The Ark returns to the Israelites in dramatic fashion, and you'd think this would be nothing but a joyous event. But instead, in 1 Samuel 6, it is used to show just how dire the situation had become for the religious life of the Israelites. There is much confusion in the land. Proper worship seems to have been forgotten -- even the priests often fail to spiritually lead in the proper direction. So when the Philistines decide to return the Ark to Israel (for good reason, as they had just endured months of plague and hardship for having stolen it), the Israelites don't even know how to reverently deal with such a heavenly gift. They do offer a thanksgiving sacrifice, so the appearance of reverence is there; but then they go and look through the Ark like ignorant heathens, and the chapter ends with God inflicting death upon a great number of them. Furthermore, we learn that the Bethsamites (who were the first to receive the returned Ark), simply pass it on to the next town, Cariathiarim; and the Ark and the Tabernacle reside in separate places for a long while. It's a state of disarray, and the land is in great need of a great unifier -- someone who can bring order and clarity to the people and to their religion, which seems to be getting more and more muddled and "make it up as you go." These are the events that precede Samuel and David, and so we can thankfully presume very soon that unifier will come and clean up the house.
