Alright, in 1 Samuel 5, the Philistines have stolen the Ark of the Covenant from the Israelites as a sort of war trophy. They take it back to their city, Ashdod, and put it in their temple. But lo and behold, the Philistines soon realize that the Ark is not like any other shrine, because it brings tons of plagues, including tumors and rats. Yeah, that's right, it's like an ancient version of the Black Plague. So the Philistines eventually come to the conclusion that the only way to get rid of the plagues is to send the Ark away. And that's exactly what they do. So the moral of the story is, don't mess with the Israelites and their precious Ark of the Covenant.