Okay, you can turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 7. 1 Samuel chapter 7. The last that we saw of Samuel was in chapter 3, where he had become officially installed as the prophet over or for Israel. We can't explain his absence during the crisis in chapters 4 to 6. The scripture, the text doesn't say anything specifically concerning his whereabouts at that particular time.
Of course, we do pick up with Samuel again now in chapter 7. So in chapter 4, we have the capture of the ark. Chapter 5, we see God's judgment upon the Philistines. And then in chapter 6, The ark is returned to Israel.
It initially goes to Beth Shemesh, and there is a judgment upon the men of Beth Shemesh, and then they send the ark to Kirjath-Jerim, and that's where we pick up in chapter 7. We'll read verse 1, but our exposition tonight will be 2 through 17. Then the men of Kirjath-Jerim came and took the ark of the Lord and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill and consecrated Eleazar, his son, to keep the Ark of the Lord. So it was that the Ark remained in Kirjath-Jerim a long time.
It was there 20 years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. And 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.
So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths and serve the Lord only. And Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you. 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. Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. So the children of Israel said to Samuel, do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.
And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.
And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and drove them back as far as below Beth-kar. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the Lord has helped us. So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath. And Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord. Amen.
Introduction
So as we saw specifically in Chapter 3, Samuel was, in fact, a prophet to the Lord. Remember that incident where he's spending, or he's in the house of the Lord at Shiloh, and he hears the Lord call. And then he responds, and he says specifically, speak. for your servant hears." And the first sermon he had to deliver was against Eli, essentially telling him that judgment had in fact come upon his house, because Eli did not restrain his sons. And then at the end of the chapter, in chapter 3 at verse 21, it says, Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh.
For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Well, here in chapter 7, we see that Samuel exercises, as well, a judgeship. He functions as one of the judges of Israel.
We see that at the end of verse 6, and then we see that at the end of verse 17, where it sort of summarizes what his life was. And when we consider the fact that he judged, certainly it had the same sort of function as a Gideon or a Samson in terms of dealing with foreign oppressors, but as well, there was an internal element. And specifically in this chapter, we see that not only does he function judicially, but he functions religiously. He calls the people to repentance.
He calls the people to faith. He calls the people to fidelity before the Lord God Almighty. So we need to understand that he is in this ecclesiastical realm as well. So he's a civil leader, a civil governor, but he's also one involved with church matters.
So he's a prophet and a judge. He exercises various offices or tasks. Later, we'll see that he's also a kingmaker. He's the one that ordained Saul. and ultimately will be the one that ordains David to the monarchy there in Israel.
Three Points Introduced
So as we look at chapter 7, I want to look at three specifics. First, the longing for God. Secondly, the preparation for God. And then thirdly, the presence of God.
And if you took this chapter and put it right by chapter 4, you would see a lot of similarities. The children of Israel aren't doing well. They have a foreign oppressor in the Philistines. With chapter 4, they seek to manipulate God.
They seek to use the Ark of the Covenant as a means by which they will gain victory over their enemies. Here in chapter 7, however, they don't try and manipulate. Rather, they repent and they cry out in prayer to the Lord God. And so the results are fundamentally different.
In chapter 4, they are defeated. The Ark of the Covenant is taken from them. But here in chapter 7, we see that they are victorious and that they enjoy a degree of domestic and foreign peace in terms of their station under Samuel. at this particular crucial time. Chapter 4, we see that there was this child named Ichabod.
That means the glory of the Lord has departed. We have the naming of this particular stone in chapter 7, Ebenezer. Thus far or hitherto hath the Lord helped us. So there is a big difference in terms of the way or in terms of the way that they approach the situation that they were facing.
Under Samuel's leadership and under Samuel's prophetic ministry, we see God's blessing here, which then tends to highlight chapter 8. When the people are crying out for a king, so that they would be like all the other nations, it exacerbates it in the sense that they were doing well under Samuel. Things were going good, and yet nevertheless they want to be like the other nations. Remember, monarchy is never condemned.
There are specific rules in the book of Deuteronomy in chapter 17. that speak to the king of Israel. In other words, when the king occupied his throne, he was to write out the law of God, he was to function in a particular manner. So monarchy isn't wrong, but it's the means or the manner by which the people here pursue it. They're discontent, they're basically whining and grumbling, they have a good thing in the leadership of Samuel, but they want to be like the nations around them.
So seven and eight also are a bit of a contrast as well. You have four and 7, the different ways that they go about seeking the assistance of their God, and then chapter 7, and the blessing of God shows or highlights that their expression for a king in chapter 8 really is an expression of thanklessness and in gratitude to what God had done. in terms of their history.
The Longing for God
But note first the longing for God. We read in chapter 7 at verse 2, a long time, it was there 20 years. So there's some period of time between these chapters. It's not happening Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
There are seasons. There are periods. There are long stretches of time that are expressed here. So now the Ark has been returned to Israel.
It was in the territory of the Philistines. Now it's back in Israel. But there is no presence of God. Just because the physical Ark is located in Kirjath-Jerim, does not necessarily mean that the people are knowing the nearness and the kindness of God.
That's what the end of verse 2 indicates. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. So they recognize this particular absence. Yes, we have the physical presence.
Yes, we have the Ark of the Covenant. But no, we are not enjoying the nearness of our God. And something else that I think that verse 2 indicates to us is the futility, again, of idolatry. We have traced that theme repeatedly in these early chapters in Samuel.
We saw the folly or the futility of idolatry in the fall of Dagon before the Ark of the Covenant. I mean, certainly a God with no head and a God with no hands and a god that needs to be propped up indicates that its worshippers have something wrong going on in their heads and hearts. In other words, if you are bowing down to something like Dagon, you've got big problems and issues. Well, here, the fact that the house of Israel lamented after the Lord indicates the emptiness of idolatry.
Because notice what Samuel says to them in verse 3. They are to give up the gods, the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that they have been bowing down before. Verse 4 says very specifically that they take that counsel and they respond properly. The children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths and serve the Lord only.
So what does this indicate? They had the foreign gods, they had Baal, they had Ashtoreth, but there was no satisfaction, there was no blessing, there was no communion, there was no nearness of God, because these gods have ears and they can't hear, they have eyes but they cannot see, they have mouths but they cannot communicate. They have hands that break off when they fall. They have heads that fall off when they fall.
The gods of the nations cannot satisfy the longing of man. The children of Israel finally recognize that and they lament after the Lord. They recognize that He's absent from them and they want His presence because that is wherein true blessing lies. You can have all the money in the world And at the final day, when you go to your grave, there's an emptiness.
You can have all the sex or all the drugs or all the rock and roll or all the fame and the fortune or whatever it is that men pursue as their idols. Does it bring lasting happiness? Have you ever looked at some of these people that have billions and billions of dollars? Isn't there a threshold of where there's enough money?
I don't think you could possibly spend a billion dollars in a lifetime if you trotted off to Walmart every single day of the week. Why would you need several billion dollars? Obviously, if you went to Walmart, you're certainly not going to spend a billion dollars if you went to some place and Rodeo Drive, you might start to make a dent. But you see, all of that does not satisfy.
Why does a man with 10 billion need 50 billion? Is it satisfying? Does he have spiritual peace? Does it bring comfort and joy and lasting treasure?
It certainly does not. Learn the lesson from Israel. They went a-whoring from the true and the living God. Now they've come to their senses and they are lamenting after the Lord.
It's akin to the young adult or the teenager that says, all I want is to move out of your house. All I want is to leave. I don't like your regime. I don't like your rules.
I don't like your government over me. I'm going to go live on my own. And then that young man or woman goes out and lives on their own and they make a mess of things. Home doesn't look so bad anymore, does it?
In fact, home looks pretty good. I mentioned Jeff Massey earlier, his fellow elder, Pastor Steve Markadon. He's the pastor in Ontario, California. I always have to say California.
So if I say Ontario, you'll think Ontario, Canada. But Pastor Markodont used to say, at least I heard him say it one time, he quite liked it when people went on holidays and they would visit other churches. He said that they always came back appreciating our church. And there's something to that.
They bowed at Baal's feet, and they bowed before these Ashtoreths, but it didn't satisfy. It didn't make their family lives any better. It didn't help them to grow in holiness. It didn't help them to have that peace which surpasses all understanding.
You need to understand that anything that you pursue that is not God will ultimately fail you. The only one that can ultimately satisfy the one in whom there are treasures of wisdom and knowledge is the Lord God Most High. And thankfully, Israel has come to that place and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. The Baals, the Ashtoreths, the idols of man in our generation will never bring relief.
It is Christ alone who brings forgiveness. It is Christ alone who brings righteousness. It is Christ alone who brings the peace which does in fact surpass all understanding. What could be better? than to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?
What could be better than to know that my sins are forgiven, and should I die, I'm going to wake up in the presence of God Most High? Is there anything better? Would you want to have a pile of gold and end up in hell? Or would you rather have a pile of rocks and end up in heaven?
Jesus speaks this way very specifically. It's better to enter into life maimed than to enter into hell full or whole. Brethren, this is a very good indicator that things are on the upswing here in Israel. So that's the longing for God.
The Preparation for God
Notice, secondly, the preparation for God. We can be very thankful that they had Samuel. We can be very thankful they had good leadership at this particular time. All the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
Thankfully, they didn't have some of the prophets today. Well, in your lament, why don't you just try to be a better you? Or in your lament, why don't you just try to find satisfaction in these other things? No, Samuel points them to the Lord after whom they are lamenting.
Notice specifically his instructions to them. We see this in verse 3.
The Call to Repentance
First, their need for repentance. Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel saying, if you return to the Lord. It's the language of repentance. It's the language of a change of mind.
It's the language of stop following Baal and return unto Yahweh of Israel. Again, the contrast with chapter 4 is clear. The children of Israel are in a difficult situation. They want God.
The Philistines are still an issue. They're still a problem. And the way by which they deal with this problem now, as Samuel speaks to them, is through repentance. You need to humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.
What should we do if we are lamenting after the Lord? Well, repentance. is the call of duty, repentance and humbling ourselves before God. Isn't this what James and Peter tell us? Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and in due time He will lift you up.
It's not going to be like that. It's not going to be formulaic. All of the stuff that is indicated here isn't a formula. If you repent, then God will bless you.
No, repentance is a means by which God calls us to receive the blessings that He conveys. It's not as if I conjure up repentance and then God owes me because I've done quite well in His sight. No, repentance is a humbling of oneself before God. Not necessarily to get stuff.
You know, in this instance, the idea isn't that we want victory over the Philistines. That's a blessed by-product. You see something about tangible religion in this chapter as well. Repentance is tangible in the fact that they actually put away these foreign gods.
And you see something about the tangibleness of our God. Our God not only promises, but He actually does vindicate them. He actually does deliver them from the oppression of the Philistines. You all know what tangible means.
If I always tell my wife, I love you, it's nice to back it up with a tangible expression. To give her flowers, or to take her out for dinner, or to do something that is tangible in nature. You see, repentance here isn't the fruit. Repentance begins here.
But repentance evidences itself in the fruits that are worthy of it. In other words, if a man goes out and he stops doing something that is wrong, it's not necessarily repentance. It must be a change of mind. It must be a change of heart.
And then when he stops doing something, we call that the fruit of repentance. That's not repentance itself. Everybody get that? Because if that was the case, anybody who stopped smoking, we could say, wow, they've repented.
Anybody who stopped smoking crack cocaine, we could say, wow, they've repented. Or anybody who stopped looking at internet porn, wow, they've repented. Not necessarily, not before God. You see, it's the heart, it's the mind, it's the change, and those things would be fruits of that repentance.
So Samuel's instruction to them, you're lamenting after the Lord. You know what you need? You need to return to the Lord. Isn't this precisely what James bids us in James chapter 4?
James chapter 4. Specifically. beginning in verse 4. He says, Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you think that the scripture says in vain, the spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? But he gives more grace. Therefore, he says, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep.
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." So you see, for Samuel, the instruction was clear. You are lamenting after the Lord. You have already departed from the Lord.
You've bowed to these idols. The first order of business is repentance before the Lord. Notice, repentance, as I've already mentioned, is a matter of the heart. If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, It's not just the externals.
It's not just stop going over there and bowing before Baal. It must be heart religion. And this is something that should have been the case in all of Old Covenant religion. It is simply not the case that the New Covenant is all about the heart and the Old Covenant was all about the externals.
Certainly there was an external element to National Israel, but true and undefiled religion in National Israel was still a matter of the heart. Deuteronomy 6, 4, and 5. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart. with all your soul, and with all your strength." So you see, what Samuel is doing here is not innovative.
Samuel is not creative. Samuel is not, you know, just kind of going by the fly. Samuel is teaching what the Word of God has always said. You are lamenting after the Lord, you need to pursue the Lord in the manner by which the Lord has commanded.
You need to repent, and you need to do so with all your hearts.
Repentance Defined
Westminster's shorter catechism says, what is repentance unto life? Repentance unto life is a saving grace whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God with full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience. Now we might take that and plug it in to that initial act of repentance when a sinner comes to the Lord Jesus. We believe on the Lord Jesus, we repent from our sins, that is an apt and fitting description of what repentance looks like in that particular instance.
But as Christians, We sin. As Christians, we need to renew repentance. As Christians, we need to engage in this grief and hatred of our sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience. You see, that's what repentance should look like in our hearts.
Not just here in Mizpah. Not just here in Kirjath-Jerim. Is this what repentance ought to look like? It ought to look like this in Chilliwack, B.C. in the 21st century.
Notice,
Exclusive Allegiance to Yahweh
not only a need for repentance and a need for the heart involvement, but as well a need to serve God alone. He goes on to say, return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the asterisks from among you. You see, this again is the first commandment. You shall have no other gods before me.
You do not lament after the Lord while you're carrying Baal under your arm. You do not lament after the Lord when you're leaving the house of Dagon with a plan to go back. You do not lament after the Lord with this idea that if it doesn't work out, I'm going to go back to Asherah. That's simply not the case.
The Lord our God is a jealous God according to the Second Commandment. The Lord our God is an exclusive God. The Lord our God will brook no rival. And we need to get that, and we need to understand that.
Davis mentions this element of tangible repentance. He says, genuine repentance, Samuel says, is a tangible repentance. It does not stop with tears and weeping. They've got that.
They lamented after the Lord. And notice, they don't stop there. And this is what he goes on to say. It does not stop with tears and weeping, but moves to concrete action.
Put away the foreign gods from among you. See the same demand by Jacob in Genesis 35 and by Joshua in Joshua 24. That's exactly what Joshua says at Shechem. They are to put away the foreign gods.
He says true repentance will meet Yahweh's demand for exclusive allegiance with whatever it takes to obey it. Samuel's demand is simply the reassertion of the first commandment. And I think this is very appropriate for us today. There are times when it may be the case that we sense the absence of God.
And we might find ourselves saying something like, I just don't know how to fix it. I just don't know what to do. I better go buy a book at the bookstore that talks about experiencing God. No, I think we all know what to do.
In many respects, we probably know enough right now to carry us till the very end. And I'm not suggesting that we stop by any means, because I think we all ought to seek to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But when you sin, you know what you need to do, don't you? And it's not like, well, I'm not sure.
You should know this. It's called repentance. It's called, Lord, please forgive me. So, Lord, if thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. There is that pardon my iniquity, for it is great. We know what we ought to do. The problem is, is that we don't always do it.
We need, by the grace of God, to seek to renew that repentance and to pursue those things which are pleasing in His sight. No one in Israel at this particular instance should have said, Wow, Samuel, you are such a mastermind. Wow, Samuel, this is cutting edge. Samuel, these are things we've never heard before.
Hopefully it's the case when you hear the Word of God preached. It's not this It's brand new stuff, but it's stuff rather that reminds you of things you already know and things you ought to be doing. You ought to put into practice the biblical knowledge that God has given to you. It was there in Kirjath-Jerim a long time.
It was their 20 years. There was a long period of time where they're seeking Baal, they're seeking Ashtoreth, and it comes after this long period that finally they're lamenting after the Lord. Samuel essentially says, you know what you need to do. Go read Moses.
Go read Deuteronomy. Go read the book of Exodus. Renew repentance and seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake His way. Bow before the Lord God Most High. Notice he goes on to say, prepare your hearts for the Lord. Prepare your hearts for the Lord.
Again, this isn't a cause and effect. Because I prepare, God's necessarily going to bless me. No, the idea here is probably use the means, genuinely renew repentance, genuinely understand what the will of God is, genuinely pursue the knowledge of God that you should already possess. Prepare your hearts for Him.
This is what is said of Ezra in Ezra 7.10. It says that Ezra prepared his heart to study the law of the Lord, to do the law of the Lord, and then to teach the law of the Lord. This idea of preparation doesn't mean preparation is up, whereas there is a thing that a sinner can do to put him necessarily under the saving grace of God. but rather it is the people of God preparing their hearts for the Lord. And then again, this call to exclusivity.
Prepare your hearts for the Lord and serve Him only. You've got to part with this idolatry. You've got to stop with this conception that there's satisfaction, comfort, and blessing in something else. You've got to stop that manner of thinking.
Baal's not going to give it. Asherah's not going to give it. And certainly, Dagon's not going to give it. You serve him only.
You see, that's the path to blessing. That is the trajectory one takes in order to know the nearness and the blessing and the presence of God Most High. Then notice what else he goes on to say, and he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.
Faith and Repentance Together
I think this is the faith element. You see, they've got a return. That speaks to repentance. But our repentance is never just a bare act.
We repentingly believe and we believingly repent. In other words, when we return to the Lord, we in the language of Hebrews 11 believe that He is, and we believe that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. You see, it's faith and repentance. It's going back to the Lord, trusting in the reality that He is there, and trusting in the reality that He will indeed Bless His people.
We don't turn from idols to the true God without faith that the true God is in fact there. And this is the promise that Samuel gives them, and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. Praise God. The grace of God is operative. in Kirjath-Jerim this particular day.
And they're not at Mizpah yet. In Kirjath-Jerim, the grace of God is evident. How do we know? Because of verse 4.
So the children of Israel put away the bales and the ashtoreths and served the Lord only. Love that, only. That's very important because you see what sinners sometimes do is they'll go to the Lord, but they'll keep Baal and Ashtoreth in their pockets just in case. See, it's called syncretism.
We want to cover all of our bets. We want to cover all of our options. Sure, we'll serve Yahweh, but we're going to also have Baal because we want our crops watered. and we're going to keep Asherah because we want our wombs fruitful. So we're going to try and have each and every one of them so that we can get the best of all the gods.
No, what we see here is that they responded favorably to Samuel's call to exclusivity with reference to the worship of the living and true God. And then notice, we move to Mizpah. It says in verse 7, I'm sorry, in verse 5, and Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you. 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. And Samuel's a good brother. He prays for them. Isn't that what you want?
Somebody in this world that prays for you? I mean, that's a blessing, isn't it? I think Samuel is functioning typologically here as well. Who is it that always lives to make intercession for his people?
Who is it that is enthroned at the right hand of the majesty on high? Who is both our advocate and our intercessor? We have the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. And certainly Samuel is functioning typically this way.
Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you. The people poured out water before the Lord. I don't know the significance of this. The commentators, there's several things that are offered, why they would have done that.
That would be a good assignment for one of you and you can report back next week as to why they poured it out before the Lord. Notice they fasted that day. Fasting oftentimes accompanies this humility before the Lord, this repentance, this idea that we're emptying ourselves of food and those basic necessities for a season and a time to commune with our God, to get close to our God, and to show this humility, or rather it manifests or evidences humility before the Lord God. And then notice, they as well confess their sin.
We have sinned against the Lord. That is an element, a necessary ingredient to biblical repentance. Now, when we go before the Lord our God, we say, Lord, please forgive me. For I have sinned.
Lord, forgive me, because I this, that, or the other." This is what part of repentance is. It's one of those things that Jesus teaches us. We are to pray for forgiveness. And the fact that he tells us we pray daily for our bread, and then the next two petitions are spiritual in nature, forgiveness and protection, we ought to probably include or conclude, rather, that we not only daily pray for temporal food, but we daily pray for that spiritual forgiveness and that spiritual protection that only our God can grant to us.
So we have sinned against the Lord, and Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. Samuel's ongoing work then, Mrs. Davis, did not consist merely deciding legal disputes, but of reproof, instruction, and counsel for living under Yahweh's Lordship. a very accurate, very apt description of the manner in which Samuel functioned as a judge in Israel at this particular time. So notice, we see their longing in verse 2.
We see the preparation in verses 3 to 6. Now
The Presence of God
notice in verses 7 and following, the presence of God. They experience His blessing. They experience his blessing, only this wasn't the experience that some of us treasure. You know, we go to our secret place and we pray and we feel all warm and built up and blessed, and I'm not suggesting there's anything wrong with that.
But they experienced his blessing in the sense that the Philistines ran from them. They experienced the blessing of Yahweh and the fact that He protected His people in the land that He had covenanted to give to them. Notice verse 7a. Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel.
This would have been easy pickings, right? Israel wasn't at Mizpah armed. They weren't strategically setting together a battle array. They weren't there ready to face the Philistines.
As far as the Philistines and the lords of the Philistines were concerned, this was going to be easy pickings in Mizpah. We're going to go in. We're going to decimate them. We're going to teach them a lesson about what happened with reference to the Ark of the Covenant being in our land.
Remember the incident in Ashkelon and Gath and Ekron? The Lord God is that covenant is going around and what appears to be a defeat is actually a victorious conquest as he goes from city to city bringing emeralds and all manner of horrible things upon the Philistines. I mean, they're bleeding, they're dying, they're suffering, and yet they've captured the Ark. What do they do when they get to Ekron?
Let's get it out of here. Send it back to Israel. So perhaps they're thinking, the Philistines that is, when we get to Mizpah we can teach them a lesson for having given us the Ark of the Covenant to begin with.
Israel's Prayer Over Military Force
Notice the response of Israel to this. Verse 7b, And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. So the children of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines. You see, I'm not suggesting that everything from here on out is happily ever after in Israel's history.
You've got to read the Old Testament pretty optimistically. I mean, you get a chapter or two of good, and then it's not long until you've got a chapter or ten of bad. Okay? But when they're doing well, we need to be thankful.
When they're doing well, we need to be encouraged. We need to be happy. And they're doing well. They've learned a valuable lesson.
In this instance, they don't say, go get the Ark of the Covenant from Kerjath-Jerom, and let's trot it out, because then we'll magically win the Philistines. No, what do they do now? They're afraid of the Philistines, and they say to Samuel, do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines. This is the appropriate response.
It's not manipulating God, it's not trying to reduce God to a magic act, but rather it is crying out to God in despair and asking Him to vindicate His people. John Gill says, and the children of Israel said to Samuel, to whom they applied, not as the general of their forces, but as the prophet of the Lord. You see, Samuel's a judge, but that's not what they're asking for here. They're not saying, do what Samson did to the Philistines.
Find the jawbone of an ass and take care of these Philistine lords in Mizpah. No, they say, cry out to the Lord. They are appealing to Samuel, the prophet, not Samuel, the military leader. This is a good sign, brethren.
They've humbled themselves under the Lord, after whom they have lamented. This evidences and manifests that they mean business at this particular time. He says, but as the prophet of the Lord, believing his prayers for them would be of more avail to them than an army of men ever so numerous or so well accoutred. Isn't that what Mary, Queen of Scots, reckoned?
She feared the prayers of John Knox rather than an army of 10,000 men? They've learned that. It's not military equipment. It's not the Ark of the Covenant.
It's not any physical thing. We need the strong arm of God Most High to come and to vindicate His name among us. He says they said to cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us. He had been praying for them that day and they desired he would continue praying for them well knowing that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
They knew their salvation was of the Lord, and that He only could save them, and that He must be sought unto for it. And as Samuel had an interest in Him, they begged He would continue to make use of it on their behalf, in which they expressed their trust in God, their regard to means, the duty of prayer, and the high esteem they had of the prophet of the Lord. whom they entreat to pray for them." That is a beautiful statement. Now, if you were in Mizpah and you saw a fearful, trembling Israelite who was calling out to Samuel saying, please pray to the Lord to deliver us. And if you were to ask him to parse this, he probably wouldn't be able to say it as well as John Gill did.
He's afraid. He wants deliverance. He cries to the prophet. and he says pray. Listen to what Gil says.
In which they expressed their trust in God. First and foremost. Right? Pray to God for us.
Their regard to means. They're praying. They're not seeking to manipulate. They're not seeking to engage in holy magic.
The duty of prayer, you see, You ask and you shall receive. This is a lesson our master taught us. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened unto you.
And the high esteem they had of the prophet of the Lord, whom they entreat to pray for them. Davis makes this comment. He says, Israel's plight is admittedly pathetic. Right?
Imagine. Israel's gathered at Mizpah. You've got no arms. You're not there in battle array.
You're not there so you can go out and kill Philistines. You are there to humble yourselves before the Lord. Added to that, you're fasting. I don't know about the actual ins and outs of battle, but I know I'd like to have something to eat at least within some degree of time that I've got to exercise energy in killing people and breaking things.
So you need energy to do those sorts of things. A humbled people, a fasting people. Maybe they're all grumpy. I don't know if you've ever gone without food and you get grumpy and your blood sugars are low.
You fight each other. You're not fighting Philistines. You see, they're easy pickets. This is a pathetic situation.
He says, Israel's plight is admittedly pathetic, but she occupies much firmer ground than in the crisis of chapter 4. One can't help noticing the contrast between an Israel that thinks she had coerced Yahweh's power by having his furniture and an Israel who sees her helplessness and can only resort to desperate prayer. You see, the people are where they ought to be, is what we see in this section. Samuel, Samuel's a champ in chapter 7 here.
Who wouldn't follow Samuel? It's very interesting, too. When a leader is called to service, at least in some of these instances, same thing will happen with Saul. What happens when Saul comes to power?
He defeats Ammonites, right? They're killing Ammonites until the heat of the day. That's very encouraging to the people who are called to follow this leader. It is a confirmation of, and the affirmation of, that they are God's servant to lead the people.
So when Samuel is the leader and victory comes under his leadership, this consolidates Israel to follow him. So it's another means whereby God is vindicating his servant in this particular instance. But for good cause, notice
Samuel's Intercession and Victory
in verse 9, Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel. And the Lord answered him." Again, typical of our Lord Jesus, that great intercessor for his elect. Samuel does that here in Mizpah.
And then what we find in verses 10 and 11 is the victory of the Lord. Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. Again, it's just so not ready for battle. You're offering up a sacrifice, you're not ready to plunge the knife into an attacker.
But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. Wouldn't you love to just see these things? I mean, I know we walk by faith, and we certainly didn't live there, but, man, I was, you know, be in a helicopter and see this, you know, all these Philistines, cocksure and ready to pounce upon Israel at Mizpah, thinking that the battle is in the bag, and then the Lord thunders from heaven, and they run like babies. They run like cockroaches.
Actually, they don't run like babies. Like cockroaches when the light is flipped on, the Lord thunders. They are confused and they were overcome before Israel. Verse 11, the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and drove them back as far as below Beth-kar.
Ebenezer: Stone of Help
Now, verse 12, here's Ebenezer, stone of hell. This is good. We need to erect a stone of help, an Ebenezer. We happen to have one as the New Covenant people of God.
It's called the Lord's Table. This is our stone of help. Every time we gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we do this in remembrance of me, we're renewing that blessed reality that Christ on the cross is our stone of help. It says, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the Lord has helped us, or hitherto hath the Lord helped us.
Now, it probably doesn't refer just to this 10 and 11, or to 7, 10 and 11, this victory over the Philistines. It probably has to do with Israel's history. You might wonder, how could that be the case when they suffered defeat in chapter 4? When they lost the ark in chapter 4?
How could it be when there was judgment and chastening and the severity of God turned upon them? A commentator named Blakey said this, all that Samuel has considered, even the defeat of Israel and the capture of the Ark, even this hitherto or thus far hath the Lord helped us. Everything. He says even amid the desolations of Shiloh, the Lord was helping them.
He was helping them to know themselves. helping them to know their sins and helping them to know the bitter fruit and woeful punishment of sin. You see, sometimes the best we can do for people is to let them be so that they might feel the repercussions of their particular sin or course of duty. a particular course so that they will come back. I mean, you keep pleading with somebody and pleading with somebody, and then you send two or three witnesses after that person, and they still don't hear it. They refuse to hear it.
You tell it to the church, then what do you do? You treat them as a heathen and a tax collector. Not because you hate them, not because you want bad for them, but because the Lord God has ordained it first and foremost for His glory and for the purity of His church. Because He knows that unchecked sin will spread like gangrene in a congregation. but for their well-being as well.
I've heard personal testimony of people that were excommunicated and they said that is what God used to show me my sin. Praise God there was a church that disciplined me and put me out so I would feel the repercussions of my waywardness and I would renew repentance by the grace of God. You see, we can look at Israel's history, or we ought to look at Israel's history, and see that every step of the way, God is working out His purpose and plan in their midst for His glory and for their well-being. He goes on to say, the lengths of the long chain denoted by Samuel's hitherto were not all of one kind.
Some were in the form of mercies. Many were in the form of chastenings. You see, probably all of us can testify, you know, when I went through that season and period, it was good for me. Isn't this what the psalmist says?
It was good for me that I was afflicted. This is a tough lesson, brothers and sisters, but this is how God deals with us. He deals with us as with sons, as with children that are needful of discipline, chastisement for their well-being and instruction. So this hitherto doesn't just point to this victory at Mizpah, but it points to the dealings of God with his chosen people throughout their history.
And then notice, this is the means by which they remember. And then
Effects of God's Blessing
the effects of his blessing are summarized in verses 13 to 17. So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. Some have stumbled here and said, well, wait a minute. What about when we get to Saul?
What about the Philistine oppression that continues when we pass chapter 8? There's still Philistines to deal with. Well, you have to be assured that if we saw that as a discrepancy, the man who wrote this would have seen that as a discrepancy. Right?
He doesn't write chapter 7 and say, we had no more problems with the Philistines. And then a couple of chapters later said, hey, by the way, we kept having problems with the Philistines. Davis offers up several ways that we ought to look at this section. The language of 13b indicates ongoing conflict during the days of Samuel.
Notice verse 13. So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. So it indicates that all the days of Samuel there was this ongoing conflict. In fact, those remaining chapters are probably an example of verse 13.
God subdued through those means that we'll read when Saul becomes king as Samuel continues to function, and so on and so forth. As well, the language is the language of a summary statement and shouldn't necessarily be pressed. Davis says, one could argue that in 713 and 714, our writer wants us to realize how important Samuel was. How important Samuel was.
He was really the shield of Israel. Samuel, he might be saying, was far more responsible for the safety of Israel than was the soon-to-be desired king, Saul. As I said, it exacerbates the problem of chapter 8. Monarchy is not bad.
It's the spirit in which they pursued the monarchy that's bad. It's like so many things in the Bible. It's not bad to have this. But it's bad when I pursue it at the exclusion of my God.
And in this instance, they put their trust in monarchy. They put their trust in being like other nations. And if Davis is right, what the author is telling us, they had everything in Samuel. I mean, look at verses 13 and following.
This man was doing his job. He sacrificed. He interceded. Notice it tells us the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel from Akron to Gath.
Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also, there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. So they had both internal and external peace in terms of their dealings. And then it closes with a statement concerning the ministry of Samuel.
Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord."
Application
So a couple of things before we close. First, the necessity of repentance. We've already covered this. We are lamenting after the Lord.
The first order of business is repentance. So I don't know of any big sins I need to repent of. You probably have them. Just try a little harder.
Open to Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5 and just go through that. The Ten Commandments will typically show you where you've got sin. If you make it through one to nine and you're congratulating yourself, spend some time on number 10. Because more than likely, number 10 is going to level you like it did the rich young ruler.
Secondly, the blessing of God, as already indicated, is tangible here. It wasn't, you know, blessed times in the quiet place, though I'm sure Israelites had blessed times in the quiet place. It was rather victory at Mizpah. It was thunder from on high.
It was the dispersal of their enemies who ran and fled from them. A third observation is this necessity of verse 12. Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shenn, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, thus far the Lord has helped us. Brethren, we need Ebenezers in our lives.
As Christians, we have the Lord's table. That is one of the primary Ebenezers that we have as the corporate body of Christ. We have an Ebenezer in our Bible. Certainly you are to take your Bible each day as a stone of help and read it.
Remember that the Lord hitherto has been our help. You need to refresh yourself, you need to remind yourself, you need to encourage yourself with what God has done, with what God has promised to do, and reflect upon what God has done in your own personal life. You see, amnesia, as Davis says in another place, is one of the quickest means to apostasy. Forgetting the blessing of God means most likely that we will leave the nearness of God.
Recall these things. Rehearse these things. Some people keep track in a book. They have a journal.
Now don't go from here and buy a journal because Jim Butler said you got a journal for Jesus. I am not saying that. I'm simply saying some people write things down, or they might put it on their computer, or they might think about it with, you know, on their... make a conscious mental note, or put a ribbon around their finger, whatever. We're prone to forget things, aren't we?
We're prone to not remember things. This is probably why we have the Lord's Table. Why bread? Why wine?
Why do those indicate for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, because we're prone to wander and prone to leave the God we love. And God has, in his mercy and in his kindness, not only list his word to us so that we can receive it, but he's list these elements to us so that we can make the tangible concrete connection between bread and body. wine and blood. The Lord died for me. He rose again.
You see, this is an Ebenezer. We neglect this to our own peril. We neglect the Bible, we neglect prayer, we neglect church, we neglect the the supper to our own peril. We need to set up these Ebenezers and we need to rehearse the fact that hitherto hath the Lord helped us.
Davis says we stand in the present but dwell on the past in order that we can be steadfast for the future. And then finally, Notice the ministry of Samuel in this passage. If I were to give you a piece of paper, we were to shut off the microphone, and I were to say, write down the most significant thing about Samuel, the one most significant thing in this chapter, I suspect that many of us would gravitate toward 10 and 11. This extraordinary deliverance.
Samuel offers up this burnt offering. He intercedes before the Lord. And what happens? God answers him.
And God thunders and God drives these Philistines out of Israel. And the Israelites get their land and property back. And it wouldn't be wrong to write that on your paper. But how many of us would write And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. There was the one event where God thunders and drives off the Philistines. But there's a pattern of several years of faithful ministry, right? Faithful ministry.
Not glamorous, not exciting. I'm sure as he's wandering around Benjamin, going from Bethel to Gilgal and Mizpah, he's probably reflecting to himself, yeah, it was pretty cool. And God thundered and drove out those Philistines from Mizpah. But he probably also reflected, this is as necessary.
This is as important. This is as much a help to the people of God as those extra ordinary manifestations of the power of God. We tend to remember the revival at Mizpah, but we don't always remember the normal, ordinary ministry in Benjamin. Brethren, to appreciate the entirety of Samuel's ministry, not just the power at Mizpah, but the faithfulness in Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah.
Davis says, it is instructive to have glimpses of Samuel in both a major crisis and routine duties. The Lord's servant usually has both, but frequently far more of the latter. There's going to be far more of the routine duties. He says crucial breakthroughs, verses 3 to 6, are exciting.
But patient consolidation, verses 15 to 17, is necessary if their impact is to be preserved. You see, you have revival. What happens in the wake? You need faithful preaching and teaching and shepherding and loving so that the people of God press onward.
He goes on to say. Fresh commitment requires plotting instruction to sustain it. The circuit through Benjamin is never as glamorous as revival at Mizpah, but it is the road for many of us. He says Yahweh has his altars there as well.
We have been trained to pursue celebrity. We have been trained to see only big churches is mattering. We have been trained that the glamorous and the revival is where God really is. And then we come into the church and it's a pretty normal service, but the word is preached and the people of edified are edified and somehow that's not as good. not according to God in 1st Samuel 7.
He's as much present in thundering and sending Philistines running from Israel as he is when Samuel trods year to year on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal and Mizpah. And he would always return to Ramah for his home was there. You see, he needed food, he needed sleep, he needed All those normal, routine, ordinary things. Samuel didn't sort of just float around Israel with his, you know, prophetic wings and just do his thing.
He went home, he got refreshed so that he could go back out and he could go from Bethel to Gilgal and to Mizpah so that he could continue this faithfully all the days of his life. So in the glamour and in the mundane, the Lord God Almighty was with him. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank You for this, Your Word, and we thank You for the lessons that we learned from the history of Israel. And I pray that You would grant us grace if, in our lives, we have sensed absence, that we would lament after You, that we would humble ourselves under Your mighty hand, that we would, by Your grace, renew repentance, and with our whole hearts seek You, Lord God. We ask that You would cause Your face to shine upon us, that we would know Your nearness, and your goodness and your kindness. And as well, God, we would see you in the big things, but we would see you in the in the still small voice or the small, still voice.
We would know your presence and your nearness in the routine and in the daily and in the normal and the ordinary and for our church life. Help us to be faithful and to plot on together for your glory and for your praise. And we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.