(14) And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
Whether the overruling providence of God directed the ark to this spot out of respect to Joshua, whose name corresponds to Jesus, or whether it was because of this great stone typical also of Jesus, I do not presume to say; but from the promptness of the sacrifice instantly offered by the Bethshemites, and the joy beyond the joy of harvest, in leaving their reaping to engage in this holy service, it may serve to teach us how much pious men of Israel longed for the return of the ark. Oh! Reader! if you have ever known the preciousness of our Jesus; and if you have ever known the absence of your beloved; you will better conceive, than I can possibly express, what kind of joy of the soul that is, when after a long night of Jesus's absence, you have heard his voice, and beheld him again leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the hills; Song of Solomon 2:8.