1st Samuel 7. AN END AND A BEGINNING Shiloh is out of the picture in the history of Israel from now on. It probably was destroyed by the Philistine war [4:1-18]. To mourn and complain does not solve the problems of our own making or even those things which come upon us unexpectedly. It is easy to complain about our problems, even to God, while we refuse to act, change and do what he requires. Complaints without corrective action from now on will do nothing. Returning to the Lord is the first thing than must be done when we know problems must be faced. We no longer should we allow anything to dictate to us as to what we do with our lives. Unless the Lord is first, whatever has that place is your idol. Money, material goods, success, pride and pleasure - anything that takes the place of God can never be a rival when one returns to the Lord. God must be Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.
Israel had been subservient to the Philistines for twenty years and had come to the place where they were mourning and finally were seeking the Lord. Samuel's prophetic ministry was to bring the word of God to His people but teaching that is not wanted was not accepted then any more than it is today. The kind of teaching Samuel gave was to first reach the conscience of the people and then the hearts after that. Apparently, he waited twenty years in comparative obscurity until the people of the Israel "lamented after the Lord." They were mourning because of the situation there were in under Philistine domination, but finally they began to seek the Lord Himself. It is not easy for a servant of God to wait patiently for God to do in the hearts of the people that which he cannot do.
For twenty years God was doing two things. He was preparing Samuel for the faithful, fearless and effective ministry that was needed, and He was bringing a self-willed sinful people to the place where their idols were no longer important to them and the Lord was the occupation of their hearts. Any barriers between us and God has to be removed before we can experience God's blessing, power and deliverance from the domination of our sinful flesh. No other claim can be allowed in our lives and hearts if we are seeking the Lord.
Baal, the so-called god of thunder and rain, was the chief god of the Philistines. It was their belief that in that way their god gave growth to the plants and success to agriculture. Ashtoreth was their god of love and war. People took advantage of that false belief to have sexual union with others beside their spouses. Worldliness today has claimed much of the influence and power of the church. There is not a real clear difference between those who claim to be Christians and those who are not. The only way back to spiritual power is repentance of sin and a return to a living active faith on the part of true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mizpah, means "watchtower," and Israel had some occasions take place there that made it a place of significance to them. Samuel was appointed by God to lead His people and it was to Mizpah he called Israel to come for prayer. Mourning for sin, penitence and repentance mark the beginning of revival among the people of God. It was at Mizpah, where he anointed Saul to be leader and identified as king [10:17]. Pouring water out before the Lord was a sign of repentance, turning from sin, turning from idols, determining to obey God alone. Confession and repentance go together when people come in faith to God. Sometimes it can be a help to remember crucial things of the past to help us through the present.
Samuel filled many different roles in his lifetime. He was a judge. a priest, prophet, counselor and God's man to communicate with God's people because he was God's servant. "Thy servant heareth." He was both a religious leader and political leader. He was God's spokesman. He administered justice as one of the greatest judges in Israel. He was dedicated to God and took that responsibility seriously. He obeyed God as a faithful steward to his calling. God had used His servant Samuel, who was the last of the judges, to be His answer to the prayer of the Israelis. He was the one chosen to act for God as the one to give direction and rule to the nation. He had all the characteristics of the judges before him and was used by God to bring in the time of the kings.
Israel had shouted with overconfidence twenty years earlier, but now twenty years later they had learned that dependence on God is the only way to victory. In their weakness and contrition, they were "like water spilled on the ground." The water on the ground and water from the eyes of the people of God drove them to seek the Lord. The restoration to fellowship with God comes when self-confidence is rejected and faith in God is real. We then turn our eyes to God rather than to be looking at the power of the enemy.
A new lamb in its weakness, sacrificed in its innocence to God, opened the doors to heaven to meet the weakness of God's people. God will glorify His Son and it is through Him alone we are accepted. On behalf of the people Samuel cried unto the Lord for deliverance from the enemy gathered to fight them. Samuel was not before them as a general leading an army, but in the middle of them all offering a sacrifice to God as a father would for his family. The thunder-god, Baal, the Philistines believed in was exposed as only the figment of human imagination. The response to Samuel's intercession was the thunder of God's power. The thunder of God's power was obviously real and the battle was won by the Lord Himself and the victory was Israel's. Our Lord Jesus Christ won the battle against sin and the power of darkness, and the blessings are ours.
On several occasions in the history of Israel memorials were raised as reminders of God acting for His people in miraculous ways. In Mizpah the stone of remembrance called "Ebenezer" was raised in the place of their defeat twenty years before and the victory the God gave them. God is the God of recovery and can restore failing people to become profitable to Him. Samuel didn't take any glory to himself but stood the rock up as a memorial to the glory of God. This rock would remind those who followed in the generations to come of the power of God when He acts for the benefit if His people.
These first seven chapters of first Samuel are about God's dealing with Israel through Eli and Samuel. Samuel was beginning to rise up in his service for God, and Eli's ending. Samuel's circuit of service in Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah and Ramah illustrate four areas of service in our lives as servants of the Lord. The names of each of those places give us insight as to what God does through us when we are faithful to Him in our service for Him. Bethel, the house of God, is the "pillar and ground of the truth," where we serve Him in our assembly life. We are accountable to God and to His people and the safety of God's house keeps us from going away from His revealed word. Gilgal was the first place the children of Israel stopped when they came into the promised land. The first thing done there was circumcision which means cutting off the flesh. To cut off the “lust of the flesh,” is essential in Christian service. Mizpah was the place where Israel finally proved itself as being faithful to the Lord. Samuel also was approved at Mizpah both by the Lord and His people. The approval of the Lord's people and of the Lord is still an essential part of our service for God today. Ramah reminds us that what we preach and teach elsewhere, we need to practice where we live. Our communion with God and the reality of our worship is dependent to a great extent on our personal fellowship with God and our fellow believers in Christ.
The beginning of the Lord's dealings in the Eli and Samuel story in chapters 1-7. starts with Hannah’s request answered by the gift of Samuel. Then it moves to his birth given in answer to prayer and Hannah’s prophetic prayer. His call happened in the same place Eli’s wicked sons were living. It was also the place a grave warning was given to Eli by an unknown prophet. Then the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel. From the time of his call, Samuel's ministry was during the time of the capture of the ark and death of Eli and the seven months the ark was among the Philistines and the return of the ark. For twenty years Samuel waited patiently until Israel was finally humbled and turned in repentance to the Lord. Through Samuel's intercession God brought victory in response to the repentance of the people and earnest prayers.
1st Samuel 7:6, 12. “And they gathered together 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 children of Israel in Mizpah… And Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”
MIZPEH … EBENEZER. They came from all over, it was good to see The ones God had planned to be His family – Come in repentance after putting false gods away – All coming to the watch-tower of Mizpah that day.
They fasted and prayed, that’s the way it should be – Even now when sin’s affect has stumbled others and me. Some things must be faced and ejected from life If there is ever to be a new outshining of light.
Mizpah was revealed where the big picture was seen And Mizpah revealed all the wrong that had been Hindering God’s people from what God truly wanted – He was willing to help them after they truly repented.
Things turned around, and it didn’t take long – God did what was needed after His people faced wrong – And forsook it and turned to the Lord alone – He accepted t heir offering and for their sin did atone.
“Ebenezer” reminds us the Lord is not far away. He sees and knows all we do and what we say. He draws near and helps the helpless – like we – And brings the victory that so greatly we need.
Lord, if ever there was a time, we need help; It is now – before this testimony is put on the shelf.
We are dying, the evidence is right before our eyes – Hear us, O God, give us a holy surprise!
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”