1 Samuel 7:2
And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
After the Philistines sent the ark back to Bethshemesh, fifty thousand Israelites were slain for looking into it with familiar, idle curiosity, and afterward it was taken to Kirjath-jearim where it remained many years in the house of Abinadab. The men of Bethshemesh were made afraid by that judgment without being led to repentance, regarding the ark with superstitious fear and wishing to be free from its presence, yet not daring to move it themselves, so they sent to Kirjath-jearim to have it taken away. The men of Kirjath-jearim received the sacred chest with great joy and solemn gladness as the pledge of divine favor to the obedient and faithful. They brought it into their city into the house of Abinadab the Levite, where his son Eleazar was set apart and sanctified to take charge of and keep it.
The ark then abode at Kirjath-jearim a long time, twenty years, resting there in the house of Abinadab and remaining many years before it was later brought to Jerusalem by David. Those twenty years were spent under Philistine power and oppression as punishment for continued national irreligion and idolatry. During that whole time Israel was greatly humbled, and the whole house of Israel sorrowed and longed after the Lord and repented of sin. Samuel traveled among the cities and villages to turn the hearts of the people back to the God of their fathers, and his labor produced good results in a widespread turning to God. He interceded for the people, so that God was again merciful to them, and when the Philistines made war with Israel the Lord worked in a miraculous manner to give Israel victory and they overcame their enemies.
While the ark remained at Kirjath-jearim during Samuel's administration there were no services in the tabernacle. For that time sacrifices were offered elsewhere, in the cities of the priests and Levites where the people resorted for instruction. The highest points in those cities were chosen as the place of sacrifice and therefore called the high place. This marked a great change under Samuel, in which the worship of God was maintained throughout the land and the people manifested an interest in religious services. In Samuel's day, with the ark at Kirjath-jearim, one of the two schools of the prophets was located there, the other being at Ramah where Samuel lived.
The staying of the ark for many months shows that it is wrong when a person in perplexity or strait murmurs against those who have means instead of crying to God and trusting in Him. It is likewise wrong when, after help is given, it is not prized but met with an ungrateful, unthankful feeling that it was no more than duty because the means was the Lord's. That feeling hides God's face and stays the ark of God. That cruel spirit and feeling must be seen and confessed and put entirely aside to be blotted out, or the same evils will occur again and the ark will remain stayed.