Israel did not please the Lord, and sadly, they lost possession of the Ark of the Lord, because they brought it into battle with the Philistines.

The Ark was not a good luck charm to bring to war, but it should have remained in the tabernacle where it was used for worship and so on.

Since Israel lost sight of what their religion was about, they lost the Ark, and the Bible says,

Now the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months (1 Samuel 6.1). 

That was a long time for Israel to be without the Ark and for pagans to have possession of it. However, the text does not seem to attach any significance to the Ark being with them for seven months.

Therefore, this appears to be an incidental reference.