the Covenant of the
Lord, and offered burnt-offerings, and thank-offerings, 1 Kings iii.
15. In 2 Sam. xv. 32, we are told that David went up the Mount of
Olives very sorrowfully, and when he was come to the place, _where
people were accustomed to worship God_, Hushai met him. According to
that passage, it was the custom of the people, when on the top of the
Mount of Olives, they gained, for the first or last time, a view of the
sanctuary, to prostrate themselves before the God of Israel who dwelt
there. To the Ark of the Covenant, all those passages refer in which it
is said that God dwelleth in the midst of Israel; that He dwelleth in
the temple; that He dwelleth at Zion or Jerusalem, compare _e.g._, the
promise in Exodus xxix. 45: "I dwell in the midst of the children of
Israel," and farther, Ps. ix. 12, cxxxii. 13, 14; 1 Kings vi. 12, 13,
where God promises to Solomon that if he should only walk in His
commandments, and execute His judgments, then would He dwell among the
children of Israel; and afterwards fulfils this promise by solemnly
entering into his temple. Indissolubly connected with this, was the
deep reverence in which the Ark of the Covenant was held in Israel. It
was considered as the most precious jewel of the people, as the centre
of their whole existence. Being the place where the glory of God dwelt
(Ps. xxvi. 8), where He manifested himself in His most glorious
revelation, it was called _the glory of Israel_, compare 1 Sam. iv. 21,
22; Ps. lxxviii. 61. The High Priest Eli patiently and quietly heard
all the other melancholy tidings--the defeat of Israel, and the death
of his sons. But when he who had escaped added: "And the Ark of God is
taken," he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and
his neck brake, and he died. When his daughter-in-law heard the tidings
that the Ark of the Covenant was taken, she bowed herself and
travailed; for her pains came upon her. And about the time of [Pg 389]
her death, the women that stood by her said unto her: Fear not, for
thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, neither did she take it to
heart, and she named the child Ichabod,