1 Samuel 7
John MacArthur · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 Samuel 7
MacArthur - A different location from the one mentioned in 1Sa 4:1 and 1Sa 5:1. The name functions as the literary knot for the two ends of this unit (see note on 4:1).(BORROW The MacArthur Study Bible) J.
1 Samuel 7
MacArthur writes "Coupled with 1Sa 7:3, the 20 years designated the period Israel neglected God and chased after foreign gods. After those 20 years, Israel returned to the Lord." (BORROW The MacArthur Study Bible) Robert Bergen - Some scholars, citing differences in vocabulary and noting that Samuel played a key role in the narratives of chaps. 1–3 but is completely absent from the following three chapters, have concluded that 4:1b–7:1 was from an originally independent source later inserted into 1 Samuel. However, vocabulary changes are to be expected with a change in topic, and Samuel’s absence from this section of text can best be explained as the writer’s attempt to demonstrate that Israel—with the exception of Samuel—from high priest to Kohathite to ordinary citizen, was spiritually more culpable than the Philistines. Though the Philistines would suffer for their ignorance of the Lord and his Torah, the Israelites would suffer worse for their failure to act in accordance with the spiritual enlightenment that was theirs.. (Borrow 1 & 2 Samuel - New American Commentary) Wiersbe on the length of time the Ark was at Kiriath-jearim - The Ark remained in Kiriath Jearim for perhaps a century, for the battle of Aphek was fought about 1104 b.c., and David brought the Ark to Jerusalem in about 1003 b.c. (2 Sam. 6).....What the Ark was to Israel, Jesus Christ is to God’s people today; and when He is given His rightful place of preeminence in our lives, He will bless us and work on our behalf. “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord,” is the way Peter explained it (1 Peter 3:15, niv). When Jesus Christ is Lord, the future is your friend, and you can walk through each day confident of His presence and His help. (Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament) And all the house of Israel lamented (nakah) after the LORD - NLT = "During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the LORD had abandoned them." NIV - "mourned and sought after." The Hebrew verb lament describes wailing that accompanies mourning, thus expressing their deep emotion as a nation. Lamented indicates that a desire for God is growing in the heart of Israel. After the LORD signifies the right direction of their desire and yearning was for Yahweh, for the LORD Himself. The Septuagint translates lamented with an interesting verb epiblepo which means to look intently or gaze upon, and then to have regard for, to pay close attention to, show special respect for, to look attentively at, with implication of personal concern for someone (in this case Yahweh). Keil and Delitzsch, “The phrase, to lament after God, is taken from human affairs, when one person follows another with earnest solicitations and complaints, until he at last assents.” Woodhouse points out that "It is not that Israel lamented after the Lord for twenty years, but that after twenty years they did so." What happened during those twenty years? No doubt we are expected to be wondering just that. The implication, to be confirmed shortly when we hear from Samuel, is that during these twenty years the Israelites had little or nothing to do with the Lord. The ark “lodged” at Kiriath-jearim, and the people lived without regard for it or what it stood for—namely, the covenant between Israel and the Lord....In other words, this period of twenty years was very much like the periods of apostasy that had recurred during the era of the book of Judges. (ED: SEE SIN CYCLE ABOVE) As on those previous occasions “they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt,” and the Lord responded by giving them over to their enemies, in this case to the Philistines (cf. Judges 2:12–14). What did Israel do at the end of those twenty years? On the previous occasions Israel had typically “cried out to the Lord” (see Judges 3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:6, 7; 10:10; cf. 1 Samuel 12:10). The wording this time is different, but the sense is similar. After twenty years, Israel experienced yet another change of heart and turned yet again to the Lord, with (it seems) tears. The record is remarkably brief, but after twenty years there was the sound of wailing in Israel. (Preaching the Word: 1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader) Psalm 51:17+ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. THOUGHT- How often God has to let us get to the end of ourselves so that we begin to cry out to Him Who alone is able to save and to revive. Lamented (05091)(nahah) means to wail and mourn, to weep, to bemoan. While all these words mean to express grief or sorrow for something, lament implies a profound or demonstrative expression of deep sorrow and remorse as in 1Sa 7:2. In Ezek 32:18 the wailing is to be for the judgment about to strike Egypt, and in Micah 2:4 God's people are lamenting saying they are "completely destroyed" because they are rebellious and condemned. Gilbrant - Along with its cognate noun nehî, "lamentation," nāhāh refers to the outward expression of sorrow or grief. It has a cognate in Syriac. Public mourning and lamentation were very much a part of Israelite culture, as well as the cultures of Israel's contemporaries. Because mourning was such a part of the culture, it is not strange to note that the prophets often wrote poetic lamentations to express grief over disastrous occasions. In two of its occurrences, nāhāh appears in such contexts. Ezekiel 32:18 records God's telling the prophet to lament the judgment about to strike Pharaoh and Egypt. Ezek 32:2-15 is a poetic dirge concerning that event. In a judgment pronounced against Samaria and Jerusalem, the Lord said that in the time of Israel's calamity, the nations would taunt them with this mournful song (Mic. 2:4). The other use of nāhāh is in 1 Sam. 7:2, which describes Israel weeping over her sinfulness. (Complete Biblical Library) Nahah - 3x/3v - lamented(1), utter(1), wail(1). - 1 Sam. 7:2; Ezek. 32:18; Mic. 2:4 1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you return to the LORD with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the LORD and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." BGT 1 Samuel 7:3 καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς πάντα οἶκον Ισραηλ λέγων εἰ ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν ὑμεῖς ἐπιστρέφετε πρὸς κύριον περιέλετε τοὺς θεοὺς τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους ἐκ μέσου ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ ἄλση καὶ ἑτοιμάσατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν πρὸς κύριον καὶ δουλεύσατε αὐτῷ μόνῳ καὶ ἐξελεῖται ὑμᾶς ἐκ χειρὸς ἀλλοφύλων KJV 1 Samuel 7:3 And 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. NET 1 Samuel 7:3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you are really turning to the LORD with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. Give your hearts to the LORD and serve only him. Then he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." CSB 1 Samuel 7:3 Samuel told them, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, dedicate yourselves to the LORD, and worship only Him. Then He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines." ESV 1 Samuel 7:3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." NIV 1 Samuel 7:3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." NLT 1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you are really serious about wanting to return to the LORD, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the LORD; then he will rescue you from the Philistines." NRS 1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the LORD, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." RSV 1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your heart to the LORD, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." YLT 1 Samuel 7:3 And Samuel speaketh unto all the house of Israel, saying, 'If with all your heart ye are turning back unto Jehovah -- turn aside the gods of the stranger from your midst, and Ashtaroth; and prepare your heart unto Jehovah, and serve Him only, and He doth deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.' NKJ 1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." NJB 1 Samuel 7:3 Samuel then spoke as follows to the whole House of Israel, 'If you are returning to Yahweh with all your heart, banish the foreign gods and Astartes which you now have, and set your heart on Yahweh and serve him alone; and he will deliver you from the power of the Philistines.' NAB 1 Samuel 7:3 Samuel said to them: "If you wish with your whole heart to return to the LORD, put away your foreign gods and your Ashtaroth, devote yourselves to the LORD, and worship him alone. Then he will deliver you from the power of the Philistines." LXE 1 Samuel 7:3 And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do with all your heart return to the Lord, take away the strange gods from the midst of you, and the groves, and prepare your hearts to serve the Lord, and serve him only; and he shall deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. ASV 1 Samuel 7:3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto Jehovah with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts unto Jehovah, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. return: De 30:2-10 1Ki 8:48 Isa 55:7 Ho 6:1,2 14:1 Joe 2:12,13 put away: Ge 35:2 Jos 24:14,23 Jdg 2:13 10:6 direct : De 30:6 1Ch 22:19 28:9 2Ch 30:19 Job 11:13,14 Pr 16:1 Jer 4:3,4 Eze 18:31 Mt 15:8 Joh 4:24 serve: De 6:13 10:20 13:4 Mt 4:10 6:24 Lu 4:8 1 Samuel 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Proverbs 4:23+ Watch (IDEA IS TO GUARD ~ "POST A SENTRY" - IT IS A COMMAND ONLY POSSIBLE TO OBEY BY BEING CONTINUALLY CONTROLLED BY/FILLED WITH GOD'S SPIRIT - Eph 5:18+ - HE WAS "ALIVE AND WELL" IN THE OLD TESTAMENT!!!) over your heart with all diligence, For (TERM OF EXPLANATION - WHY SO CRITICAL?)from it flow the springs of life. 2 Corinthians 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. Genesis 35:2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; Joshua 24:14; 23 “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD..... 23 “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” Leviticus 26:7-8 ‘But you will chase your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword; 8 five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. Deuteronomy 28:7 “The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. STEPS FOR REVIVAL AND PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE Then (marks progression in narrative) - When? In context after 20 years! Grasping this time phrase is crucial to help understand the condition of Israel's heart for the previous 20 years. It is as if Samuel silent for 20 years (at least in the text) suddenly appears at a time when the nation is lamenting their distance from the LORD. Woodhouse - Although the details are not given, it is as though Samuel had been waiting twenty years for this moment. Israel’s tears were the sign that the time had come for them to hear the word of Samuel again. What they heard was the gospel according to Samuel. (Preaching the Word: 1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader) Spiritual victory is the necessary prelude to success in every area of life (cf. Josh. 1:8). -- J Carl Laney Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel - Notice the last time we encountered Samuel was with a similar description in 1Sa 4:1+ "Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel (cf 1Sa 3:20+)." And so we see that 20 years earlier, at a relatively young age, the prophet Samuel had spoken the Word of the LORD (cf 1Sa 3:21+) to ALL Israel. He was not just a prophet in training but a prophet indeed! Sadly, it appears that all Israel largely ignored their great prophet for the next 20 years as evidenced for example by the fact that they choose to seek help from the Ark of God in 1Sa 4:3+ and not from the prophet of the LORD (as they are finally doing now in this section). One is reminded of the irony of the phrase in 1Sa 3:1 that "word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent," because even after God had raised up His prophet Samuel (who spoke the Word of the LORD), the nation was slow to seek Samuel's voice, so that for 20 years it appears that "word from the LORD was rare!" O, the tragedy of having the Word of God so near and readily accessible and yet ignoring and neglecting it and in a sense even despising it. Woe! THOUGHT - Beloved, there is a powerful lesson in Israel's neglect of their prophet and the Word of the LORD. What was the fruit Israel reaped (cf Hos 8:7)? For 20 years she was under the strong hand of the Philistines! In the same way we too can be under the strong hand of some besetting, entrenched, dominating sin because we fail to seek God in His Word. Just like the prophet Samuel was there in Israel and available (and yet was not sought by most of Israel!), the Word of God is ever available to each of us. So we must seek Him in His Word. If you are are wrestling with some persistent, "pet" sin and repeatedly losing the battle, even occasionally coming under its mastery (see Ps 19:13+ and Ps 119:133+), you need to ask yourself if you are truly seeking God in His Word? If not, you have the diagnosis of your sin problem. Seek Him in His Word with all your heart and soul. He will let Himself be found by the sincerely seeking, humble, contrite heart which trembles at His Word (Isa 66:2), and He will revive such a soul just as He promises in Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit (NOTE THE CONDITION) In order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. REVIVE US AGAIN We praise thee, O God, for the Son of thy love, for Jesus who died, and is now gone above. Refrain: Hallelujah! Thine the glory, hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! Thine the glory, revive us again.
1 Samuel 7
MacArthur - The “heart” commonly refers to the mind as the center of thinking and reason (Pr 3:3; 6:21; 7:3), but also includes the emotions (Pr 15:15, 30), the will (Pr 11:20; 14:14), and thus, the whole inner being (Pr 3:5). The heart is the depository of all wisdom and the source of whatever affects speech (Pr 4:24), sight (Pr 4:25), and conduct (Pr 4:26, 27). (BORROW The MacArthur Study Bible) Serve (enslave, worship) (05647) abad means to work (to cultivate, till - Ge 2:5, 15 - Lxx = ergazomai before the fall! Ge 3:23 after the fall, Lxx = ergazomai), to serve (be enslaved or hold in bondage - Ex 6:6 - Lxx = katadouloo = make a slave; Lev 25:38, 39 Lxx = douleuo)(Ge 14:4, 15:13, 14 - Lxx = douleuo), worship. Labor (as when Israel was in Egyptian bondage - Ex 1:13,14 but same word abad translated worship after redemption Ex 3:12, 7:16, 8:1, 8:20, 9:1, et al where Lxx = latreuo). Deliver (05337) natsal means primarily to deliver, often by the power of one entity overcoming another. Deliverance from the hand or power (Ge 32:11, Hos 2:10). Idols and human might cannot deliver (1 Sa 12:21, Ps 33:16). Of Jacob's cry for deliverance and deliverance (preserved) (Ge 32:11, 30). Of Joseph's rescue (Ge 37:21, 22) Of Moses acting as a deliverer (Ex 2:19), of Moses returning to Egypt to deliver Israel (Ex 3:8), of Yahweh's promise of deliverance (Ex 6:6), of the Lord sparing the Israelites at the Passover (Ex 12:27), of Moses relating his deliverance by Yahweh from the Egyptians (Ex 18:4, 8, 9, 10), of deliverance of the manslayer from the blood avenger (Nu 32:25), of Yahweh delivering from Israel's enemies, (Dt 23:14, cf Dt 32:39 = "no one who can deliver from My hand," cf Josh 24:10, Jdg 6:9, Jdg 8:34, 1 Sa 7:14, ), of a woman delivering her husband (Dt 25:11), of Rahab's appeal to Israel for deliverance (Josh 2:13), of Joshua delivering Gideonites (Josh 9:26), of Phinehas delivering Israel from hand of God's judgment (Josh 22:31), of Gideon's deliverance from Midianites (Jdg 9:17), of David's cry to be delivered from his transgressions (Ps 39:8). QUESTION - Who was Asherah / Ashtoreth? ANSWER - Asherah, or Ashtoreth, was the name of the chief female deity worshiped in ancient Syria, Phoenicia, and Canaan. The Phoenicians called her Astarte, the Assyrians worshiped her as Ishtar, and the Philistines had a temple of Asherah (1 Samuel 31:10). Because of Israel’s incomplete conquest of the land of Canaan, Asherah-worship survived and plagued Israel, starting as soon as Joshua was dead (Judges 2:13). Asherah was represented by a limbless tree trunk planted in the ground. The trunk was usually carved into a symbolic representation of the goddess. Because of the association with carved trees, the places of Asherah worship were commonly called “groves,” and the Hebrew word “asherah” (plural, “asherim”) could refer either to the goddess or to a grove of trees. One of King Manasseh’s evil deeds was that he “took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in the temple” (2 Kings 21:7). Another translation of “carved Asherah pole” is “graven image of the grove” (KJV). Considered the moon-goddess, Asherah was often presented as a consort of Baal, the sun-god (Judges 3:7, 6:28, 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:4, 12:10). Asherah was also worshiped as the goddess of love and war and was sometimes linked with Anath, another Canaanite goddess. Worship of Asherah was noted for its sensuality and involved ritual prostitution. The priests and priestesses of Asherah also practiced divination and fortune-telling. The Lord God, through Moses, forbade the worship of Asherah. The Law specified that a grove of trees was not to be near the altar of the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:21). Despite God’s clear instructions, Asherah-worship was a perennial problem in Israel. As Solomon slipped into idolatry, one of the pagan deities he brought into the kingdom was Asherah, called “the goddess of the Sidonians” (1 Kings 11:5, 33). Later, Jezebel made Asherah-worship even more prevalent, with 400 prophets of Asherah on the royal payroll (1 Kings 18:19). At times, Israel experienced revival, and notable crusades against Asherah-worship were led by Gideon (Judges 6:25-30), King Asa (1 Kings 15:13), and King Josiah (2 Kings 23:1-7).GotQuestions.org WITH ALL YOUR HEART - E F Hallock TEXT: “If ye do return unto Jehovah with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods … and direct your hearts unto Jehovah, and serve him only” (1 Sam. 7:3 ASV). I. What the heart is. A. The source of evil thoughts: “And Jehovah saw … that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5 ASV). B. The source of deceit and corruption: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt” (Jer. 17:9 ASV). C. The source of all evil: “Out of the heart come forth evil thoughts …” (Matt. 15:19 ASV). II. What the heart should do. A. Love God (Matt. 22:37). B. Trust God (Prov. 3:5). C. Seek God (Jer. 29:13). D. Serve God (Deut. 11:13). CONCLUSION: God says, “Son, give me your heart!” I reply, “Father, I give you my heart. ‘Create in me a clean heart’ ” (Ps. 51:10). “With the heart we believe (Rom. 10:10 ASV). TODAY IN THE WORD In one of his most well-known books, famed psychologist Dr. Robert J. Stenberg took a unique approach to the study of the human intellect. The subjects that he and his colleagues studied were among the smartest people throughout modern history. But the focus of their study was not the mental composition that gave these great minds their genius—instead, they explored their most foolish mistakes. The book is aptly titled, Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid. SAMUEL, THE JUDGE 1 Samuel 7:3–13 - Croft Pentz In this chapter we see the end of forty years of oppression on the part of the Philistines. This also is one of the great revival chapters of the Bible. 1. DIVINE PLAN—vv. 3–6 2. DETERMINED PRAYER—vv. 7–9 3. DEDICATED PRAISE—vv. 10–12 4. DIVINE PUNISHMENT—v. 13 God helps those who remember Him. God leads those who remember Him. God protects those who remember Him. He strengthens those who remember Him. John Butler - REVIVAL 1 Samuel 7:3 “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). Israel had drifted away from Jehovah-God and gone to idols, they needed a revival to get them back on the right track and in the blessing of God. FIRST—THE PREACHER OF REVIVAL “Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel.” True revival requires a good preacher. Samuel certainly filled the bill here. He was a good man of God. He was steadfast even when everyone else went bad. He knew the solution for revival, and he preached the kind of message that brings revival though it may turn many against you. Samuel was a faithful man of God and spoke the truth regardless of it risks. SECOND—THE PROOF OF REVIVAL “If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you.” Samuel would tolerate no insincerity. The people indicated by their “lamented after the LORD” (1 Samuel 7:2), that they wanted to return to the Lord, but words are cheap. Samuel wanted proof of their desire to once again have Jehovah as their God. So he told them to put away they false gods. We may claim many things spiritually, but the proof is in our actions, not our articulation. Someone has rightly said, What you do speaks so loud, we cannot hear what you say. That is so true spiritually. Many talk a good faith but live a very poor one. THIRD—THE PERSISTENCY IN REVIVAL “Prepare your hearts.” The word translated “prepare” involves consistency in it. It means to be faithful, steadfast, fixed, etc. Revival is not a temporary fix in a time of emergency to get God’s blessing. It is to be a permanent change to loyalty to God. If the revival is in your hearts it will be persistent. Too many have revival in their head but not in their heart. FOURTH—THE PERFORMANCE IN REVIVAL “Serve him only.” You serve the One your worship. Jesus spoke this truth to Satan (Luke 4:8). If revival was true, the people would serve Jehovah not their false gods. FIFTH—THE PROSPECTS FROM REVIVAL “He will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines.” If the people are truly revived spiritually their prospects regarding the Philistines will be very good. We all want deliverance, but there are conditions for deliverance and Samuel faithfully declared them. Once the conditions were met, God would start working for them and in this case it would be deliverance from the Philistine army which had come up against them. 1 Samuel 7:4 So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the LORD alone. BGT 1 Samuel 7:4 καὶ περιεῖλον οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ τὰς Βααλιμ καὶ τὰ ἄλση Ασταρωθ καὶ ἐδούλευσαν κυρίῳ μόνῳ KJV 1 Samuel 7:4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only. NET 1 Samuel 7:4 So the Israelites removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the LORD. CSB 1 Samuel 7:4 So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtoreths and only worshiped the LORD. ESV 1 Samuel 7:4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD only. NIV 1 Samuel 7:4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only. NLT 1 Samuel 7:4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the LORD. NRS 1 Samuel 7:4 So Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the LORD only. RSV 1 Samuel 7:4 So Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD only. YLT 1 Samuel 7:4 And the sons of Israel turn aside the Baalim and Ashtaroth, and serve Jehovah alone; NKJ 1 Samuel 7:4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only. NJB 1 Samuel 7:4 And the Israelites banished the Baals and Astartes and served Yahweh alone. NAB 1 Samuel 7:4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtaroth, and worshiped the LORD alone. LXE 1 Samuel 7:4 And the children of Israel took away Baalim and the groves of Astaroth, and served the Lord only. ASV 1 Samuel 7:4 Then the children of Israel did put away the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served Jehovah only. Jdg 2:11,13 Jdg 10:15,16 1Ki 11:33 Ho 14:3,8 1 Samuel 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Judges 2:11-13 Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals 12 and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. (NOTE: YOU "GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY" - PLAY BOB DYLAN'S SONG BY THIS SAME TITLE!) Judges 10:15; 16 The sons of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day.....10:16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer. 1 Kings 11:33 because they have forsaken Me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and observing My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. Hosea 14:3 “Assyria will not save us, We will not ride on horses; Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ To the work of our hands; For in You the orphan finds mercy.....(14:8) O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; From Me comes your fruit. So - Praise God for this "term of conclusion!" So is the conclusion describing the response to Samuel's commands. Israel came to a life-giving conclusion based on Samuel's words. The sons of Israel removed (sur; Lxx - periaireo - take away from around - implying it has you encircled, ensnared!!!) the Baals (baal) and the Ashtaroth ('ashtaroth) - Note the plural of Baal ("baalim" - suggesting more than one idol of this group), the supreme fertility deity of the Canaanites, whose domain was the sky, from which they foolishly thought he fertilized the land! When you fall for idols, your "spiritual I.Q." also effectively falls! In ancient sculptures, Baal was depicted with a horned helmet. In one hand he grasped a club or mace and in the other a shaft of lightning or a spear with leaves. In some sculptures, he stood on the back of a bull. If idolatry were not so dangerous and deceptive, it would be comical because the beliefs border on ridiculous to absurd! You Gotta Serve Somebody -- Bob Dylan And served (abad; Lxx - douleuo) the LORD alone - Note this is a reversal of of the apostasy of Israel at the beginning of the dark days of the Judges (Jdg 2:11-13) Alone (Hebrew = bad; Lxx = monos - as singly existing - only) has to essential idea of alone (no competition), as a description of the ONLY entity in a class. In context it speaks of a wholehearted turn from POLYTHEISM to MONOTHEISM (cp Dt 6:4,5+). Baal (proper noun)(01168) ba'al refers to the pagan god who was called by the name "Baal". Elijah contended with and exterminated the prophets of Baal (1 Ki 18:18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 40). One of the more incredible mentions of Baal is Jehu's eradication of them from the northern kingdom (see 2 Ki 10:18-28). Before God would use Gideon to deliver His people from the Moabites, He first had him tear down his father's backyard altar to Baal (Jdg 6:25, 28, 30-31-note). As a result Gideon was named Jerrubball ("Let Baal contend against him" - Jdg 6:32-note). Under Gideon Israel was set free from Moabite oppression, but apparently they people were not set free from the "seed" of Baal worship in their hearts for "Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot (SPIRITUAL ADULTERY!) with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god" (Jdg 8:33-note)! Wow! Our hearts are more deceitful than all else and are desperately sick (Jer 17:9)! In 1 Sa 7:4 we see that "Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the LORD alone" but they must have backslide because we see their cry in 1 Sam 12:10! Beware of idols. Idols need to be radically uprooted lest they revive and return! 1 Samuel 7:5 Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the LORD for you." Gather: Ne 9:1 Joe 2:16 Mizpeh: 1Sa 7:12,16 10:17 Jos 15:38 Jdg 20:1 2Ki 25:23 I will pray: 1Sa 12:23 1 Samuel 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Samuel Man of Prayer 1 Samuel 8:6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 1 Samuel 12:23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way. 1 Samuel 15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night. Psalm 99:6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They called upon the LORD and He answered them. Jeremiah 15:1 Then the LORD said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people; send them away from My presence and let them go! Note Mizpeh/Mizpah NE of Kiriath-Jearim A PRAYER MEETING AT MIZPAH FOR ALL ISRAEL Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah Samuel next summoned the people to Mizpah, some seven miles north of Jerusalem (ON THE MAP ABOVE STILL NAMED JEBUS), and there prayed for them and offered sacrifice to the Lord on their behalf (v9). This was a common place of assembly for Israel. In the time of the Judges the elders of the tribes gathered there to decide Benjamin’s fate following the murder of a Levite’s concubine (Jdg 19:1-20:1, 3; Jdg 21:1, 5, 8). Later, Saul was presented to Israel as king at Mizpah (1Sa 10:17-24). It was even the capital of Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (2Ki 25:23, 25). and I will pray to the LORD for you Samuel summoned the nation to Mizpeh for a prayer meeting! Samuel is frequently associated with prayer (1Sa 12:23). He was born in answer to his mother’s prayers (1Sa 1:10-18). Samuel prayed for his nation and they defeated the enemy (1Sa 7:13). Samuel prayed when Israel defied the Lord and asked for a king (1Sa 8:6); and he prayed for King Saul (1Sa 15:11) even after God had rejected him. Someone has called Samuel “God’s Emergency Man,” and the name surely fits. Samuel stepped on the scene when the priesthood had become corrupt, when the nation was defeated, and when God’s glory had departed. In summary, Samuel, like his mother (1Sa 1:10-16; 2:1-10), repeatedly exhibited a commitment to prayer (cf Ps 99:6; Jer 15:1). 1 Samuel 7:6 They gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah. BGT 1 Samuel 7:6 καὶ συνήχθησαν εἰς Μασσηφαθ καὶ ὑδρεύονται ὕδωρ καὶ ἐξέχεαν ἐνώπιον κυρίου ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐνήστευσαν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ καὶ εἶπαν ἡμαρτήκαμεν ἐνώπιον κυρίου καὶ ἐδίκαζεν Σαμουηλ τοὺς υἱοὺς Ισραηλ εἰς Μασσηφαθ KJV 1 Samuel 7:6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. NET 1 Samuel 7:6 After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. They fasted on that day, and they confessed there, "We have sinned against the LORD." So Samuel led the people of Israel at Mizpah. CSB 1 Samuel 7:6 When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the LORD's presence. They fasted that day, and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah. ESV 1 Samuel 7:6 So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the LORD and fasted on that day and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. NIV 1 Samuel 7:6 When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah. NLT 1 Samuel 7:6 So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the LORD. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the LORD. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel's judge.) NRS 1 Samuel 7:6 So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD. They fasted that day, and said, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. RSV 1 Samuel 7:6 So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. YLT 1 Samuel 7:6 And they are gathered to Mizpeh, and draw water, and pour out before Jehovah, and fast on that day, and say there, 'We have sinned against Jehovah;' and Samuel judgeth the sons of Israel in Mizpeh. NKJ 1 Samuel 7:6 So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the LORD. And they fasted that day, and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. NJB 1 Samuel 7:6 So they mustered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Yahweh. They fasted that day and declared, 'We have sinned against Yahweh.' And Samuel was judge over the Israelites at Mizpah. NAB 1 Samuel 7:6 When they were gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out on the ground before the LORD, and they fasted that day, confessing, "We have sinned against the LORD." It was at Mizpah that Samuel began to judge the Israelites. LXE 1 Samuel 7:6 And they were gathered together to Massephath, and they drew water, and poured it out upon the earth before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said, We have sinned before the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Massephath. ASV 1 Samuel 7:6 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. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah. drew water: 1Sa 1:15 2Sa 14:14 Job 16:20 Ps 6:6 42:3 119:136 Jer 9:1 La 2:11,18 3:49 fasted: 2Ch 20:3 Ezra 8:21-23 Ne 9:1-3 Da 9:3-5 Joe 2:12 Jon 3:1-10 We have sinned: Lev 26:40 Jdg 10:10 1Ki 8:47 Ezr 9:5-10 Job 33:27 40:4 42:6 Ps 38:3-8 106:6 Jer 3:13,14 31:19 Lu 15:18 judged: Jdg 3:10 Ne 9:27 Eze 20:4 1 Samuel 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: 1 Samuel 1:15 But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD. 2 Samuel 23:16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD; Psalm 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah. Lamentations 2:19 “Arise, cry aloud in the night At the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones Who are faint because of hunger At the head of every street.” cf "We have sinned against the LORD." PRAYER MEETING BEGINS WITH CONFESSION They gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD, (cf. 1Sa 1:15, Ps 62:8, La 2:19): Note that this in not the Mizpah located 7 miles north of Jerusalem, but on the map above is the Mizpah located about 8 miles NE of Kiriath-Jearim. Offerings of water were very meaningful to inhabitants of semi-arid lands. The pouring of water as a sign of repentance. There was pouring out of water from the pool of Siloam within the temple area on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles in memory of the gift of water from the rock in the Exodus. We should not underestimate the importance of the fact that Israel did listen and respond to their judge Samuel for Judges 2:17 shows it was not always the case with Israel writing "Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do as their fathers." Bergen - When Israel “drew water and poured it out before the Lord” (v. 6), an action unparalleled in the Old Testament in an Israelite religious convocation, they evidently were denying themselves liquids as a symbolic confession that the Lord’s favor was more important to them than life-sustaining water (cf. Jonah 3:7; 2 Sam 23:16).. (Borrow 1 & 2 Samuel - New American Commentary) Woodhouse on poured out - The pouring of water and the fasting were both expressions of the people’s repentance, which was also expressed there in words. The actions may be best seen not so much as symbolic rituals, but as real acts of self-denial as the people turned from their self-centered ways back to the Lord. Gordon, 1 & 2 Samuel, p. 107 suggests that the pouring out of the water before the Lord “may simply have formed part of the self-denial of the occasion as the participants solemnly proclaimed their abstention from even this necessity of life.” This is not to deny that the actions would have symbolic connotations, especially when we recall such metaphors for a humble cry to God as “Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord!” (Lamentations 2:19; the parallel is suggested by Keil and Delitzsch, Books of Samuel, p. 73; Hans Wilhelm Hertzberg, I & II Samuel: A Commentary, Old Testament Library [London: SCM Press, 1964], p. 67; Ackroyd, 1 and 2 Samuel, p. 66). Cf. Psalm 22:14. Hertzberg, I & II Samuel, p. 67 also draws attention to the connection between water and repentance in the “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). (Preaching the Word: 1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader) MacArthur - The pouring out of water before the Lord was a sign of repentance. This act is repeated in 2 Sam. 23:16. (BORROW The MacArthur Study Bible) TSK note - Grotius says, that the pouring out of water means the shedding of tears; and the Targum reads, "And they poured out their hearts in penitence, as waters, before the Lord." Others suppose that it was done emblematically, to represent the contrition of their hearts, and their desire to wash away their past offences. But some learned men conceive that it was poured out as a libation, in token of joy, after they had fasted and confessed their sin, as they were wont to do in the feast of tabernacles. (See note on Nu. 29:35.) And fasted on that day and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." - The poured out water and poured out their hearts (see Ps 62:8, Lam. 2:19). Israel reminds me of the old Pogo cartoon (see above) "We have met the enemy and he is us!" And so Israel confesses their sin acknowledging that it is against Yahweh Himself, as all sin always is (cf Ps 51:4, Ge 39:9b)! Confession is always a great way to clear the "airways" to the throne room of God in Heaven and begin a prayer meeting! The text does not mention specific sins but we know from earlier texts that a major sin was idolatry. It is always reasonable for a prayer meeting to began with confession of sins because Psalm 66:18 says "If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear." Proverbs 28:13+ adds "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." The nation will soon experience tangible (even audible) "compassion" from Yahweh! Keil and Delitzsch - “There” subtly emphasizes that the words were spoken at the same place where the actions were done. And Samuel judged (shaphat) the sons of Israel at Mizpah ("watchtower") - Samuel the Prophet is now also identified as Israel's judge much like Eli had been (albeit not very successfully! 1Sa 4:18) Samuel would be Israel's last judge before the institution of the monarchy. As judge Samuel settled domestic disputes among the people and guided in conduct of war as in the present section. Woodhouse on Samuel judged - This statement draws our attention to the contrast between Eli’s failed leadership and, at this point, Samuel’s effective leadership. Eli “judged” Israel for forty years, and at the end of it, all the glory had departed from Israel (1 Samuel 4:18, 22+). At Mizpah Samuel had “judged” Israel, and the glory had returned. They were God’s people again. (Preaching the Word: 1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader) Keil and Delitzsch - “Judging the people … [consisted] in the fact that Samuel summoned the nation to Mizpeh to humble itself before Jehovah, and there secured for it, through his intercession, the forgiveness of its sin, and a renewal of the favor of its God, and thus restored the proper relation between Israel and its God, so that the Lord could proceed to vindicate His people’s rights against their foes.” MacArthur - At this point Samuel is introduced as the judge of Israel. His judgeship encompassed both domestic leadership and the conduct of war. The word links the text back to the last comment about Eli who judged 40 years (4:18). Samuel is shown to be the one taking over Eli’s judgeship. He served as the last judge before the first king (cf. 1 Kin. 8:50). (BORROW The MacArthur Study Bible)
1 Samuel 7
MacArthur points out that "The first major division of the book (1Sa 1:1-7:17) ends with Samuel returning to Ramah to judge the people. Ramah was about five miles north of Jerusalem." (BORROW The MacArthur Study Bible) Then his return was to Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged (shaphat) Israel; and he built there an altar (mizbeah) to the LORD - Why would he build an altar? The most obvious reason is for worship, a place to offer sacrifices. Another reason is that there was now no altar at Shiloh which had apparently been destroyed.. Woodhouse - First Samuel 7 has brought us to a climactic moment in the story that this book has to tell. It is a high point in the history of Israel, when Israel became again what Israel was meant to be. The chapter has displayed the kind of leader that Israel actually needed. Their need was not for a great military hero or genius. God had demonstrated unambiguously that he could deal with their enemies without such a champion. Their need was not for a brilliant political giant who could organize the nation efficiently. Israel’s need could not be met by management abilities. Israel’s great need was a leader who would bring them back to God. They needed a leader who would lead them in righteousness. They needed a Samuel. And God gave them Samuel! As we read on into chapter 8 we will see that the lessons of this moment were not remembered well in Israel. But we should pause and see that we learn them. If we have learned well from Israel’s experience, I hope that we can see how these chapters point us clearly to the leader we need. He is the one sent by God to bring us back to God, to intercede for us, to lead us in righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ is the leader of whom Samuel was a faint shadow. What a great day it was for Israel when God gave them Samuel! What a brilliant day it is for those of us who have Jesus as our Lord! (Preaching the Word: 1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader) Altar (04196) mizbeah from zabach = to slaughter for sacrifice or for food) is a masculine noun that is frequent in the OT (338x) and describes the place of sacrifice where offerings were made to a deity. The first use in Ge 8:20 describes the altar built by Noah as his first act after he survived the flood. Abraham is associated with an altar in Ge 12:7,8; 13:4, 18; Ge 22:9. Not surprisingly the majority of OT occurrences are in Leviticus (88x in 72v and Exodus is not far behind - 61x in 53v). The first offering by Cain and Abel does not mention a specific altar (Ge 4:3). OT altars had several meanings beyond their most common association with blood sacrifice, including as a monument set up in the presence of God (cp Ge 12:8, 26:25), as a place of refuge (Ex 21:14), and as a table for a deity (Ezek 41:22, Mal 1:7). Pagan altars were to be destroyed (Ex 34:13). Some altars were named - JACOB'S altar at Shechem = EL THE GOD OF ISRAEL (Ge 33:20), MOSES' at Rephidim = THE LORD IS MY BANNER (Ex 17:15) Gideon's in Ophrah =THE LORD IS PEACE (Judges 6:24). Some OT altars are illegitimate - sacred pillars (Ex 34:12, etc), high places (2Ki 23:15). ALTARS - Built by Noah, Gen. 8:20; Abraham, Gen. 12:7, 8; 13:18; 22:9; Isaac, Gen. 26:25; Jacob, Gen. 33:20; 35:1-7; Moses, Ex. 17:15; 24:4; Balaam, Num. 23:1, 14, 29; Joshua, Deut. 27:4-7; Josh. 8:30-32; Reubenites and Gadites, Josh. 22:10, 34; Gideon, Jdg. 6:26, 27; Samuel, 1 Sam. 7:17; Saul, 1 Sam. 14:35; David, 2 Sam. 24:18, 19; Elijah, 1 Kin. 18:31, 32. Samuel the Prophet F B Meyer VI The Work of Reconstruction (1 SAMUEL 7:2) Be still and strong, O Man, my Brother! hold thy sobbing breath, And keep thy soul’s large window pure from wrong! That so, as life’s appointment issueth, Thy vision may be clear to watch along The sunset consummation—lights of death! —E. B. BROWNING. WHILST the events described in the last chapter were in progress, Samuel was giving himself to the great and noble work of reconstruction. As soon as our flesh is lacerated, or our bones broken, Nature begins to pour out her reparative forces to renew the broken tissues, and so rebuild the ruined temple. As it is in physical life, so in spiritual there are always holy and gentle natures that are charged with the Divine work of bridging over the roaring torrent of revolution, and of rearing new continents of order from the weltering ocean waste by which the previous land had been engulfed. Blessed work, indeed, is this, like the work of the Almighty, who, when the earth was without form and void, began to build in the midst of her the habitable places for man’s existence. To this Samuel devoted the twenty years that followed directly on the fatal field of Aphek. The Philistine invasion seems to have somewhat subsided from its first triumphant outburst, and to have retired from the occupancy of the interior portions of Israel. He was thus able to pursue his quiet and unobtrusive toils for his fatherland, free from the zealous supervision and opposition to which, otherwise, he must have been subjected. He seems to have taken up his abode in Ramah, so intimately associated with his earliest days. Here were his headquarters, where young men gathered to him, and were formed into the earliest of the schools of the prophets, and where also he married, and became the father of two sons. Their names are suggestive of their father’s piety and walk with God, the name of the one being Joel—“Jehovah is God,” and of the other Abiah—“Jehovah is my Father.” Amid the general disturbance of the religious life in which he had been nurtured, with the Ark in one place and the remnants of the Tabernacle in another, with the discontinuance of the sacred rites and feasts, which had been so great an assistance to piety in former years, Samuel nevertheless was able to walk with God, and to preserve a devout religious life. Probably this is why God permits from time to time so great a shaking of the things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken, the unseen and eternal, may be more clearly defined and more eagerly sought unto. In this present age, we have heard Him saying, “I will overturn, overturn, overturn”; we have seen theories of inspiration rudely assailed, churches menaced with destruction, ancient creeds ruthlessly questioned; but out of it all true religion is destined to emerge in undiminished lustre, as gold from the purifying furnace. In the meanwhile let us say with Samuel, Jehovah is God and Jehovah is my Father. Let us hold fast, above all, to the unchanging love of our Father, who loves us with a love with which there is nothing to compare in heaven or earth. Samuel knew that there were two objects which must be realised before Israel’s sad condition could be remedied or the Divine ideal realised. First: The national unity must be recovered from the anarchy in which it had been overwhelmed. It was useless to think of holding the land against the inroads of the neighbouring people so long as each tribe was content with an isolated existence, repelling its own enemies for a time, but indifferent to the condition of its neighbours and of the country at large. Israel must be one, animated by a common enthusiasm for its future independence and integrity. Let each tribe be proud of its idiosyncrasy, and fulfil its own distinctive mission; but let all be one in asserting the independence and glory of the chosen people. This is no less desirable in our own age. The divisions of the Church are her bane, and render her impotent before her foes. Ephraim envies Judah, and Judah vexes Ephraim; and their common enemies make profit out of their mutual recriminations and rivalries. It is a sad spectacle to witness the divisions between Christians in the face of a mocking world, and we shall never be able to make men believe, till we have learned to magnify the points of agreement, and to bear with all those who love the Lord Jesus, and are united with Him as their living Head, though their method of stating the truth may differ widely from our own. Secondly: The evils that had eaten into the nation’s heart must be put away. The people had forsaken the God of their fathers for the Phœnician and Philistine deities, whose images were worshipped in his stead. Shrines to Baal and Ashtaroth covered the land. Foul orgies of shameless impurity were everywhere rife. And it was evident that only a widespread revival of religion could save the people from rotting away before the very evils for which the ancient Canaanites had been destroyed. Samuel was pre-eminently a man of prayer. He is known on the subsequent page of Scripture as he that called on the Divine Name (1 Sam. 9:6, 7, 8, 9; Psa. 99:6; Jer. 15:1). In addition, he was a man of blameless reputation and life—in themselves eminent qualifications. It has been truly said that the special work of guiding, moderating, and softening the jarring counsels of men is the particular privilege of those who have grown up into natural strength from the early beginnings of purity and goodness; of those who can humbly and thankfully look back through middle age, and youth, and childhood, with no sudden rent or breach to their pure and peaceful recollections—and such was certainly Samuel’s happy lot. He was also a man of practical sagacity, and by his appeals wrought upon the national conscience; so that, as the result of his efforts, “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 before the Lord.” Notice those two phrases; all the house of Israel—there is the restoration of the lost unity; lamented before the Lord—there is the national repentance, which was followed by a widespread reformation: “Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.” Would that there might be a similar turning unto God in our own time and land! “Revive, O Lord, thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make known.” The Victory of Faith (1 SAMUEL 7:1–14) Oh bring us back once more The vanished days of yore, When the world with faith was filled! Bring back the fervid zeal, The hearts of fire and steel, The hands that believe and build. —LONGFELLOW. AFTER twenty years of quiet and unobtrusive toil, Samuel had led his people to desire both to feel and manifest the old unity, which had made them one before their enemies, and there was a distinct yearning after Jehovah. The sacred writer tells us that all the house of Israel “was drawn together” after Jehovah (ver. 2, R. V. margin). In being drawn to God they were drawn towards each other, as the spokes of a wheel centre in the hub. If the Lord Jesus is the centre of our heart-life, we must inevitably be drawn into fellowship with all those to whom He is also first and best. In verses 3 and 4 we probably have the substance of innumerable exhortations which Samuel delivered to all the house of Israel. From end to end he traversed the country, urging the people to return to Jehovah; to put away the false gods and Ashtaroth, and to direct their hearts to the God of their fathers and serve Him only. Wherever he could find a group of willing listeners, he poured forth his prayers and tears, his rugged denunciations of sin, and his fervent exhortations to a true repentance. Now he would stand upon the historic site of Jericho; then he might be found on the ancient heights of Carmel, Shiloh, Nob, or Hebron, witnessing to vast gatherings of deeply moved and repentant people; and finally, as the result of all that he had said, there was a great turning to God. On every hand idols were cast from their pedestals, and the vicious orgies were brought to an end in the groves and valleys. It was as though the spirit of spring were breathing over some wintry waste, and through the thawing snow the grass and flowers began to appear. Oh, that Samuels by the score might be raised up to induce the Church of God to put away what grieves Him, with the assurance that when she has arrayed herself in the beautiful garments of humility and purity, God will deliver her out of the hands of the Philistines. I. THE CONVOCATION AT MIZPEH.—The movement to which we have referred at last demanded a public demonstration, and Samuel summoned all Israel to Mizpeh—which means watchtower, and is evidently a commanding summit that can still be identified in Central Palestine, rising some five hundred feet above the surrounding country, and nearly three thousand above the sea level. It is remarkable that on the summit of this hill, as at Shiloh and Kirjath-jearim, there is a level platform some five or six feet high, cut out of the rock, where doubtless some kind of building was erected to receive the sacred tent. The day was devoted to fasting, as the law enjoined on the great Day of Atonement. The people confessed their sins, afflicted their souls, and humbled themselves before Jehovah. In addition, a somewhat novel rite was introduced. Water was brought from a neighbouring well, and solemnly poured out before the Lord, as afterwards at the Feast of Tabernacles. Whenever that great festival had nearly run its course, as it was being celebrated in the Temple, it was the custom for the priests to go forth to the Spring of Siloam, accompanied by the Levite choir, and bring thence water in a golden vessel; this was poured out at the foot of the altar at the hour of the morning sacrifice, while all around the white-vestured choir chanted Isaiah’s words, “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” Whether this scene in the life of Samuel was the origin of that solemn procession, it is impossible to say. Such may have been the case, though it is generally assumed that, as used in the Temple service, the pouring out of water was a memorial of the flowing of water from the smitten rock in the wilderness, and the type of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37–39). The pouring forth of water may have implied that they poured forth from their full hearts floods of penitence and tears; that they desired by the heaviness of their grief to wash their land free from the accumulated evil of the past years; or that the people realised their utter helplessness, so that they were as water spilt on the ground, which could not be gathered up. But whatever it may have signified, it must have been a very striking spectacle, when Samuel, as the representative of his countrymen, brought the whole nation back to true loyal allegiance to the God of their fathers. It was a worthy act for his manhood’s prime, and we are not surprised to learn that, as by a sudden outburst of acclamation, he was appointed judge (ver. 6). Oh, who shall induce the professing Church of God to put away the evil things by which her testimony is now impaired! Sometimes in buildings connected with the Church we hear of fancy-fairs, raffles, full-dress soirées, dances, theatricals, comic concerts, and many other such like things, which indicate the corruption of the spiritual life as certainly as an army of fungi indicate the damp and unwholesome atmosphere in which they thrive. What would not be the blessed result if the children of God would come to another Mizpeh and confess, as Israel did, “We have sinned against the Lord!” II. THE VICTORY OF FAITH.—The tidings of this great convocation reached the Philistines, who looked upon it as an unmistakable sign of the returning spirit of national life, and “the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel” (ver. 7). From every part the contingents of a great army were assembled, and there was every reason to fear that the terrible experiences of Aphek would be renewed. A panic of fear spread through the multitudes of Israel. There appeared but one hope: God must arise to his people’s help, or they would be trampled as the leaves of autumn beneath the heel of the conqueror. What could timid sheep do against wolves? What could unarmed peasants do against such soldiers? How could the national life, which was just reviving, after the discouragement and anarchy of years, withstand the onset of these bitter foes? “Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us,” the people said to Samuel, “that He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” Ah, soul! this is the only hope for thee. Thou hast been ground down beneath tyrant sins, which have held thee in subjection as the Philistines did Israel; thou hast groaned in the prison-house like another Samson shorn of his locks. There seems no help or hope of deliverance, because thy moral life is impaired by the commission of evils analogous to those which infected the Hebrew nation in the days of the Judges. Only put these away, and stand clear of them; in the name of God pour out all your self-confidence before the Cross where Jesus died, receive the forgiveness which is never withheld from the penitent and believing soul; and then, however many be the obstacles, temptations, and sins that beset thee, know that the Lord will save thee out of the hand of thine enemies. If only the tempted and overwhelmed would bathe their souls in the purifying waters of the Word of God, and cultivate the spirit of unwavering prayer and faith, the Lord would fight for them, and they might hold their peace. When so far as we know them we have put away our sins, or at least are steadfastly resolved to be rid of them, we may count on an ungrieved Holy Spirit; and this always means the consciousness of our Saviour’s presence, as our Deliverer from the power of the enemy. The power of Samuel’s prayers was already known throughout the land, like those of John Knox in the days of Queen Mary. The people had come to believe in them; they felt them to be the palladium of their liberties. If only Samuel would pray, they might count on deliverance. They knew that he had prayed; they now entreated that he would not cease. But Samuel did more than pray. He took a sucking lamb and offered it as a whole burnt-offering to the Lord, symbolising thus the desire of Israel to be wholly yielded to the Divine will. There must be consecration before there can be faith and deliverance. It is not enough simply to put away sin; we must also give ourselves absolutely and entirely to God. There must be a wholeness in the offering, the yielding ourselves—spirit, soul, and body—to be whatever God would have us be. Failure in the walk always denotes failure in the heart-life. If you are perpetually overcome by the Philistines, be sure that there is a flaw in your inner consecration. While the smoke of this offering was rising in the calm air, and the eyes of tens of thousands were fixed upon the figure of Samuel, who, as a prophet of the Lord, was within his rights in superseding the Levitical priests in this solemn function, and while his piercing cries for Divine help were rising to heaven, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. Can you not see them creeping up the mountain slopes, and encircling the defenceless crowd which had no might nor power to resist? But suddenly the voice of God answered the voice of the Prophet. “The Lord thundered with a great thunder (Hebrew, voice) on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them.” The sky was suddenly black with tempest, peal after peal rolled through the mountains, the heart of the foe was stricken with terror, and though Israel drew never a sword, the heathen turned in dismay to flee. Then at a signal from Samuel, the men of Israel flung themselves upon the flying foe. Down the steep they sped, catching up the arms which were cast away in flight, and stripping the dead of their weapons. Josephus tells of another circumstance that added to the horrors of that irresistible onslaught. “God destroyed their ranks with an earthquake; the ground trembled under their feet, so that there was no place whereon to stand in safety. They either fell helpless to the earth, or into some of the chasms that opened beneath them.” The pursuit only stayed when the Philistines came beneath the shadow of their own fortress of Bethcar, the Well of the Vineyards as it is now called. This is the great message of the whole story for us. If only the Church of God would put away the evils that grieve his Holy Spirit, if only we would ourselves come out and be separate, not touching the unclean thing, and cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, the Spirit would interpose for us too. The Lord would deliver us, fighting on our behalf against our foes, so that we should be more than conquerors through Him that loveth us and have to do nothing more than take the spoil. III. THE STONE OF HELP.—“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called it Ebenezer (the stone of help) saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” This was the same spot upon which Israel had suffered the great defeat which led to the capture of the Ark (4:1). How wonderful this was, that the story of the victory should be told upon the plain which had been the scene of defeat! Does not this carry sweet encouragement? Is it not true that when we turn to God, the disgrace of our failure is blotted out in the glory of our deliverance, so that we talk no more of our sins and their fatal consequences, but only of God and his almighty succour? Yes, child of God, be sure that the place of defeat may become that of victory, sublime and glorious so as to fill thine heart with adoring rapture, and heaven with consenting praise. Think how, in the generations that succeeded, fathers brought their children to look at that great stone, and read the inscription, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us,” arguing from it that what He had done He would do; that the forgiveness and grace which He had shown upon that site would be renewed and repeated in all after years. From that moment Samuel’s supremacy in the country was established. The Philistines came no more during his judgeship within the border of Israel. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all his days. The alienated cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath. The very Amorites, who had taken part with the Canaanites, found it to their advantage to side with Samuel, and abstain from hostilities (ver. 14). As Dean Spence, in “Ellicott’s Commentary,” says: “This success at Ebenezer was no mere solitary victory, but was the sign of a new spirit in Israel, which animated the nation during the lifetime of Samuel, and the reigns of David and Solomon and of the great Hebrew kings. The petty jealousies had disappeared, and had given place to a great national desire for unity. The old idol worship of Canaan, which degraded every nationality which practised it, was in a great measure swept away from among the chosen people, while the pure religion of the Lord of Hosts was established, not only through the care and guardianship of the tribe of Levi, but by the new order of the Prophets.” What cannot prayer do? It can not only open and close heaven, but will give the soul that prays an undisputed supremacy over his times, so that men will acknowledge that the saviour of the city is not so much the politician, the man of intellect, or the man of affairs, but he who has learned how to walk with God, and by his character and intercession to be the palladium of the national liberties and existence. VIII The Stone of Help (1 SAMUEL 7:12) And in the strength of this I rode, Shattering all evil customs everywhere, And past thro’ Pagan realms, and made them mine, And clash’d with Pagan hordes, and bore them down, And broke thro’ all, and in the strength of this Came Victor. —TENNYSON. THERE are many such monoliths as the “Stone of Help” to be found strewn through these northern lands, from such venerable circles as those of Stonehenge to the single ones which are pointed out to the traveller in Northern Wales—the last home of the Druids and ancient Britons. Throughout the world man has endeavoured to associate himself, and the history of his life, with the permanent monuments of nature. In this he has approved alike his littleness and his greatness—his littleness, because every such endeavour is a confession on his part of the transience of his days, and his consciousness that he has so slight a hold on the earth, on which he is but a sojourner and a pilgrim; his greatness, because he is capable of investing with a halo of undying interest wild glens and barren rocks, darksome caves and deep, rushing rivers. It is for this reason that every spot in the older countries of the world teems with interest. It is with difficulty that the tourist can make his way through England or Scotland, Germany or Italy; whereas he will haste, without hesitation or halting, through thousands of miles of Canada or the Western States. How different, for instance, is the interest of travelling through the New England States, or through Dakota and Wisconsin. Each square mile of the one is fragrant with some interesting reminiscence of the past, whilst the other only recalls a vanished race. At the foot of this stone let us linger for a little, to learn one or two lessons more. For stones have ears and voices. Joshua said that the stone which he reared, at the end of his life-work, had heard; and our Lord said that the stones around Him might be expected to cry out (Josh. 24:26; Luke 19:40). I. ITS SITE.—It stood on ground which had witnessed a terrible defeat and disaster. We are told in the fourth chapter that the great battle of Aphek was fought on this spot. “Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer, and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.” “Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod” (4:1; 5:1). Many who gathered around Samuel when he raised and named this stone must have been present twenty years before on that fatal field, the Flodden of Israel’s glory. Here the fight had been fiercest, the slain thickest; there the corpses of Hebrews and Philistines had fallen like leaves in Vallombrosa, trampled beneath the feet of the combatants; yonder the fight had raged around the Ark of God, as it was taken, and retaken, and taken again. At this point, desperate deeds of valour had been done to turn back Israel from a shameful flight, but in vain. There Hophni fell, and there Phinehas. In this place a brief stand was made, but again the ill-formed line was broken, and the children of a chosen race, whose forefathers turned not back in the day of Gideon and Jephthah, fled like sheep before the wolf. But, notwithstanding all this, and though the spot was associated with the memories of disgrace and shame, which in turn were the result of deep transgression on the part of people and priesthood, yet there was the stone erected which spoke so eloquently of the Divine help. What living encouragement is contained in this for us all! We, too, may be traversing at this very hour battlefields which have been sadly marked by defeat. Again and again we have met the foes of our peace in mortal conflict, only to be repulsed. Our hopes have been dashed to the ground and our banners rolled in dust and blood. We meant never to yield again, but we did yield. We meant that that solemn vow should be kept, that holy resolution carried into effect; but they were shivered in pieces. We have been overthrown by our adversary, and overpowered in spite of all our efforts by our besetting sin. Yet take heart. At the very place where you have fallen you shall stand, for “God is able to make you stand”; where you have been overthrown you shall be more than a conqueror. You shall tread these very fields with songs of joy. The rocks which saw the withered leaves of autumn swirl in eddies around you shall behold the young green of spring and the mature fulness of summer. Be of good cheer! The stone of Ebenezer shall be raised on the very field of the fatal battle of Aphek. II. ITS RETROSPECT.—What a story this stone had to tell, if all were unfolded, of the wonderful dealings of God with his people. It looked back on the twenty years of patient work, by which the Prophet Samuel had been leading the people homeward to the God of their fathers—quiet, unobtrusive, and unseen work, like that of the coral insects from the bottom of the mighty ocean, till presently the islet emerges, with its crown of fronded palms. It looked back on many a scene of iconoclasm as, from Dan to Beer-sheba, there had been a general putting away of the Baalim and Ashtaroth, the cutting down of groves, and overthrow of altars. It looked back on that memorable convocation of all Israel at Mizpeh, when water was poured out before the Lord, in confession of sin and humble penitence. It looked back, specially, to the offering of the burnt-offering, which declared Israel’s resolve to be henceforth wholly devoted to God, and to Samuel’s piercing cry of intercession. Above all, it looked back on that memorable moment, when, as the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, “the Lord thundered with a great thunder upon the Philistines, and discomfited them, and they were smitten down before Israel.” If that stone had engraved slabs of memory within its old heart, as well as eyes and ears, it surely never would forget the mad onslaught of the men of Israel on their fleeing and panic-stricken foes, to avenge in one brief hour the wrongs and oppressions of twenty long years. Has anything like this taken place in your life? On your answer much will depend. If since your last failure and defeat there have been no acts of the soul, like those which took place at Mizpeh, believe me, there is no probability of there being any break in the long monotony of your reverses. As you have been defeated, so you will be defeated; as you have failed, so you will fail, unless there is the pouring out of your heart before God, the putting away of idols, and the resolve to follow Him fully. If I may be permitted to quote my own experience, I must bear witness to the incessant failure of my life, so long as I cherished things in my heart which were alien to God’s holy will. Rules for holy living, solemn and heart-stirring conventions, helpful books and addresses produced but very small result. There was temporary amendment, but little else. But when the scene at Mizpeh had been reflected in the inner mirror of the soul, then victory took place on the very spot marked by defeat. Let my reader ponder this. You cannot keep the moth out of your house, so long as one old blanket, stored in some neglected cupboard or box, is full of it. You cannot keep diphtheria from your home, so long as one crack in the drains is emitting the poison of sewer-gas. You will never raise your stone of Ebenezer until you have stood on the watchtower of Mizpeh and put away all known sin, all complicity with what is grievous in the eyes of Christ. Only so will even his keeping power avail. You say that you cannot. The evil thing clings to you as the serpent folds around Laocoön and his sons. The deadly creeper has wound itself around the tree of your life, and threatens to crush it to death in its deadly embrace. How can you rid yourself of that which has so strong a fascination that you feel you cannot live apart from it? Ah, that is the point where the Great Physician is willing to interpose for your rescue and deliverance! What you cannot do for yourself, He will do. The only question is, Are you willing? or Are you willing to be made willing? Often enough in the history of the soul it happens that the will, like a tough piece of iron, resists and resents. Then there is one glad resource—take it to Christ, tell Him that you cannot be as you would, or that you will not be as you should, and pray Him to undertake your difficult and almost desperate case. Do not doubt the result. He takes what we give at the moment of our giving it; and when once He has taken it, we may press to our heart the consolation which the good Naomi gave to Ruth in a memorable moment of her life: “Sit still, my daughter … for the man will not rest until he have finished the thing this day.” III. ITS INSCRIPTION.—“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” Surely if the stone had a retrospect, as we have seen, it had also a prospect. It looked forward as well as backward. It seemed to say, As God has helped, so He will help. It would have been impossible to secure such results as those twenty years had witnessed, culminating in this glorious victory, unless He had been a very present help; and could He have done so much without being prepared to finish what He had commenced? Would He have begun to build without calculating on his ability to finish? Would He have entered on a campaign without counting the cost of carrying it to a conclusion? As we go through life, let us be careful to erect our Ebenezer stones, so that when new responsibilities begin to crowd on us, or fresh and unforeseen difficulties threaten, we may be emboldened to sing with Newton: “His love in time past forbids me to think He’ll leave me at last in trouble to sink, Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review Confirms his good pleasure to help me quite through.” All through life, if you will only trust God, if only by faith you will derive from Him grace for grace, if only you will claim a continuance and a crowning of all that He has begun, you will have occasions to raise these stones of help and to say with the Apostle, “Having, therefore, obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great.” The last stone that we shall erect will be on the margin of the river. As we turn our back for ever on the land of our pilgrimage, and enter on the work and worship of eternity, we shall set up a great stone to the glory of our God, saying once more, with a deep sigh of perfected satisfaction, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped.”