7:1,2a
This is another example of a chapter division being in rather an odd place, the first verse seems more suited for chapter 6. Anyway, the ark is moved from Kiriath Jearim to Abinadab’s house. There his son Eleazar is consecrated and is tasked with standing guard over the ark of the Lord. The ark remained there for twenty years. The presence of the Lord, which is what the ark represented, is not something to be taken lightly.
7:2a-4
It seems that it took these twenty years for the people of Israel to return to the Lord. Mankind seems happy to endure an awful lot of pain and disaster before admitting his need for God. Samuel is now centre-stage, he acts as a prophet, a priest and a judge (or ruler). Unlike all the previous judges, his priority is to make sure that the people are genuinely committed to the Lord. So he tells the people the actions they must take in order to show that their repentance is genuine, and not just words. They must get rid of all the idols that they had accumulated over the years. Instead they must serve only the Lord. God is very much for exclusivity! There was also a promise that if they did this the Lord would deliver them from the Philistines. The Israelites did this, dumping the Baals and Ashtoreths, and serving the Lord instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment