NBBC SS: 1 Samuel 7

Introduction: Unfortunately, Israel has seen defeat after defeat in 1 Samuel 4-6. Our passage today comes on the heels of that context.

Though it got very dark, this passage offers to us some incredible encourage and presents a bright spot in this otherwise gloomy period.

Let’s begin reading in 1 Samuel 7:1-2.

1 Samuel 7:1–4 “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.

What’s interesting is the fact that the ark has had a long journey so far?

When the Philistines had it, they were eager to send it back on account of the trouble they experienced.

When the men of Beth Shemesh received it, they were eager to get rid of it on account of how they mistreated it.

What do we notice is different between those two temporary stays and its resting place in Kiriath-Jearim?

The ark remained there for 20 years!

Instead of being swiftly sent back, it stayed in one place for a long time!

Under whose supervision did the ark remain during this time?

Eleazar’s, son of Abinidab.

What do we know about these folks?

They lived in Kiriath-Jearim.

They were father and son.

The ark was kept at the latter’s house under the supervision of the former for at least 20 years (but will be more as it will remain there until David retrieves it).

Otherwise, we don’t know anything else about them.

However, this is what the Spirit wants for us to know about them.

Was it an accident or intentional that Eleazar kept the ark?

Because he was consecrated for this service.

What does it mean to be consecrated?

To be set apart.

That is, Eleazar was specifically chosen for this service.

This was the work given to Eleazar to do.

Why would there need to be someone who kept the ark?

To protect it from being stolen, like the Philistines had.

To protect it from being mistreated, like the men of Beth Shemesh had.

Was Eleazar good at his job?

Yes, he was.

For 20 years.

Application: Brothers and sisters, what we see here is a refreshing breath of fresh air from an example of faithful service rendered to the Lord.

Since Eleazar was consecrated to this work of protecting the ark from theft and mistreatment, the men of Kiriath-Jearim must have seen something in Eleazar that convinced them he was the right person for this particular job.

What is it that they would have seen that would have convinced them that he would faithfully keep the ark for the foreseeable future?

Faithfulness.

Though we don’t know the specific example that they saw, Who is responsible for producing faithfulness in His people?

God; the NT identifies the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22.)

Brothers and sisters, we have not been given the task of keeping the ark safe from theft and mistreatment.

But the Lord still expects for us to be faithful in what He’s given us to do.

And, we must rely on Him to produce this faithfulness in us.

And, we can rely on Him for this faithfulness over the long haul, like we see with Eleazar.

Fun fact, the town that has replaced Kiriath-Jearim and stands to this day is Tell el-Azhar’.

The final part of this town sounds a lot like “Eleazar.”

It’s possible that this town stands as a testament for his faithfulness to what the Lord had given him to do in keeping the ark.

Transition: This example of faithfulness is contrasted with the latter part of v. 2.

1 Samuel 7:2 “and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.”

The term translated as “lamented” here has an interesting nuance to it.

It’s only used in a handful of places that include Micah 2:4 and its emphasis on how a group being judged will wail in bitter lamentation.

The other place outside of 1 Sam 7:2 is Ezekiel 32:18 concerning Egypt and its lamentation against the Lord’s judgment.

The nuance in view is the verbal exclamation that one makes when they are crying out on account of the pain and misery being experienced on account of judgment.

When we consider the context of 1 Samuel 7, what are the things that the Israelites would have mourned or lamented over?

Our initial thought might be defeat at the hands of Philistines that resulted in the theft of the ark and the deaths of men of Beth Shemesh for mistreating the ark.

Transition: However, to understand this, well need to look at the next several verses.

1 Samuel 7:3-4 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.”

What’s interesting is that Samuel doesn’t begin with, “Here’s your problem.”

Instead, how does Samuel begin here?

He starts with what the people should do to resolve their issue.

What is it that they must do?

They must turn to the Lord with all their heart.

What’s interesting is that the first “you” is plural and the “your” before “hearts” is plural.

Why is this important?

Samuel wants to point out the individual responsibility of the whole of the nation.

This is not about a segment of the people have an issue.

The whole of the people need to repent before the Lord.

Notice next that Samuel gets specific about what the people’s issue is.

They continue in idolatry.

They’re continuing in sin.

The people’s issue is sin.

Something that we have to address is how this is phrased.

Our initial thought might be, Samuel is only encouraging the people to repent in order to get something from the Lord.

Thus, our thought might be, “If I’m not getting what I want, or I’m uncomfortable, I just need to repent and everything will be better.”

Job’s friends tried to tell him the same message and it didn’t work.

What’s really going on here?

I looked up the use of the phrase, “If … with all your heart.”

The phrase is used in the OT in only 2 other places.

Deuteronomy 11:13; 1 Kings 2:4

What’s fascinating about both of these circumstances is the Lord gives a promise through His man related to something that the Lord has given to do.

In Deuteronomy 11:13, beyond the references to blessing the people with rain, grain, and that they would have something to eat, Dt 11:12 identifies that the Lord cares for His Land.

In other words, placing Israel in the Land was like Adam taking care of the Garden.

Adam sinned and was expelled from the Garden where God had given Him a specific responsibility.

If Israel would sin, they would not have what they needed to do what God had given them to do in caring for the Land that God had given them to take care of.

1 Kings 2:4 relates David’s parting words to Solomon, reminding him of his responsibility to obey the Lord and the result of having a perpetual line of kings.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord has given to David’s line to reign over the Lord’s people.

David was connecting here faithfulness to the Lord with God’s empowerment to do what the Lord had given them to do.

Application: Brothers and sisters, Israel had suffered defeat at the hands of her enemies on account of her sin.

While it’s not been given to us to care for a physical nation, or perpetuate a royal dynasty, or even to physically defeat our enemies, there are things that God has given us to do that sin will defeat us in.

Faithfully loving our spouse, faithfully raising our kids, faithfully discharging our responsibilities as an employee.

Brothers and sisters, this is not about repenting so that you can have a better life.

Israel didn’t repent so that they could have an easier life.

They repented because they had been defeated in being faithful to what the Lord had given them to do.

This is about repenting so that you are empowered to be faithful to the Lord, regardless of the circumstances, even when they get worse, as we’ll see here momentarily.

Transition: So far, we’ve seen a faithful man empowered by the Lord faithfully discharge the responsibilities given to him as contrasted with Israel’s recognized unfaithfulness that prompted their repentance. Their repentance was so that they could be empowered to be faithful rather than just get the easy life. Let’s see what happens next in the progression of this narrative.

1 Samuel 7:5–14 “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. 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. 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.”

While the Israelites’ action of pouring water on the ground may seem odd, it’s a further piece of evidence that the people were serious about pleasing the Lord and wanting to avoid sin.

In connecting this act to their seeking the Lord, they are really expressing that they want the Lord more than water, which is essential for life!

Hence, they see their relationship with the Lord as more vital than water (NAC)!

Application: Brothers and sisters, there are ways that we demonstrate with all gravity that our relationship with the Lord is the most vital relationship we posses.

We do so through taking sin seriously and by eliminating those things that would more easily tempt us to sin (cf. Mt 5:29-30; Col 3:5-8).

Are we this serious about pleasing the Lord?

Transition: What’s fascinating is that everything seems to be going right as the people have seriously turned to the Lord from their sin.

But then, something happens that would seemingly complicate the issue.

The Philistines see this as a prime opportunity to attack.

The enemy just loves scenes like this!

God’s people begin to get serious about dealing with sin and living to please the Lord according to His Word empowered by His Spirit.

Then, difficulty comes along that would tempt us to think that it’s not worth it.

However, how do God’s people respond here in 1 Samuel 7:8?

They ask Samuel to continue to seek the Lord for them!

In other words, the people find more motivation to continue to seek the Lord, not less!

Application: Brothers and sisters, though it may get tough and seem like it’s gotten worse when you’ve sought the Lord, don’t stop!

Look at how the Lord answered!

In 1 Samuel 7:10 not only did the Lord stop the Philistines dead in their tracks through a great thunder but Israel defeated their enemies in 1 Samuel 7:11.

Brothers and sisters, this was more than just God made something good happen for the Israelites!

No, God empowered His people to do what He’d given them to do in taking care of the Land that He had given to them!

They receive victory in what God had given them to do when they seriously repented and diligently sought Him, undeterred by the threat.

Application: Brothers and sisters, we too can see God’s hand at work among us empowering us to diligently please Him in what He’s given us to do.

Transition: Look at how Samuel and the people responded next.

1 Samuel 7:12–14 “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.” 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.”

Brothers and sisters, they celebrated God’s faithfulness through a perpetual monument that reminded them of what God did there.

Application: the reality is, we can celebrate God’s faithfulness through the songs that we sing, through the testimonies that we give, and even through this building that the Lord has given to us as a place to meet together and encourage one another.

Transition: I find it fascinating how the Spirit concludes this section in reflecting on Samuel.

1 Samuel 7:15–17 “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.”

We opened with an example of faithfulness in Eleazar.

We close with an example of faithfulness in Samuel.

And God’s Spirit was using this example of faithfulness to encourage the people to continue to pursue the Lord, as they had at Mizpah, even when facing the threat of the Philistines.

Application: Brothers and sisters, can the same be said of us?

Do others look to us as examples of faithfulness that they can run to for encouragement to live to please the Lord?

Even when it gets hard?

Conclusion: We’ve seen a faithful man faithfully discharge his responsibilities; a people recognize their sin and take it to the Lord, even through difficulty; and a man faithfully lead a people to continue to live faithful to the Lord.

These kinds of things are only possible if the Lord is working in us. The Lord works in us through His Spirit. We have His Spirit when we have believed on the Lord Jesus as our Savior.

Though it was a different time, we still need God’s Spirit to empower us to faithfully live to please the Lord according to His Word in the things that He’s given us to do. And we can rely on the Lord to help us to do so, even when it gets difficult to do so.