Joe: Wow, wow, wow, so you're telling me this is the sixth chapter of 1 Samuel?

Bible Expert: Yes, Joe, that's right.

Joe: So what's happening in this chapter then?

Bible Expert: Well, the Philistines had brought the ark of the covenant into their own land, and the Lord had caused great misfortune to them. So, they decided to return the ark to the Israelites. They made a golden cast of a cow and five golden tumors and placed them in a cart with the ark, and they sent it back with two milk cows.

Joe: Wow, so they literally made a golden cow and sent it back to the Israelites?

Bible Expert: Yes, that's right.

Joe: That's insane! So what happened next?

Bible Expert: Well, the cows started to walk in a straight line towards the Israelite land, and the Philistines followed behind. When they arrived, the people of Beth Shemesh saw the ark, and they were overjoyed. They offered up sacrifices, and then they looked inside the ark, which was a forbidden act.

Joe: Wait, hold on. So they just decided to look inside the ark? That seems a bit risky.

Bible Expert: Yes, it was a forbidden act. As punishment, the Lord struck down some of the people with a plague and they had to return the ark to the Israelites. The ark was then taken to the city of Kiriath Jearim and placed in the house of Abinadab.

Joe: So, what happened after that?

Bible Expert: Well, the people of Beth Shemesh made a new cart to carry the ark and they set out with it towards the city of Kiriath Jearim. When they arrived, they offered sacrifices and rejoiced, and then the ark was placed in the house of Abinadab.