1 Samuel 7:3-17 Samuel Leads Israel to Victory
Notes
Transcript
Today we are on the 4th sermon in our series called a Prophet and 2 Kings.
In the first 4 chapters of 1 Samuel,
we see the transition between God dealing with the priest’s at the temple
and
raising up the young prophet Samuel.
Eli and his 2 sons Hophni and Phinehas,
all die and the young prophet Samuel who has been ministering before the Lord steps in as the spiritual leader of Israel.
It is important to remember,
how Samuel continued to minister before the Lord even though the spiritual climate of the people around him were spiritual dead.
Samuel constantly stayed true to his faith in God.
Samuel was found faithful in a faithless generation.
Our text is going to be in chapter 7 this morning so we are not going to read chapters 4, 5, and 6.
However I will give you a brief overview of what happens In those chapters.
I chapter 4 we witness the deaths of Eli and his 2 sons Hophni and Phinehas which fulfilled the Word of the Lord.
Also, in chapter 4 we see the ark of the Lord is captured by the Philistines.
In chapter 5 we see the ark is brought into the temple of Dagon.
And the idol Dagon ends up fallen face down before the Ark multiple times
and
the last time it falls the idol’s head and hands broke off.
Then the Lord’s anger burns against the Philistines
and
brings plagues and death among the people.
The Philistines realize that it is not a good idea to treat the Ark of God like a trophy,
so they send it back to Israel.
So in chapter 6 the ark is returned to Israel.
But in the process of the ark being returned,
the Lord strikes down some of his own people because they disrespected the ark.
It is after this that we see the Prophet steps back into the picture and speaks to the people of Israel.
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered at 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 people of Israel at Mizpah.
True spiritual leaders call people to repentance.
True spiritual leaders will not ignore sin,
but will deal directly with sin…
Pretend spiritual leaders.. (Photoshop mask)
[Samuel deals with the problem of idolatry]
Samuel steps into a broken situation
and
leads the nation of Israel back to God.
Robert D. Bergen writes,
Hophni and Phinehas had sought to bring victory to Israel by bringing the Lord’s ark against the Philistines. Samuel brought victory to Israel by bringing Israel back to the Lord.
Samuel can lead them back to God,
because Samuel knows God...
(you cannot impart what you don't have)
Hophni and Phinehas could not lead Israel back to God,
because they themselves did not know God.
Whereas Samuel knew God,
so he could lead Israel to what he knew.
Samuel is found consistently ministering before the Lord,
which established the Word of the Lord in the young Prophet. (Consistent)
In the secrete place God has been preparing this young man to be a Prophetic voice to Israel.
I want to say the victories in life are won and lost in the secrete places.
Before Samuel was seen by man as a Prophet,
he was winning battles of staying faithful to God in the secrete place.
Samuel could have easily become discouraged by what was happening around him and fell away from ministering before the Lord.
But in times of waiting he pressed into the things of God.
It should be no surprise to watch the hand of God on someone’s life,
when they have been faithful in the little things.
What is often overlooked in the church,
is the person who is consistently faithful.
Not just faithful to serve from the stage,
but faithful to serve when no one is watching.
There is beauty in the process…
(God working on things now in you)
Samuel was faithful through the process,
and
because of that he found favor with God.
Samuel was able to lead Israel toward a relationship with God,
because he himself had a relationship with God.
Samuel begins with calling Israel to repentance.
Samuel calls Israel to turn away from idolatry and towards the pursuit one true God.
Samuel calls for fasting and corporate pray to God.
In the middle of Samuel leading Israel in a Spiritual renewal,
something happens in the process.
7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
As Israel is moving towards God,
the enemy steps into their path.
Israel is turning their lives around.
They are removing things from their lives that are a hindrance to their relationship with God.
They are having a time of corporate prayer and fasting.
And what happens?..
The enemy hears what Israel is doing and immediately goes to attack them.
Does this sound familiar to anyone? [Testing]
Example… start going to church… false impression...
Israel is tested in their faith and this is what happens…
8 And the people 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 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.
(How we respond to our testings bring either victory or defeat…)
[don't quite]
As Israel continued to cry out to God for help,
the Lord responded with a mighty sound.
This mighty sound sent the Philistines into a time of confusion,
where Israel begin to defeat the Philistines and drive them out of their land.
It is important to remember,
that the nation of Israel is the same nation a few chapters earlier,
that had suffered a great lose against the hands of the Philistines.
The same nation that was left broken after the great lose in battle.,
was able to defeat their enemies because they turned to God for help...
(How many know God is the one who brings true victory?…)
After this great victory for Israel,
Samuel does something interesting…
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”
We see in the Old Testament how people set up markers to remind them of God’s faithfulness.
In Genesis 28, Jacob set up a stone in Bethel to be a reminder of the powerful vision of God that he experienced there.
In Joshua 4, God directed Israel to set up a memorial at Gilgal of 12 stones to be a reminder of God’s love and miraculous assistance.
Everyone of us have moments in our past that are good to recall,
to remind us of God’s faithfulness.
(Verizon chairmen’s club Plaque....)
What Samuel did was a lot bigger than what we might first understand at first glance.
Let me unpack what I mean… this is important...
Samuel called the memorial stone Ebenezer which means “the stone of help”
Samuel called it Ebenezer because the Lord has been faithful to help his children.
Samuel said “Till now the LORD has helped us.”
The name Ebenezer is significant,
because Israel at this point is not associate Ebenezer with the Lord’s faithfulness to help.
Rather at this point in time,
Ebenezer is associated with defeat.
1 Samuel 4:1b (ESV)
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.
It was at the battle where Israel is encamped at Ebenezer that they suffer tremendous lose.
Therefore, the name Ebenezer (the stone of help) should be a reminder of God’s faithfulness to help.
but instead it had become a reminder of Israel’s humiliating defeat.
When Samuel set up this memorial stone named Ebenezer,
the name was being restored back to it’s original meaning of how God is faithful to help...
(Church meaning being restored… Marriage is being restored… Family is being restore…)
[hour of restoration]
Close with this…
13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.
15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. And he built there an altar to the Lord.
The hand of God was with Samuel....
And the hand of God was against the enemies of Samuel…
Samuel was constantly reminded of God’s faithfulness…
1 Samuel 7:16 (ESV)
And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places.
Bethel Jacob vision of Israel’s future Genesis 28
Gilgal God told Joshua to put 12 stones, reminder of the promise land Joshua 4
Mizpah Samuel Ebenezer 1 Samuel 7
