Verse 3

Samuel said to all the people of Israel,“If you are really turning to the LORD with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. Give your hearts to the LORD and serve only him. Then he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

Referenced Verses

  • Deut 13:4 : 4 You must follow the LORD your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him.
  • Luke 4:8 : 8 Jesus answered him,“It is written,‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
  • Isa 55:7 : 7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. They should return to the LORD, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.
  • Matt 4:10 : 10 Then Jesus said to him,“Go away, Satan! For it is written:‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
  • Deut 6:13 : 13 You must revere the LORD your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name.
  • Deut 10:20 : 20 Revere the LORD your God, serve him, be loyal to him and take oaths only in his name.
  • Josh 24:23 : 23 Joshua said,“Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit to the LORD God of Israel.”
  • Gen 35:2 : 2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him,“Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes.
  • Josh 24:14 : 14 Now obey the LORD and worship him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt and worship the LORD.
  • Deut 30:2-9 : 2 Then if you and your descendants turn to the LORD your God and obey him with your whole mind and being just as I am commanding you today, 3 the LORD your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he has scattered you. 4 Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 Then he will bring you to the land your ancestors possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors. 6 The LORD your God will also cleanse your heart and the hearts of your descendants so that you may love him with all your mind and being and so that you may live. 7 Then the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hate you and persecute you. 8 You will return and obey the LORD, keeping all his commandments I am giving you today. 9 The LORD your God will make the labor of your hands abundantly successful and multiply your children, the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the LORD will once more rejoice over you to make you prosperous just as he rejoiced over your ancestors, 10 if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this scroll of the law. But you must turn to him with your whole mind and being.
  • 1 Sam 31:10 : 10 They placed Saul’s armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan.
  • 1 Kgs 8:48 : 48 When they return to you with all their heart and being in the land where they are held prisoner, and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor,
  • 1 Chr 22:19 : 19 Now seek the LORD your God wholeheartedly and with your entire being! Get up and build the sanctuary of the LORD God! Then you can bring the ark of the LORD’s covenant and the holy items dedicated to God’s service into the temple that is built to honor the LORD.”
  • 1 Chr 28:9 : 9 “And you, Solomon my son, obey the God of your father and serve him with a submissive attitude and a willing spirit, for the LORD examines all minds and understands every motive of one’s thoughts. If you seek him, he will let you find him, but if you abandon him, he will reject you permanently.
  • Judg 10:6 : 6 The Lord’s Patience Runs Short The Israelites again did evil in the LORD’s sight. They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, as well as the gods of Syria, Sidon, Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. They abandoned the LORD and did not worship him.
  • 2 Chr 30:19 : 19 everyone who has determined to follow God, the LORD God of his ancestors, even if he is not ceremonially clean according to the standards of the temple.”
  • Joel 2:12-13 : 12 An Appeal for Repentance“Yet even now,” the LORD says,“return to me with all your heart– with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13 Tear your hearts, not just your garments!” Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and boundless in loyal love– often relenting from calamitous punishment.
  • Ezek 18:31 : 31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why should you die, O house of Israel?
  • Hos 6:1-2 : 1 Superficial Repentance Breeds False Assurance of God’s Forgiveness“Come on! Let’s return to the LORD! He himself has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us! He has injured us, but he will bandage our wounds! 2 He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his presence.
  • Job 11:13-14 : 13 “As for you, if you prove faithful, and if you stretch out your hands toward him, 14 if iniquity is in your hand– put it far away, and do not let evil reside in your tents.
  • Prov 16:1 : 1 The intentions of the heart belong to a man, but the answer of the tongue comes from the LORD.
  • 2 Chr 19:3 : 3 Nevertheless you have done some good things; you removed the Asherah poles from the land and you were determined to follow God.”
  • Judg 2:13 : 13 They abandoned the LORD and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.
  • Judg 10:16 : 16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned and worshiped the LORD. Finally the LORD grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much.
  • Hos 14:1 : 1 Prophetic Call to Genuine Repentance Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for your sin has been your downfall!
  • Jer 4:3-4 : 3 Yes, this is what the LORD has said to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:“Break up your unplowed ground, do not cast seeds among thorns. 4 Commit yourselves to the LORD; Dedicate your hearts to me, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Otherwise, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done.”
  • Matt 15:8 : 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,
  • Matt 6:24 : 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
  • John 4:24 : 24 God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”