1st Samuel 4:10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
We begin in Philistia, where the ark of God had been taken, after being captured in battle. Those folks in Philistia did not have a knowledge of the correct way to transport the ark, and therefore, in His mercy, God saw fit to let things slide when the ark was taken up and transported for many miles. However, after placing it in the temple of their god Dagon, they received to initial warnings from God that something was amiss with what they had done.
The next morning, Dagon was found collapsed before the ark, and as the idol lay there prostrate without any apparent explanation, the Philistine priests questioned in their minds what was going on. They reverently place it back on its pedestal, but the very next day it is again found prostrate before the ark, only this time its body has been badly mutilated, and the fish part of its body has been separated from the human part in what may have seemed to be some form of strange, violent act.
They view this as an evil omen, and they remove the ark from their temple, but after doing so, there ensues sudden diseases, death, and destruction, wreaking havoc on the nation, until they were all too eager to rid themselves of the ark. They do so by yoking two milking cows together which had never been yoked before, they set the ark on a cart driven by the two cows and they watch to see what would happen next.
1st Samuel 6:10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: 11 And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!