Key Text: Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life (1 Sam. 7:15)
In our previous lesson, the Ark was brought from the city of Shiloh in order to assure the Israelites victory against the Philistines. But God punished the Israelites for their disobedience and sins. They not only failed to gain victory but the Ark itself was captured by the Philistines. Then the Ark was brought to the city of Ashdod and it was placed beside the statue of their god Dagon. Seven months later, however, when a great epidemic of tumors (probably bubonic plague) that ravaged the Philistines was attributed to the presence of the Ark in their midst, the Ark was placed in a cart and sent back into Israelite territory. After its return, the Ark remained first at Beth-Shemesh and then at Kirjath-Jearim, where it was kept for a period of twenty years.
It must be remembered that Samuel’s mission was to unify the people under God’s grace and mercy. The people had backslidden into idolatry. The true God was not like any of the other deities. The Ashtaroth were statues of goddesses of sex and fertility, and Baal was the chief Canaanite god, the son of Dagon, and the god of agriculture. God wanted His people to worship Him from the heart, but they had been influenced by the outward and visible form of Canaanite religion.
Samuel knew that an unarmed Israel could not safely be convened in the vicinity of the Philistines who were stationed only eight miles northwest of Kirjath Jearim. So, out of caution, Samuel gathered Israel to Mizpeh for religious-military purposes. The prophet exhorted fallen Israel “And they poured out their hearts in penitence, as waters before the Lord” v 5. The pouring out of water was an act of libation to the Lord, a symbol of worship, and an outward sign of the repentance that was in their heart. The Philistines heard about the convocation and were determined to squelch a budding revolution by attacking the Israelites. The Israelites asked the prophet to “Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us” v 8. Samuel did what the people asked and offered a “sucking lamb…for a burnt offering” (eight day old lamb) v 10. Then the Lord accepted the sacrifice, answered the prayer for deliverance, and again saved His people. The Lord thundered with a great voice and confounded the enemy with a mighty tempest of thunder and lightning. So, all Israel had to do was pursue the Philistines and defeat them. Samuel placed a historical marker there and he called it Ebenezer (stone of help). And, the Philistines “came no more into the coast of Israel” v 14. Samuel traveled the circuit from Ramah, his home, to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh, from year to year as a prophet, judge, priest, Levite, and ruler of Israel. The need for revival and unification of the nation was of utmost importance for Israel; perhaps, better than having no sacrifices at all. AMEN!
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