I Samuel 6-7

“If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths” (7:3). Led by immoral priests and without a king, the people of Israel had lost faith in God and had turned to idols to win the security and prosperity they desired. But when the ark of the covenant came back to Israel, the people “turned back to the Lord” (7:2), and Samuel urged them to show repentance by throwing away the idols that had competed with God (7:4).

“Commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only” (7:3). Real repentance and renewal means turning away from whatever competes with God, so our hearts belong to him alone.