Doing devotions this morning and I came across an interesting passage…

1st Samuel 7: 1-4
“So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the Lord. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it. The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all.”

“During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the Lord had abandoned them. Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.”

Here is what struck me…Had God abandoned them? Israel thought so. What is funny to me is that for Israel abandonment meant that the Lord just didn’t do what they wanted Him to do. They wanted Him to be where they were and if He wasn’t at their location then He was as good as gone. Never mind the fact that they all knew where the Ark was…never mind the fact that they weren’t living right. Israel let twenty years go by before they decided to seek Him. Twenty years! All because what they wanted was God to come to them instead of them. God never moved for twenty years. He didn't run off. He didn't forget about them. There He stayed guarded twenty-four hours a day.

(On a side note: If you love to worship God...can you imagine being Eleazar? He was around the Ark of God for twenty years. I have had times in my life where I dream about such a day. I can feel a deeper look into that whole situation being a future blog post.)