1 Samuel 7:4

4 So Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only.

1 Samuel 7:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 7:4

Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth,
&c.] Both their male and female deities, of which see ( Judges 2:13 ) ( 3:7 )

and served the Lord Only;
Dr. Lightfoot ^F9 observes, that a spirit of repentance and conversion came generally upon all the people; a matter and a time as remarkable as almost any we read of in Scripture, one only parallel to it; and that is in Acts, chapters two and three, at the great conversion there.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 Works, vol. 1. p. 54.

1 Samuel 7:4 In-Context

2 From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, "If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the Lord, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."

4 So Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only.

5 Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you."

6 So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and said, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.