They were forced to believe that God was punishing them for their apostasy. They determined to reform, and solicited teachers from the Jews to instruct them in the true religion. Through this teaching, their views of God and his requirements became clearer, and their religious service resembled more nearly that of the Jews. But to a certain degree they still clung to their idolatry, and there was a lack of harmony between them and the Jews. The Samaritans would not respect the temple of worship at Jerusalem, and refused to admit that it was the true place of worship. {2SP 143.2}

De var tvunget til at tro, at Gud straffede dem for deres frafald. De besluttede at omvende sig og indbød lærere fra jøderne til at undervise sig i den sande religion. Gennem deres undervisning fik de klarere begreber om Gud og hans fordringer, og deres gudstjeneste lignede mere jødernes. Men de bibeholdt endnu deres afguderi til en vis grad, og der var uenighed mellem den og jøderne. Samaritanerne ville ikke anerkende templet i Jerusalem eller indrømme, at det var det rette sted for tilbedelse.