John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 3. And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel , etc.] When they assembled at one of their three yearly feasts, or as he went from place to place, exhorting them to repentance and reformation; and perceiving they began to be awakened to a sense of their sins, and seemed desirous of returning to God, and restoring his worship: saying, if ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts ; truly and sincerely; for he might fear there was hypocrisy and dissimulation at least in some of them: [then] put away the strange gods ; as all but the true God are; or the gods of another people, as the Philistines, Canaanites, etc. Baalim seem chiefly intended, as appears from the following verse: and Ashtaroth from among you ; female deities, such as with other nations went by the name of Juno, Venus, etc. so the Arabic version, “the idols of the women ye secretly worship.”
Aquila renders it, “the images of Astarte”; so they call Venus as Procopius Gazaeus observes, from “aster”, a star; but the word signifies flocks of sheep, and these deities are supposed by some to be in the form of them; but be they what they may, they were to be put away out of their houses, and out of their hearts: and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only ; that is, direct your hearts to him while in his service; let it proceed from the heart, and let it be done to him only, and not to another with him; or to him in and by another, as may be pretended, and commonly is by idolaters: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines ; under whose dominion they had been for many years; for though their power over them was weakened by Samson, yet they were not completely delivered by him; so all the time of Eli they were not wholly free from them; and especially since their last defeat by them; when the ark was taken, they had been under oppression by them; now Samuel promises them deliverance from it, in case they relinquish their idols, and served the Lord solely and heartily.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-4 - God will find a resting-place for his ark; if some thrust it from them the hearts of others shall be inclined to receive it. It is no ne thing for God's ark to be in a private house. Christ and his apostle preached from house to house, when they could not have public places Twenty years passed before the house of Israel cared for the want of the ark. During this time the prophet Samuel laboured to revive tru religion. The few words used are very expressive; and this was one of the most effectual revivals of religion which ever took place in Israel.
Original Hebrew ויאמר559 שׁמואל8050 אל413 כל3605 בית1004 ישׂראל3478 לאמר559 אם518 בכל3605 לבבכם3824 אתם859 שׁבים7725 אל413 יהוה3068 הסירו5493 את853 אלהי430 הנכר5236 מתוככם8432 והעשׁתרות6252 והכינו3559 לבבכם3824 אל413 יהוה3068 ועבדהו5647 לבדו905 ויצל5337 אתכם853 מיד3027 פלשׁתים׃6430
