1 Samuel 7:3 - Commit Yourselves Completely To God In Obedience And Service So He Can Bless
1 Sam 7:3; Commit Yourselves Completely To God In Obedience And
Service So He Can Bless You More Fully.
1 Sam 7:3 (NIV) And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel,
"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."
CONTEXT
If You Are Serious About Coming Back to God (6:19-7:6)
CROSS REFERENCES
Deut. 13:4 (KJV) Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and
fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall
serve him, and cleave unto him.
Joshua 24:14 (KJV) Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him
in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers
served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the
Lord.
John 4:24 (KJV) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth.
1 Chron. 28:9 (KJV) And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God
of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a
willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all
the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found
of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
Jeremiah 4:3-4 (KJV) For thus saith the Lord to the men of
Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among
thorns. [4] Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the
foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem:
lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it,
because of the evil of your doings.
Ezekiel 18:31 (KJV) Cast away from you all your transgressions,
whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit:
for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Deut. 30:6 (KJV) And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine
heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Hosea 14:1 (KJV) O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for
thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
Isaiah 55:7 (KJV) Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will
have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Hosea 6:1-2 (KJV) Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he
hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us
up. [2] After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will
raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Joel 2:12-13 (KJV) Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye
even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping,
and with mourning: [13] And rend your heart, and not your garments,
and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Matthew 6:24 (KJV) No man can serve two masters: for either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the
one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 15:8 (KJV) This people draweth nigh unto me with their
mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from
me.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION
Overview
The Philistines killed Eli's two wicked sons in battle and
captured the ark of the covenant (4:1-22). Plagues frightened the
Philistines into returning the ark (5:1-6:21). Some 20 years later, Samuel
led Israel back to God (7:1-6). God then helped the Israelites hand
the Philistines a crushing defeat at Mizpah, and guarded them
throughout Samuel's lifetime (vv. 7-17). [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]
Anything which tends to abate our love for God, or to interfere
with the service due Him, becomes thereby an idol. 2BC1011,2
7:3 Idols today are much more subtle, but just as dangerous.
Whatever holds first place in our lives or controls us becomes our god.
Money, success, material goods, pride, or anything else can be an idol
if it takes the place of God in out lives. There is no difference
between commitment to these idols and commitment to those made of wood
and stone. The Lord alone is worthy of our service and worship, and
we must let nothing rival him. If we have "foreign gods" in our
lives, we need to ask God to help us dethrone them, making the true God
our first priority. [Life Application SB]
To determine means to set your mind on a course of action. This
kind of commitment means that you don't back out, but you work toward
the goal you have set. If you have made a decision to follow God,
don't allow excuses, distractions, or second thoughts to deter you
from your goal. [Life Application SB]
7:2-3 Obedience overcomes a sense of God's absence. How easy it
is for us to complain about our problems, even to God, while we
refuse to act, to change, and to do what he requires. We don't even
take the advice he has already given us. Do you ever feel as if God
has abandoned you? Check to see if there is anything he has already
told you to do. You may not be able to receive new guidance until
you have acted on his previous directions. [Life Application SB]
Sometimes only suffering will move us to turn to God. If that's
what it takes, God will bless us with suffering. [The 365-Day
Devotional Commentary]
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