seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 7:1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord. 2 The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time—twenty years in all.
Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. 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.
Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. 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.
This looks like it's the beginning of Samuel's ministry. Eli and Eli's sons are now all dead.
This is from the easy English site.
Kiriath Jearim was about 24 kilometres (15 miles) from Beth Shemesh. The men from Beth Shemesh were too afraid to take the ark there. Instead, they sent a message to the men from Kiriath Jearim. We do not know anything about Abinadab or Eleazar. We do not know why the ark went to their house. But they knew that they had to guard it in the proper way.
The Israelites wanted to follow the Lord again. Samuel told them to remove all their idols. They had to stop their wrong behaviour. They must not follow other gods. Samuel said that they had to follow the Lord with all their spirit. The Israelites had to love and trust the Lord. They should not follow him just because they wanted success. They had to change their lives completely. So, they obeyed Samuel and changed their lives. They proved that they really wanted to follow the Lord. The word in the Bible for this change of spirit and of life is ‘repentance’.
This is from the blueletterbible.org site.
The local gods of Baal and Ashtoreth were popular idols among the people of Israel. Baal was attractive because he was thought to be the god of weather, and could bring good crops and financial success. Ashtoreth was attractive because she was thought to be the goddess of love and sex.
So.... the Israelites were willing to give up their gods of financial success, love and sex.... they were ready to choose God again.
