1 Samuel 7: Samuel Appear in the Land as National Prophet
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.” 4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths,and served the LORD only. 5 And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” 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
The revival began in Kirjath Jearim with the house of Israel lamenting after Yahweh for 20 years (7:2) “Then Samuel spoke”— "We have heard nothing of this judge since he served in the tabernacle [in Shiloh]. He was now grown up, and established for a prophet in the land of Israel." (Clarke)— "as from his appearance there is great reason to hope good." (Hawker's Poor Man's Comm.) ““The message he brings is the message of repentance and the assurance of faith. In simple words he addressed the people, who no doubt were prepared for it by their long period of humiliation. He demands that their true return to the Lord must be practical; the strange gods and Ashtaroth must be put away.” (Gaebelein)
Deliverance is conditional upon obedience: “'If you return unto the LORD with all your hearts,' for outward services and professions will avail nothing; 'then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you,' Destroy their images, altars, and groves: they are strange; you do not know them as helpers, saviours, or defenders. 'Prepare your hearts'— Let your hearts be straight and steady. 'And serve Him only'— Have no other religious service but His, and obey His laws—
And 'He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.'— Vain are your own exertions; He will deliver you in such a way as to show that the excellence of the power is of Himself alone." (Adam Clarke)
"Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth"—
"Baalim is plural, meaning several God's. Ashtaroth is singular and feminine, and therefore means but one, and that a she goddess. Is this Israel the beloved people of God who were thus led away to these filthy and dumb idols?" (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary) —
And they desired in their hearts to serve Yahweh.
“Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” (5) “So Moses prayed for the people at Rephidim Exodus 17:11-12; and for Miriam Numbers 12:13; so Elijah prayed at Carmel 1 Kings 18:36, 1 Kings 18:42; so Ezra prayed at the evening sacrifice Ezra 9:5; so the High Priest prayed for the house of Israel on the Day of Atonement.” (Albert Barnes)
"So they gathered together to Mizpeh," (6a) — all [spiritual] Israel: "'and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD,' that is, saith the Chaldee Paraphrast, 'They wept abundantly, as if their hearts had been springs, and their eyes as the fish pools of Heshbon.' Some think that they did really draw water and pour it out, in token that they did pour out their souls to God in prayer; and by this ceremony they did further stir up themselves also so to do.... Some think that by this 'water poured out,' they washed off the ashes that they had sprinkled on their heads, in token of their true repentance..." (John Trapp) And they fasted that day.
People have a lot of strange ideas about the God of heaven based on human experience or reasoning, but they have no assurance, nor peace. They must likewise put away the strange gods from among them and pour out their hearts with prayer and fasting. Then they will be enabled to hear the voices of the prophets and the apostles and thus find “the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy.” (Isaiah 57:15)
"They that wait upon Yahweh shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)
Yeshua Messiah will reveal Himself to us and pray for us, making intercession for us according to the will of God. He ever live at God‘s right hand to make intercession for us! "Oh! how sweet and refreshing it is to view even the most distant shadows of Him whose glorious office as the advocate and intercessor, is the sure hope and confidence of His people in all ages! Psalms 110:4.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
Repost After Walk: 1 Samuel 7: Yahweh Helped Israel
7 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. 8 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.” 9 And 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. 10 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. 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car. 12 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.”
The Philistine response: “The sudden destruction of the Phœnician idol shrines throughout the country, followed immediately by the summons of a vast popular assembly, held in so conspicuous a place as Mizpeh in Benjamin aroused at once the warlike nation which had so long kept Israel in servitude. The Philistine leaders promptly assemble a powerful force, and proceed to interrupt the Mizpeh gathering... The fear on the part of Israel was very natural. They were unarmed—or, at least, very poorly armed and equipped—the assembled Israelites saw from the heights the advancing Philistine army. What hope was there for their ill-disciplined masses when they joined battle with that trained host of fighting men? But Israel remembered the days of old, and how, when Moses prayed, ‘the Angel of His presence’ saved them. Had they not then with them there a seer equal to Moses, greater than Joshua, one with whom the Eternal of Hosts was wont to speak, as friend speaketh with friend? So in that supreme hour of danger they turned to Samuel the seer. We are just going, they said, all unarmed to meet that armed host; ‘cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us.’” (C. J. Ellicott)
The children of Israel had assurance based on the recent revival, but they were not self-sufficient. They went to the prophet of Yahweh and asked that he continue to pray for them. And Samuel did not pray first and get the answer of burnt sacrificed. Sacrifice was plainly revealed in the Pentateuch.
“Then Samuel took a suckling— eight days under its mother before it could be offered, as the law says, Leviticus 22:27.” (Adam Clarke)— “and offered it as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh.” (9a) The offering got what Israel deserved. No priest was needed for a prophet to sacrifice. “This he did as a prophet immediately inspired of God. This Elijah did on mount Carmel when no priest was present.” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
“Was not the sucking lamb typical of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world? And was not the unceasing prayer of Samuel a representation of his eternal priesthood, whoever liveth to make intercession for sinners! Precious Jesus! how satisfying the thought, how refreshing the consideration, that every sacrifice, every offering under the law, and all the prayers of thy servants, derive their efficacy wholly from thy one all-sufficient sacrifice, by which thou hast forever perfected them that are sanctified: and by thy all prevailing mediation, by which alone all our persons and all our prayers find acceptance in the beloved!” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
"Then Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him." (9b) “And mark how the Lord acted for his people. He suffered them to fear, He suffered them to cry for a moment; He suffered their faith to be exercised, whether He would be mindful of His Word, having promised to defend the land while the people attended the national festivals. Then in anger He thundered from the heavens against the old and hard oppressor; then He appalled their soul with the fear and terror of His arm. Then the affrighted host fled in confusion; and the trembling Hebrews, venturing to pick up the weapons the enemy had cast away, pursued them to the fortress of Beth-car. [House of the Lamb!]
Who said that God had forsaken His people?” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen,” “where, before, the Israelites had been beaten, and the ark taken. [1 Sam. 4:1])” (Trapp)— “and called its name Ebenezer (Stone of Help), saying, “Hitherto the LORD has helped us!”— “For all Jehovah’s help is only ‘hitherto’--from day to day, and from place to place--not unconditionally, nor wholly, nor once for all, irrespective of our bearing.” (A. Edersheim)
Let us therefore continue to walk in the way of the church fathers, persevering to the end. For "although the victory did not complete the deliverance from the oppression of the Philistines, yet it pointed to the fact that Jehovah was once more with the army of Israel, and therefore this token of thanksgiving in the name of the whole people properly expressed the sentiments which were stirring their hearts.” (Kretzmann)
“There are interesting parallels between Israel’s defeat in 1 Samuel 4, and their triumph here. Thus in 1 Samuel 4 it was Israel who were ‘smitten, struck down’ by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:2-3; 1 Samuel 4:10), here the Philistines are ‘smitten, struck down’ by Israel (1 Samuel 7:10).
In 1 Samuel 4:3 Israel look in vain to the Ark to save them from their enemies, in 1 Samuel 7:8 they look to YHWH to save them from their enemies. In 1 Samuel 4:21 the result is the naming of Ichabod (for she said, ‘the glory has departed), in 1 Samuel 7:12 the result is the naming of Ebenezer (for Samuel said ‘YHWH has helped us’). 1 Samuel 7 is thus a reversal of the whole situation.” (Peter Pett) Let us, like Israel of old, go to Jesus daily as enemies array against us, pleading His shed blood only. And let us place memorials stones at each site to remember His mercies.
1 Samuel 7: Yahweh Was With Israel All the Days of Samuel
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. 14 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.
“So the Philistines were subdued,”— they were not totally driven out but aggression ceased. So the victory was more than one battle. “This success of Israel at Ebenezer, but was the sign of a new spirit in Israel, which animated the nation...” (C. J. Ellicott)— “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.’ (13) — not all the days of his life, but all the days of his sole government.” (John Gill) with Yahweh alone as King and Samuel as His prophet.
“The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath;”— “We are not informed of the particulars of these reprisals, but we may rest assured all this was not done in one day: perhaps the retaking of the cities was by slow degrees, through the space of several years.” (Adam Clarke) or perhaps it was “not by dint of sword, but by demand, to which they submitted.” (John Gill) Indeed, all worldy successes are but temporal. “Let no one be excessively confident the second time.” (John Trapp) Even for the church, the spirit of the Ebenezer victory should reign in us, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”
“From Ekron to Gath”— "This definition is probably to be understood as exclusive, i.e., as signifying that the Israelites received back their cities up to the very borders of the Philistines, measuring these borders from Ekron to Gath."—(Karl Fredreich Keil) Philistines continued to live in the coastal plains, “though tributary to Israel, much as is the case with the Gaza strip now in 1990… ‘Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.’...These were highland dwellers in Israel who had been put under tribute, not being expelled from the land. Samuel's intercession was evidently effective in this case also, to preserve peace...” (L. M. Grant) in Judah.
These other enemies “thought it the best policy not to undertake any campaigns against the children of Israel.” (Paul Kretzmann) They did not attempt to molest them, “when they found the Philistines, the most powerful of the ancient inhabitants of the land, broken and subdued before them.” (Adam Clarke)
"When a man's ways please Yahweh, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Isa. 26:3) Even unbelievers have a high regard for us and we likewise pay no mind to their slights nor offenses, for we desire only desire to glorify Jesus and His eternal kingdom. We have a story: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.” (Isa. 9:6-7a)
1 Samuel 7: Samuel Judged Israel in Ramah
15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. 17 But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the LORD.
“And Samuel judged Israel”— by Torah— “all the days of his life.” The tabernacle was dysfunctional, but Samuel fulfilled the oath of his mother who loaned him to serve Yahweh as long as he lived. “He was decisive in word and action, and he was fully in touch with God.” (Payne)
He was also in touch with man. “In this way Samuel spent his life like Him whose type he was, 'always about his Father's business.’ An unselfish man, having no interests of his own, full of zeal for the service of God and the public welfare.” (Expositor's Bible Commentary)
He was a national treasure— a judge from the land of Judah. “‘And he went from year to year in circuit.— For the people’s ease and conveniency; which the magistrate ought to provide for, as Jethro adviseth. [Exodus 18:17-23]” (Trapp) “When he was at Bethel, the tribe of Ephraim, and all the northern parts of the country, could attend him; when at Gilgal, the tribe of Benjamin, and those beyond Jordan, might have easy access to him; and when at Mizpeh, he was within reach of Judah, Simeon, and Gad; but Ramah was the place of his ordinary abode; and there he held his court, for there he judged Israel.” (Adam Clarke)
Shiloh had been destroyed and the judge took up his primary residence and central office in Ramah, the place of his natural birth, where his parents lived. And there he built an altar unto Yahweh “the symbol of a vital relationship to God based on the value of Christ's sacrifice.” (L. M. Grant) This was needed for the tabernacle was also in ruins and there was “no formal seat of worship, where the high priest and his attendant priests and Levites served. And the Ark, we know, was in safe keeping in the ‘city of woods,’ Kirjath-jearim, but it was in private custody; and we hear of no priests and Levites, of no ritual or religious observances, in connection with the long sojourn of the holy Ark in that place.“ (C. J. Ellicott) “Therefore, as the patriarchs did, he built an altar where he lived; and that not only for the use of his own family, but for the good of the country, who resorted to it.” (Joseph Benson)
Altars of old had been built in every place by the family unit, after the example of Adam, but the revelation of Yahweh to Moses on the mount centralized worship centered around the sanctuary. But now, here, there were not many but one national altar to deal with the sins of Israel, “when the people came to have justice administered to them.” (John Gill)
Samuel judged with righteous judgment and ceased not to pray for the people who brought their cases to him. And in the Spirit— as head of the larger house of Judah— he taught, instructing them in righteousness. “The Holy Ghost hath ranked him among the worthies of faith, and given us thereby authority to say, that it was through faith that he subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, and obtained promises. Hebrews 11:32-33.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)