Delieverance

1 Samuel 7:1–2 NASB95

1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim 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. 2 From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

The ark had spread disaster in Philistia & Bethshemesh

Ended up with Kirjath-jearim

The name of the city: The City of Woods

It is where the ark would lay for the next 20 years

Watched over by Eleazar, son of Abinadab

Eli’s family, exterminated

Ancient Shiloh, destroyed or abandoned

During these dark times, the light of God shone bright upon them

For “all the House of Israel lamented after the lord”

Preparation For Victory In Repentance & Return

1 Samuel 7:3–6 NASB95

3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone. 5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 They gathered 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 sons of Israel at Mizpah.

At the time of the first fight…

Israel was full of idolatry & immorality

They lose

In pure dishonor & irreverence to God… stomp the ark out to the battlefield

They lose

And are heathens to the core with a FALSE love for God, and are just as bad as Baal worshippers

They were Israelites! People of GOD! Yet pagan to the core!

Is it not the same among some in the church? Who bear the name of Christ & assemble with the people of Christ… yet Christ be far from them

It’s not just the name of the deity that makes one an idolator, but the spirit of the worshipper himself, that makes him one

But notice, the difference in this second fight…

Samuel is named.. whereas his name is never mentioned among the defeat

The first requirement:

Come back to the Lord with all your heart

Practically speaking: Forsake Baal & Ashteroth

You cannot serve God and mammon

You cannot serve God AND anything

It must be Him alone… if it is Him at all

Real religion is exclusive… like love in a marriage

We too must cast away our idols and come back to Him with all of our hearts… unless our fate be like those 50,000 men

If we are to grab hold of Christ, our hands must be EMPTY. No, worldly, thing… can be infused within my devotion to God

We must yield ourselves COMPLETELY in the power of God to save.

The second requirement:

Assemble at Mizpeh, the hometown of Samuel

Jacob split ways with Laban… assembled for Levite & concubine Judges 20.

They drew water & poured it out… emblematic of one pouring out their spirit to God in penitence & faith

Along with fasting & confession

To ensure victory over your sin… you must confess… to the great confessor who confesses our name before the Father in heaven

Confession is what breaks the felt weight of sin upon our souls

It substitutes the expectation of continued sin, with the conviction of forgiveness and freedom in Christ!!!

It’s a blowing of the trumpet before entering the battle!

It marks our allegiance to Christ & our fight against pleasures of the world

But the Philistines have been watching.. saw the gathering at Mizpeh

1 Samuel 7:7–9 NASB95

7 Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and the Lord answered him.

An unusual stir around Mizpah..

Philistines, still on the prowl, find out.. and make moves to disperse them

And the terror that Israel once had, is now felt again when news of the Philistine army was headed towards them.

Yet they don’t run… or TROT the ole ark out there again, no… they seek Samuel’s help.

No man, or woman, can ever be defeated spiritually, by truly seeking the presence of God

Psalm 99:6 “6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They called upon the Lord and He answered them.”

A prayer of intercession is a powerful thing

But it reaches it’s perfection in the prayer of our great High Priest… who like Samuel and Moses, is on the mountain praying while we fight in the plain

As Samuel offered a suckling lamb for what Israel deserved… so too was Christ, the lamb of God, sacrificed in our place

The Victory On The Field Of Former Defeat

Familiar ground

Likely a strategic location for warfare

The Philistines had marched up to the point of that field… armor/chariots/weaponry

And Israel on the opposing side.

Its likely that for both armies, there were soldiers who fought in the previous battle… some remembering the agony of war, others anxious & with feelings of triumph

1 Samuel 7:10–11 NASB95

10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel. 11 The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.

The ark had brought defeat, but their sacrifice brought victory

God scattered the enemy.. A divine thunderstorm, inflicting confusion and chaos

It was God who routed them… not BY Israel but BEFORE Israel

God was the true victor

This is a story that gives us the hope of victory through Christ

Though we’ve been beaten

Though sin has taken hold for a time

Though we stomp through the same field of temptations we once gave way to

And even IF that sin re-establishes dominion over your life or mine, and begins to drag us off into slavery,

We have EVERY HOPE of being found righteous and victorious in the cross of Christ!

Confess your faults! Sound the trumpet! And yield to the power of Christ to FORGIVE and the power of the Spirit to STRENGTHEN you against it!

If we stand before the Philistines by our own might… surely there’s reason to fear. But God is greater than our fiercest adversary

YES! Continue to pray for God to forgive you, in humility! But pray also the assurance that God, you HAVE forgiven me! And I stand convicted of my faults and I will henceforth submit my soul unto you!

That in the final day, we will receive the crown of righteousness

The Grateful Commemoration Of Victory

1 Samuel 7:12 NASB95

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

It’s a great thing to look back and see what God has done

Early years

Conversion

Teachers & Elders

May the stone that commemorates our life… be Christ. For hither-by, THY help, I’ve come.

1 Samuel 7:13–17 NASB95

13 So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15 Now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He used to go annually on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then his return was to Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar to the Lord.