A short Insight into SHMUEL 1, Chapter 6 By Rabbi Nisson Dov Miller

After the Ark had been in the hands of the Philistines wreaking havoc for seven months, they turned to their priests and sorcerers for advice as how to properly send the Ark away to its place. The priests and sorcerers answered, “If [you] are sending [back] the Ark of the G-d of Israel, you must not send it empty handed, but you must certainly send back a guilt offering to Him. Then you will be healed and you will realize why His hand would not turn away from against you.” From the response of the priests and sorcerers it sounds like the only time they would know that their afflictions had come from Hashem was if they were healed upon the returning of the Ark. If they would not be healed, it seems that they would have concluded that the suffering was happenstance or from some other cause. As Jews, the Torah teaches that there is nothing that is happenstance. Every bit of pleasure or pain that we experience is part of an ongoing communication that Hashem has with us.