We have not seen Samuel mentioned since Chapter 4. It is believed that he was not consulted by the elders when they decided to take the ark into the battle during which it was captured by the Philistines. If he was consulted, his advice must have been disregarded. But now that the ark is back within Israelite territory, we are told, "Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord." (1 Samuel 7:2a) Previously we found an attitude of taking the Lord for granted and of attempting to use the ark as a good luck talisman. But now a widescale attitude of repentance prevails. It is during this time that Samuel is brought back into the text.
"So Samuel said to all the Israelites, '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.' So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths and served the Lord only." (1 Samuel 7:3-4) The main reason for allowing the people to fall under Philistine oppression at this time is the same reason as in the past when they fell under the oppression of various enemies: idolatry has crept into the nation. I believe there was private idolatry taking place involving the installation of "household gods" in many of the homes. And I believe there was public idolatry taking place, with the setting up of idols in the public squares (as the father of Gideon did in Judges 6, for example) and pagan ceremonies and pagan feasts. Now, seeing that a spiritual revival is taking place, Samuel calls upon the people to renounce idolatry, individually and as a nation.
"Then Samuel said, 'Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.' 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.' Now Samuel was serving as leader at Mizpah." (1 Samuel 7:5-6) The pouring out of water likely symbolizes the pouring out of their hearts and souls to the Lord. Attached to this action is a sense of surrender: the pouring out of themselves as an offering before God in submission to Him as Lord of their lives.
While the people are gathered at Mizpah on this solemn occasion, the Philistines decide to attack them. "When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them." (1 Samuel 7:7a) We don't know why the Philistines chose this particular time and place to engage the Israelites in battle. When the Bible says "all Israel" is assembled at Mizpah, I think it probably means that representatives from every part of the nation have come together. It does not seem possible or practical that every citizen of the nation gathered together at the same time; we are talking about millions of people. Perhaps the Philistines viewed the gathering at Mizpah (located approximately eight to ten miles north of Jerusalem) as a good opportunity to slaughter the representatives of all the clans of Israel. Or perhaps the Philistines wrongly assumed that the leaders had assembled at Mizpah to plan to wage war with them. Or it could be that they believed the Israelites were vulnerable to attack while they wept and fasted at Mizpah.
The rulers of the Philistines numbered five in all, according to earlier passages of the book of 1 Samuel, so when the Bible tells us that the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them, it means that each of these five men came up with a large number of soldiers. We don't know how many Israelites were gathered at Mizpah but they are evidently outnumbered by the approaching Philistines. "When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. They said to Samuel, 'Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that He may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.'" (1 Samuel 7:7b-8)
The people feel the Lord will hear Samuel even if He doesn't hear them. Their regret over sin and idolatry may be causing them to give in to doubt that the Lord will answer them, so they ask Samuel to intercede on their behalf. There are times in life when, even if we have not been living in opposition to the Lord, we may be unable to pray for ourselves and will need others to pray for us. An example of that would be when in extreme distress after receiving bad news. The Israelites, in today's text, have just received bad news: the Philistines are on their way to attack them. Their thoughts are scattered by the anxiety this news produces. They may be clinging to "false guilt" after repenting of sins and this false guilt is preventing them from feeling like they can ask God for help. Whatever is the reason for them asking Samuel to intercede, he doesn't preach them a sermon on praying with confidence. He doesn't chastise them for experiencing doubts and fears. That would not be helpful under these time-constrained circumstances. He immediately takes action instead. "Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel's behalf, and the Lord answered him." (1 Samuel 7:9)
At Mizpah we've been told that the people poured water out before the Lord while they fasted and prayed and confessed their sins. But we have not been told they made a sacrifice for atonement. They likely intended to do so but news of the approaching Philistines reached them first. Samuel sacrifices a lamb for atonement for their sins because, as the Apostle Paul worded it, "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22) The Israelites confessed their sins but, since "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a), a price must be paid for their sins. It must be atoned for by blood. It must be redeemed by blood. The law allows for a substitute to stand in the place of man to atone for sin and that is why a lamb dies a substitutionary death for the people in our text today. This is why the Lamb of God, perfect and holy and spotless, died a substitutionary death for us! This is why you and I can confess our sins to the Lord today and receive forgiveness without our own blood being shed for our sins and without having to sacrifice an animal so its blood can symbolically atone for our sins. One perfect sacrifice was made for us, once and for all, by the Lamb of God. When we repent of sins and confess them to God the Father, we are doing it with the understanding that it is nothing but the blood of God the Son that makes us forgiven and righteous in the sight of a holy God.
"While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the Lord has helped us.'" (1 Samuel 7:10-12) The word "ebenezer" means "stone of help".
Earlier in the book of 1 Samuel the Israelites lost their fight against the Philistines because their hearts weren't wholly committed to the Lord. But now they have cast aside their idols and have given their allegiance fully to Him, so He grants them a mighty victory. Something we should take note of is that the Philistines attacked Israel both when they were living in disobedience to the Lord and when they were living in obedience to the Lord. Trouble comes at us in this fallen world when we are doing wrong and even sometimes when we are doing right. The difference is that, when we're living in obedience to the Lord, we are in a position to prosper through our circumstances. We are in a position to learn about the Lord, to be strengthened in the Lord, and to achieve victory in the Lord---whether that victory is spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, or financial. Whether or not He causes our circumstances to turn out the way we want, He intends to use our circumstances for our good somehow. (Romans 8:28)
I've been through a number of things in my fifty-two years on earth that I would have preferred not to go through. The only thing I wanted was for the Lord to make the troubles go away. But in looking back on them, although I wouldn't want to endure those same things again, I can see that the Lord caused good things to come out of those difficult times. I can see that He used those times to increase my faith. So when we see the Philistines coming against the Israelites in our passage today after they've repented of their sins, it's not because the Lord is punishing the Israelites. It's because they really need a big boost to their faith right now. When He intervenes on their behalf and throws the enemy army into panic and confusion, the people's doubts are lifted. Their faith is strengthened. Their confidence in the Lord is restored. They are no longer clinging to guilt over the past and feeling afraid that He will never fight on their side again. They've just seen Him fighting on their side!
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