1 Samuel 7

1 Samuel 7  •  7 min. read  •  grade level: 9
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If it pleases the Lord for His ark to return in grace into the midst of Israel, the moral state of this people must be brought into accordance with such a favor. “And it came to pass, from the day that the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years.” Thus the ark was within Israel’s territory, in a sanctified place, but God’s communications with His people were not re-established. Twenty years passed by in waiting, whereas judgment had lasted only seven months (1 Sam. 6:11And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. (1 Samuel 6:1)). The state that could re-establish the people’s communion with God could not be produced except through repentance. How long does it take for this repentance to be manifested? Strange gods and Ashtaroth still remained in the midst of Israel while the ark was staying temporarily at Kirjath-jearim. Could the ark associate with the idols of Israel when it could not do so in Philistia? It takes thirty-four times as long as the duration of the judgment to bring Israel to reject such an outrageous sin. There must be a work of conscience corresponding to grace, as we see in the history of the prodigal son. It is a solemn thing, seen every day, that it takes a believer much longer to be restored than to deliver himself up to do evil.
Israel began to “[lament] after Jehovah” (1 Sam. 7:22And 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. (1 Samuel 7:2))—this is already a favorable sign. They were lacking something, then; the Lord’s presence had become necessary to them—the first symptom of a work of God in the soul of the people. Here Samuel serves as the Lord’s mouthpiece (1 Sam. 7:33And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 7:3)) to call the people to repentance: “Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If ye return to Jehovah with all your heart, put away the strange gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and apply your hearts unto Jehovah, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines” (1 Sam. 7:33And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 7:3)). The believer’s return to the Lord is similar to his initial conversion. The soul begins by separating from idols or evil: “Ye turned to God from idols,” it is said to the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 1:99For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; (1 Thessalonians 1:9)); then the soul cleaves to the Lord and serves Him: “to serve a living and true God.” The result is deliverance; God is no longer obliged to discipline the believer.
In this work the activity of Samuel, this faithful servant of God, is particularly remarkable and blessed. After having spoken to the people, he adds (1 Sam. 7:55And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord. (1 Samuel 7:5)): “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray Jehovah for you.” Gathering the people of God is the function of every servant of the Lord who understands his ministry. But beyond this, Samuel is an intercessor; prayer, the fruit of his intimacy with the Lord, characterizes him. Is it not said of him: “Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among them that call upon His name: they called unto Jehovah, and He answered them” (Psa. 99:66Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the Lord, and he answered them. (Psalm 99:6))?
Israel must be gathered at Mizpah. As Gilgal was the place of gathering under Joshua, the place of circumcision, of the judgment of the flesh, in order to obtain victory, so Mizpah is under the judges the usual place of gathering after the angel went up from Gilgal to Bochim, the place of weeping, where conclusive ruin is undeniably established. Mizpah is the place of repentance without which there is no victory. At Mizpah (1 Sam. 4:1-21And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. 2And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. (1 Samuel 4:1‑2)) Israel under Eli had met only defeat, for they went there without a work of conscience which could have raised them up again. In ruin, we must remember that Mizpah is just as precious as Gilgal, although much more humiliating; there we learn anew to put our confidence in nothing of man, but only in the Lord’s strength.
“And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah.” These things could take place only after what is reported in 1 Samuel 7:44Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only. (1 Samuel 7:4): “And the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served Jehovah only.” The fruits of repentance are different from the fruits of conversion; here we have three of them: “water poured out, that is to say, affliction combined with the realization of irremediable weakness before God (2 Sam. 14:1414For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. (2 Samuel 14:14); Psa. 22:1414I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. (Psalm 22:14)); fasting, for in mourning one does not feed the flesh; and lastly, a true confession of evil: “We have sinned against the Lord.”
These fruits are the result of Samuel’s intercession for the people. Such too was the case with Peter when he fell: “I have prayed for thee,” Jesus told him. On this basis the people can be restored: “Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.”
“And the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together at Mizpah; and the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel” (1 Sam. 7:77And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 7:7)). The gathering of the people cannot suit the enemy. The enemy doubtless does not understand the work of conscience which has produced the gathering, and does not see in this gathering anything but a power opposed to his own power, one which must be suppressed at any price. “And the children of Israel heard it, and were afraid of the Philistines.” In 1 Samuel 4:77And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. (1 Samuel 4:7), when their conscience was yet unreached, Israel was unafraid, and it was the Philistines who were full of fear. Now, having experienced their weakness, the people are terrified, for they do not yet have the assurance that God is for them. In one sense, this fear is no doubt wretched, but it is good to see it on the path of restoration. Isn’t this better than the “great shout” which Israel had raised previously that had made the earth tremble (1 Sam. 4:55And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. (1 Samuel 4:5))?
“And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to Jehovah our God for us, that He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines” (1 Sam. 7:88And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 7:8)). They sense that their future and their salvation are dependent on Samuel’s intercession. Samuel, their mediator, “took a sucking-lamb, and offered it as a whole burnt-offering to Jehovah”; for his office could not be effective except by virtue of an accepted sacrifice. On this basis, he could be the advocate of God’s people. We, too, have an Advocate with the Father, and He is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:1-21My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1‑2)). “Samuel cried to Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answered him” (1 Sam. 7:99And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him. (1 Samuel 7:9)). God hears Samuel’s request, which is based upon the burnt offering. God is for us and has given us all things, He who spared not His own Son but gave Him up for us. In 1 Samuel 7:10-1110And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. 11And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. (1 Samuel 7:10‑11) the Lord strikes the enemies of His people and drives them out, so that His people need do nothing more than pursue a beaten adversary. Though it is true that help comes entirely from God, yet victory can not be complete without the deployment of the energy of faith.
Samuel takes account of this divine intervention. “Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, and said, Hitherto Jehovah has helped us” (1 Sam. 7:1212Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. (1 Samuel 7:12)). Ebenezer, already mentioned in 1 Samuel 4:11And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. (1 Samuel 4:1), does not receive its name until after this victory. “Hitherto”: this basis having been established, the enemy no longer attempts to raise his head. (1 Sam. 7:1313So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. (1 Samuel 7:13)). Restoration, for the moment at least, is complete.
We have seen Samuel as prophet, priest, intercessor, and judge: precious qualities in this man of God. His activity for the Lord and His people does not slacken: “Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah” (places which characterized his activity according to God), “and judged Israel in all those places.” Even at Ramah where his house was, he was occupied only with the well-being of the Lord’s people. The Word adds: “And there he built an altar unto the Lord” (1 Sam. 7:1717And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the Lord. (1 Samuel 7:17)). The first expression of his service had been to worship before the Lord (1 Sam. 1:2828Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there. (1 Samuel 1:28)); the worshipper’s altar is the last expression of his service. Is not this life of faith fittingly framed by these two acts?