When the Israelites abandoned God, he abandoned them. JOSHUA?? The lost 4,00 men in a battle then went to their tents bemoaning their loss. . The next day they decided to take God's ARK with them. The bearers of the ARK were I believe ELI"S EVIL sons. The philistines slews another 30,000 fighting men of Israel, killed the ARK bearers and captured the ARK.
Everywhere they took the ARK bad things happened. Their idol was found face dwn before God's ARK, they set it back up. Next hay it was again on the floor facing the Ark but it's head and arms were broken off, proving that their false god had no brains, head, and no strength, arms.
Bad things happened everywhere it was taken til NOBODY wanted it. Finally they decided to send it back to Israel, like TAKE IT back please. They took 2 oxen, or cattle that had never been yoked and had new calves, then took their calves away from them. Yoked them to a new cart with the ARK on it, and a 2nd cart loaded with gold, silver, etc as a sin offering.
They decided that if the cows went straight to Israel it was God's doing, if they cam back to them, it was not.
A cow and calf are not separated easily. A cow will even kill to get to her calf. They went straight to Israel. The cow and calf had never sunk into my ol pea brain, til I heard it this morning. Cut me some slack, I typed it from memory. CHARLIE.