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1 Samuel 6 · Grade 4

A Holy God

Name Date

Read and Think

After seven months of trouble, the Philistine leaders asked their priests and diviners how to send the ark home. They were told to send a guilt offering: five golden tumors and five golden mice, one for each Philistine lord. The priests warned them not to harden their hearts as Pharaoh and the Egyptians had done.

To test whether the Lord had caused their trouble, they hitched two nursing cows to a new cart and penned the calves at home. Mother cows would normally go back to their young. Instead, the cows went straight to Beth Shemesh, lowing as they went. God steered even animals against their nature to show His hand.

Beth Shemesh rejoiced, and the Levites set the ark on a great stone and offered sacrifices. But some men looked into the ark, treating the holy as common, and God struck them. The people asked who could stand before this holy God. The ark was then taken to Kiriath Jearim.

Show What You Know

  1. What warning did the Philistine priests give?

  2. Why was it unnatural for the cows to go straight?

  3. What did the men who looked into the ark do wrong?

  4. Where was the ark taken at the end?

Word Bank Fill-In

Use the word bank to fill in each blank.

cowsarkstoneGod
  1. After seven months of trouble, the Philistine leaders asked their priests and diviners how to send the home.
  2. To test whether the Lord had caused their trouble, they hitched two nursing to a new cart and penned the calves at home.
  3. steered even animals against their nature to show His hand.
  4. Beth Shemesh rejoiced, and the Levites set the ark on a great and offered sacrifices.

Think About It

  1. Even the Philistines remembered God's power in Egypt. What stories of God's power do you remember?

  2. How can we treat God and holy things with respect?

Memory Verse

The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? To whom shall he go up from us?”

1 Samuel 6:20 (WEB)

Copy It

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for guiding every step. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • Why did the priests mention Pharaoh?
  • Why do you think God cared how His ark was treated?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.