1 Samuel 7
3 So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.
Observation - What does it say?
The ark had just been moved into the house of Abinadab. And while Israel had the ark back, things were not really set right. Israel found they were no more right with God just because they had the Ark of the Covenant again. Their cities were still in ruins, their armies were still defeated, and they were still under Philistine domination – all because they were not right with God. And now Samuel is speaking to the Israelites, challenging them to do 2 things – turn towards the Lord, serving Him only AND turn away from and rid themselves from the foreign gods.
Understanding - What does it mean?
If they were to “return to the Lord,” they could not just move the ark…just like modern day Christians can’t just show up to church on a Sunday morning.
We must both turn towards God and away from the world.
That may sound like common sense…but I think the reason our country’s Christianity is so seemingly weak is because we tend to “add God in” instead of fulling turning towards Him and serving Him alone. In that way, we will never experience the full and true power available in the life of a Christ follower. The order of the two are important as well…we must first repent and turn towards God; then, that change that occurs in the hidden parts of our hearts are then proved by the outward – in our actions of turning away from “foreign gods.”
Life Application