Devoted Hearts Confess and Forsake Sin

1 Samuel 7:1-17
    1 Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.  2 So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
    3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.
    5 And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” 6 So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the LORD. And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.
    7 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 So the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”
    9 And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. Then Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him. 10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”
    13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
    15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. 17 But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

The Ark was recovered and brought to a house on a hill, consecrating Eleazar to be worthy of looking after it for the twenty years it would remain there before King David tried to bring it to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 13:3, 7, 13, 14, 15:1, 16:1).  Samuel then pronounced the LORD’s promise of deliverance if they rid themselves of false gods, prepared their hearts for Him alone, devoting themselves to serve and worship the LORD alone.  They did so, confessing their sin against Him.  Then the Philistines came to attack them, and begged Samuel to intercede in prayer for the people for salvation from their enemy.  He offered a lamb as a sacrifice and cried out to the LORD, and was answered in a loud thunder against the attacking army, confusing them enough to allow Israel to defeat them.  Samuel placed a rock of remembrance called Ebenezer for the help the LORD had given them.  This was to remind them all that the battle was God’s, not one won by their own might.  They had to learn to rely on the LORD and not themselves.  The result was victory and reclamation of lost cities and land, as well as peace with the Amorites.  Samuel went on to judge Israel the rest of his life, traveling through the land but always coming back to his home base at Ramah, where he had built an altar to worship and sacrifice to the Lord from.  We see here the need of reliance on the Lord with obedience to keep His word to avoid sin and false worship, being wholly devoted to Him.  To obey is of more value than ritual sacrifices; the heart is what is the core of the matter, for He seeks that in us for Him above all others and all else (2 Chronicles 16:9).  We are to be devoted in hope solely to the Father through the Lord Christ by the enabling of His Spirit.  We then are to be as an ark containing the written testimony of the new covenant on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, 2 Corinthians 3:3.  His word is written there not on stone tablets as the Ark of old, but on these renewed hearts by the work of His hand (Exodus 31:18, 1 Kings 8:9, Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 2:15).  We are His workmanship, victorious in Christ alone as 1 Corinthians 15:57 makes abundantly clear, so we then must learn from the past to rely on Him with a whole heart.  Devoted hearts also confess and forsake sin, which is repentance and our sanctification.