1 Samuel 7:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the LORD. 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.
Neglecting God
The above verse is a transition verse. It is here to show us what was happening in the land of Israel during the time of Samuel the prophet. The Ark of the Covenant was THE central piece of worship for the nation of Israel. It was to be placed in the Tabernacle and put behind the veil. Only a the High Priest, once per year, would ever see the Ark. However, in the act of haste the nation of Israel took the Ark to war with them, treating it like a lucky rabbit’s foot. The Ark was taken captive by the Philistines. God punished the Philistines, however, and they sent it back to the nation of Israel. That brings us to the above verses. When the Ark was returned it was NOT brought back to the Tabernacle. It was brought to the house of Abinadab and his son, Eleazer, was assigned to watch over it. We have very little information about this, expert, that the Ark sat in this location for twenty years. That is significant. The worship of God, per what was outlined by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy, was being neglected. The lesson in all that is that, today, we, as believers in Christ, can also fall into the practice of neglecting our faith. Notice what the writer of Hebrews wants us about in one of his six wining passages in his sermon:
Hebrews 2:3 (ESV Strong's)
3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,
We are warned to not neglect our faith. We can’t sideline God for twenty years and expect His blessings in our life. Our faith is to be practiced and we are to be active in our faith.
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