1 Samuel 7:2-17

1 Samuel: God and Kings

Hebron Church of Hope

1 Samuel 7:2-17

November 1st, 2026

Initial Outline - Structure

Setting vv.1-5.

Rising Tension vv.6-10a.

Climax vv.10b-11

Resolution vv.12-14.

New Scene vv.15-17.

Emphasis: Faithfulness

Context 

Literary Context

Passage Before - 1 Samuel 6 - the Philistine diviners are sought out for advice on what to do with the ark of God. They suggest sending it back to the people of Israel with an offering to appease God. The Philistines fail to see God for who he truly is and yet they are happy to see the cart sent off. Meanwhile the people of Israel receive the ark of God and some look within the ark and are struck down. God is holy and there is no one who is like him. The ark was taken care of by Abinadab and his son Eleazar was consecrated to care for it.

Passage After - 1 Samuel 8 - As Samuel grew old his sons were appointed as judges. However, they did not walk in faithfulness like Samuel. The elders of Israel went to Samuel and said appoint for us a king. Samuel was upset by this requests and prayed to the Lord. God showed Samuel that the people had not denied Samuel but that they had denied him as their God and King ruling over them. Samuel told the people what God had said and warned them. They continued to cry for a king to fight for them. God let them have exactly what they asked for.

Historical and Cultural Context

What is significant culturally historically? 

Historic - circumstances of the author and audience.

Both settings give the same point. 1 Samuel 7 was written for people living after a disaster: a divided kingdom or a lost temple. It told them that restoration comes through repentance and intercession, not through a better political system or sacred objects. That fits your Big Idea of the ark versus the heart. Your congregation can find themselves among the first readers, people looking back on loss and asking what it would take to see God’s help again.

Cultural - details and circumstances within the text.

Religion: many gods, one Lord

Israel had "Baals and Ashtaroth" among them, both plural (7:3–4). Samuel says "serve ."What the text says:him only

Israel had not dropped the Lord. They were adding gods, which was normal in their world. The demand for exclusive loyalty was the countercultural part.What it shows:

Baal was the storm and fertility god and Astarte the goddess of love, fertility and war (Mackay). In a farming economy, rain and harvest meant survival, so these gods promised food security.Why these gods:

The Lord answers with (7:10), the very thing Baal was believed to control. The God Israel had been supplementing proves to be the real Lord of the storm.Inference worth preaching:thunder

Worship without a center

The ark sits in a private house at Kiriath-jearim for 20 years (7:1–2). Samuel holds an assembly at Mizpah, offers a sacrifice there, and builds an altar at Ramah (7:9, 17).What the text says:

No functioning central sanctuary. Worship happens at local sites, led by a trusted person rather than a temple system.What it shows:

national assemblies, pouring out water, fasting, corporate confession (" have sinned"), a whole burnt offering of a nursing lamb (7:5–9). Religion was communal, physical and public.Practices visible:we

Community: a people, not individuals

"All the house of Israel" laments; "all Israel" gathers; the people confess together (7:2, 5–6).What the text says:

Sin, repentance and deliverance are national, not just personal. One generation's idolatry affects everyone, and so does its return.What it shows:

Modern Western listeners tend to hear repentance as private. This text pictures a whole people turning together.Contrast for today:

Politics: a subject people

The "lords of the Philistines" (plural rulers, cf. the five cities in 6:17) march as soon as Israel gathers (7:7). Israel had lost cities to them (7:14).What the text says:

Israel lived under foreign domination, where a large gathering could be read as rebellion. Assembling for worship was a risk.What it shows:

Israel's leadership is a single judge traveling a yearly circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah and Ramah (7:15–17). He settles disputes, leads worship and intercedes.No king:

Warfare: battles fought on earth and in heaven

The Lord thunders; the Philistines are thrown into confusion and flee (7:10–11).What the text says:

In this world, battles were contests between gods as well as armies. Panic at a sudden storm makes sense to people who read weather as divine action (both commentaries note this).What it shows:

The Philistines "went up" from the coastal plain; Israel chases them downhill "below Beth-car." Hill-country Israel versus lowland Philistia.Geography:

Memory: stones that speak

Samuel sets up a stone and names it Ebenezer, "Till now the Lord has helped us" (7:12).What the text says:

In an oral culture with few written records, named stones and places carried a community's story. Compare Jacob at Bethel (Gen 28:18–22) and the Jordan stones (Josh 4:6–7), which ask, "What do these stones mean?"What it shows:

The stone was a public, permanent reminder that future generations would walk past and ask about.Inference worth preaching:

Ethnic landscape

"There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites" (7:14).What the text says:

Israel shared the land with older Canaanite peoples (Amorites) and newer settlers (Philistines). Peace came when Israel stopped being the weak party.What it shows:

Biblical Context 

Are there any biblical quotations? 

7:2-4 - rid yourselves of the foreign gods and Ashtoreths - a pointing back to Genesis 35:2 “So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.” and Joshua 24:14 ““Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.” and Joshua 24:23 “He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.””

7:5-6, withholding themselves of water was a symbol to their complete and utter dependence on the Lord. Jonah 3:7 “And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,” 2 Samuel 23:16 “Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord”

7:7-8 - crying out to the Lord points back to the days of Judges where there was revival. See Judges 3:9, 15, 6:6-7, 10:10.

Author’s Aim 

God fights for and provides for those who worship him. Samuel was faithful, Eli was unfaithful.

Notes and Research 

New American Commentary by Robert Bergen

Hophni and Phinehas sought to bring victory to Israel by bringing the Lord’s ark against the Philistines. Samuel brought victory by bringing Israel back to the Lord.

The movement of Israel’s heart, not the ark, brought about true freedom from their oppressors.

Repentance is not merely turning away from sin. It has to invovle turning to the Lord.

All that was lost through sin in the first Ebenezer event was restored through repentance in the second.

Big idea

True deliverance came when Israel's heart returned to the Lord, not when the ark was carried into battle.

Robert D. Bergen, , New American Commentary vol. 7 (Broadman & Holman, 1996), 105–109.Source:1, 2 Samuel

Hophni and Phinehas tried to win by bringing the ark to the battle (ch. 4). Samuel won by bringing the people back to God (ch. 7).The contrast:

Victory over the Philistines follows repentance and wholehearted return, never precedes it.Narrator's emphasis:

Bergen sees deliberate bookends — what Israel lost through sin at the first Ebenezer (4:1) is restored through repentance at the second (7:12).Two Ebenezers:

Verse-by-verse notes (NAC, Bergen)

7:2–4 — Repentance: putting away and committing

lie between 7:1 and 7:2. In that time Israel's grief changed: from mourning the blow God dealt them (6:19) to mourning (7:2). Bergen links this to godly sorrow (2 Cor 7:10).Twenty silent yearsand seeking the Lord

Samuel seizes the moment and echoes earlier renewals: Jacob (Gen 35:2) and Joshua (Josh 24:14, 23) — "rid yourselves of the foreign gods."

Two options:Why name the Ashtoreths separately?

Rid the land of every fertility god, male and female alike.

Two tasks: remove pagan idols purify Yahweh worship by ending the practice of giving him a female consort.and

removing idols is only half. Israel must also "commit" themselves — literally — to the Lord and serve him only.Negative and positive sides of renewal:establish your hearts

The promised result is covenant blessing, including victory over enemies (Lev 26:7–8; Deut 28:7).

v. 4: Israel actually does it — puts away the Baals and Ashtoreths and serves the Lord only.

7:5–6 — Mizpah: prayer, fasting, confession

Mizpah (likely Tell en-Nasbeh, about 5 miles north of Jerusalem) was a gathering place for tribal assemblies in the Judges period (Judg 20:1).

The assembly includes intercessory prayer, fasting and confession of sin.

unparalleled elsewhere in an Israelite assembly. Bergen reads it as self-denial — a symbolic confession that God's favor mattered more than life-sustaining water (cf. 2 Sam 23:16; Jonah 3:7).Water poured out before the Lord:

(Hb. ). His task: bring Israel into line with the Lord's judgments and mobilize them to bring those judgments on God's enemies. Gordon sees parallels with Moses in Exodus 17–18.First time Samuel "judges"špṭ

7:7–8 — The threat: fear and an appeal for prayer

The Philistines likely forbade Israelite assemblies, since they could become war musters. They send a large force to attack.

Israel is afraid — right after recommitting to God. Renewal did not remove the threat.

Israel asks Samuel not to stop to the Lord so he will them — the vocabulary of the Judges revivals (Judg 3:9, 15; 6:6–7; 10:10; 2:16, 18).crying outrescue

They appeal to him as prophet as well as judge. Only Moses was asked this way before in a national emergency (Num 21:7).

7:9–11 — The peak: sacrifice, prayer, thunder

This is the action peak of the story, marked by restating key events with expansion.

Samuel offers a suckling lamb as a whole burnt offering (normally a priest's role) and prays wholeheartedly for Israel.

The Lord answers audibly with loud thunder against the Philistines (cf. John 12:29), fulfilling Hannah's prayer (2:10).

Ancient Near Eastern peoples saw battle as fought on two planes — earthly and heavenly. Unusual weather during battle meant a god was at work (Josh 10:11; Judg 5:4, 20–21). The Philistines read the thunder as a bad omen and panicked.Background:

Israel, newly rededicated, pursues and strikes them down as far as Beth Car (location unknown, probably west of Mizpah).

7:12 — Ebenezer

Samuel sets up a stone between Mizpah and Shen, probably where the Philistines were driven back. Shen ("The Tooth") suggests a jagged rock outcrop, not a town.

can be read two ways: spatially () or temporally (). Strong preaching potential in both."Thus far"to this spotall along until now

= "stone of help" or "the Helper is a stone." A confession of faith.Ebenezer

God as Stone/Rock of Israel: Gen 49:24 (his strength for Israel).

God as Helper: Pss 10:14; 33:20; 40:17; 46:1; 63:7; 115:9–11; 118:7; 146:5.

Either way, the name affirms two attributes: God is and God .stronghelps

Hymn connection: "Here I raise mine Ebenezer" in .Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Whether this is the same site as 4:1 is unclear, but the contrast is deliberate: loss through sin, restoration through repentance.

7:13–17 — Summary of Samuel's leadership

v. 13: Samuel's career brought the Lord's judgments against the Philistines throughout his life.

v. 14: Territory from Ekron to Gath restored — the two easternmost Philistine cities, nearest Israel, so hit hardest (cf. Josh 13:1–2).

success under Samuel reflects covenant faithfulness (Judg 3:3–4); losses under Eli (4:10) and Saul (31:1) reflect breaches of God's law.Theological pattern:

once Israel defeated the dominant power, remaining Canaanites chose peace over war.Peace with the Amorites:

v. 15: Samuel judged all his life, apparently even after Saul became king. He is described as "judging" four times (7:6, 15, 16, 17) — more than anyone else in Scripture. Bergen calls him the ideal leader.

Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah, then home to Ramah — mostly in Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. Bethel and Mizpah were national gathering places; Gilgal a shrine since Joshua.Annual circuit:

v. 17: An altar at Ramah. Since Deut 12:13–14 forbade local sacrifice sites, this strongly implies Shiloh had been destroyed.

for all Israel Samuel was prophet (3:20; 4:1), leader in repentance (7:3, 5), recognized judge (8:4), kingmaker (10:17–25), and mourned at death (25:1).National reach:

ESV Expository Commentary by Mackay

Mackay reads chapter 7 as theocracy working as it should: the Lord's judge calls the people back, and the Lord himself wins the battle.

John L. Mackay, "1 Samuel," in , vol. 3: (Crossway, 2019), comment on 1 Sam 7:2–17.Source:ESV Expository Commentary1 Samuel–2 Chronicles

Outline (I.H. The Judgeship of Samuel):

Repentance and Restoration at Mizpah (7:2–6)

The Philistines Routed at Ebenezer (7:7–12)

Summary of Samuel's Judgeship (7:13–17)

Samuel holds three roles — prophet, priest and judge — which make him second only to Moses so far. Unlike Aphek (ch. 4), this victory is won by the Lord for a faithful people.Big picture:

The relief God gives here leaves Israel no real reason to ask for a king, though they fail to see it.Setup for chapter 8:

7:2 — Twenty years of groaning

The paragraph break belongs v. 2, which opens with the "and it came to pass" marker.before

The 20 years likely match the second half of the 40-year Philistine oppression (Judg 10:6–7; 13:1), which ends at Mizpah.

"House of Israel" = the covenant community. A growing spiritual movement, likely stirred by Samuel's ministry.

"Lamented" is a rare verb for sorrowful groaning. Unlike the mourning at Beth-shemesh (6:19), this is groaning " the Lord" — loss plus a yearning for restored fellowship.after

7:3–4 — Three marks of real repentance

v. 3 summarizes Samuel's preaching across the whole period.

"With all your heart" comes first for emphasis (Deut 6:5). "Returning" = repentance: not a vague wish to be on good terms with God, but new inner attitudes and outward conduct (Deut 30:2; Hos 3:5; Joel 2:12–13).

Samuel gives three commands:

— a clean break, echoing Jacob (Gen 35:2, 4) and Joshua (Josh 24:14, 23).Put away foreign gods

(lit. "make it stand firm") — the positive side: an unshakable resolve and a tenacious grip on God (1 Chr 29:18; 2 Chr 19:3; Ezra 7:10; Job 11:13).Direct your heart

— "Shared worship is compromised worship—and is really no worship at all" (Exod 20:3; Josh 24:14–15; 1 Kgs 18:21).Serve him only

"deliver" focuses on the one snatched out of danger; "save" focuses on removing the enemy."Deliver" vs. "save":

v. 4: Baal = Canaanite storm and fertility god. "Ashtoreth" = "Astarte" written with the vowels of ("shame"). Together they stood for Canaan's fertility religion, including sacred prostitution.boshet

7:5–6 — Mizpah: three acts of worship

Mizpah means "watchtower." This one sat in Benjamin on a main road, 6.8 miles (11 km) north of Jerusalem — hard for the Philistines to ambush.

"I will pray to the Lord for you": Samuel limits his role as judge to intercession, not military command.

Three acts of worship:

— unattested elsewhere (cf. 2 Sam 23:16). Likely total commitment, like "pour out your heart like water" (Lam 2:19). Perhaps also confessing the Lord, not Baal, as the source of rain and fertility.Water poured out

— commendable only as the outward sign of inward contrition (Isa 58:1–7).Fasting

— "We have sinned against the Lord." Ritual without submission is an abomination (15:22–23; Isa 1:11–17; Amos 5:21–24).Confession

"Samuel judged" = public recognition of his leadership at a covenant renewal. He is the last of the judges.

7:7–8 — Afraid, but they don't run

The Philistines, watching their subjects closely, read the gathering as hostile and move fast.

Israel has truly returned to God and is still afraid. "Still, fearful though they are, they do not flee."

They ask Samuel to pray, as Moses did (Exod 33:12–16; Num 14:13–19). "Cry out" is stronger than "pray" (v. 5): the language of desperation in Judges (Judg 3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:7; 10:10).

7:9–11 — Sacrifice, thunder, rout

A "nursing lamb" just over a week old (Exod 22:30; Lev 22:27). A whole burnt offering, fully consumed, to make atonement (Lev 1:4). Samuel likely acted as priest.

God heard Samuel as he heard Hannah (1:19).

Israel gathered for worship, not war, and the Philistines attack mid-sacrifice. The Lord thunders. The Philistines think the gods are fighting them; in fact the storm signals the Lord's power and judgment (12:17; Ps 29:3; Exod 9:23–24; Isa 29:6).The reversal:

"Threw them into confusion" = panic and disarray (Exod 14:24; 23:27; Josh 10:10; Judg 4:15). This fulfills Hannah's song (2:10).

"They were defeated before Israel" is a divine passive: God is the source of the victory, and Israel follows through.

v. 11: The chase runs downhill, west past Beth-car (unknown site).

7:12 — Ebenezer

Samuel was not in the battle or pursuit. He sets up a large stone between Mizpah and Shen (perhaps a tooth-shaped crag).

Mackay takes this as the as the more northerly site in 4:1. Samuel reuses the name of Israel's defeat "in its fullest sense" to celebrate what God has done.same name

"Till now" (or "as far as here") can be spatial or temporal. Either way it calls for continuing loyalty, so that God's help continues.

7:13–17 — Peace under Samuel

v. 13 echoes how Judges closes a deliverance story (Judg 3:30; 8:28). It ends the 40-year oppression (Judg 13:1).

"Subdued" (or "humbled") means God restrained Philistine aggression, not that their army was gone (note 10:5; 13:3). The credit: "the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines."

v. 14: Israel regains the land Ekron and Gath — not necessarily the two cities themselves.east of

Amorites = the land's original inhabitants, distinct from the newer Philistine settlers. The remnant was at peace with Israel.

v. 15: Samuel kept the status of judge for life but gave up exercising the office when Saul became king.

v. 16: Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah were all within a day's walk of Ramah. Bethel was a sacred site 10 miles (16 km) north of Jerusalem; Gilgal probably about a mile from Jericho.

His circuit was small, but his reach was national: justice, social and military affairs, and religious teaching — rivaling Moses in scope.

v. 17: With no central sanctuary after Shiloh fell, Samuel organized worship at Ramah. His Passover(s) were long remembered (2 Chr 35:18).

Mackay's "Response" (application)

Mizpah was the culmination of years of quiet ministry. When the moment came, the people were ready.

Once they repented and admitted total dependence on God, he delivered them as only he could (Prov 21:30–31).

judge (7:5, 15), prophet (3:20–21; 7:3) and priest (7:8–10, 17) foreshadow Christ as king, prophet and priest (Luke 1:33; Acts 3:22; Heb 5:5–6).Samuel as a type of Christ:

Samuel is remembered for prayer (Ps 99:6) and ranked with Moses (Jer 15:1). As Moses' raised hands won against Amalek (Exod 17:8–13), Samuel's prayer won at Mizpah.Intercession is the key:

Both point to Christ's intercession as mediator of the new covenant (Heb 7:25; Rom 8:34; Heb 9:24; 1 John 2:1). Believers and the church stand only because Christ pleads for them.

Sermon Crafting Stage

Conclusion - Draft Argument: 

We don’t need things, we need God himself. Set your heart on the Lord and depend on him.

Draft Outline - Version 1

Rid ourselves of idols vv.2-4.

Repent and confess our sins vv.5-6.

Relying on the Lord’s power vv.7-11.

Remembering the Lord’s help v.12.

Living under the Lord’s rule vv.13-17.

Connecting to the Gospel 

v.12. Ebenezer connection to the Lord’s Supper. It was helping stone to remind the Israelites of the Lord’s deliverance. We don’t have a stone, but we have the supper. A visual representation of the Lord’s deliverance. God through Jesus’ blood and suffering has made a way for us to be delivered from the power of sin.

Applications

Remembering the Lord’s help v.12.

Church architecture is not meant to be worshipped. It’s meant to point us to the one who we worship. It is a tool. We can bring a theology to everything. There is a good reminder in things like a helping stone - to remember the sacred work of the Lord among the people. The site itself is not what is special. It is the work of God in his people that is special.

“Ark versus Heart”

Argument: Set your heart on the Lord and depend on Him alone.

 Introduction

A few years ago Thom Rainer wrote a book on leading change in the church. And he gave it a title that makes every pastor in the room laugh, and then wince a little: Who Moved My Pulpit?

[Tell the pulpit story from the book here in your own words, or a furniture story from Hebron's own history.]

Here's why that title lands. Every church has its furniture. The pulpit. The communion table. The pew where your family has sat for thirty years. The piano that has always been on the left side, thank you very much! And if you've been around church for any length of time, you know you can change a lot of things... but move the furniture, and folks notice!!

Now, I want to be fair. Most of the time that's not because people are petty. It's because those things carry memories. That table is where you took the Lord's Supper the week after your mom died. That pulpit is where you heard the gospel and believed. Those things matter to us because God met us there.

But here's the danger, and it's a danger for all of us, me included. Slowly, quietly, we can start to trust the furniture instead of the God it points to. We start to think that as long as the pulpit stays put, the songs stay the same, and the building stays standing, God must be with us. The things that were meant to point us to God start to stand in for God.

And that is exactly what happened to Israel.

In 1 Samuel 4, Israel is losing a war to the Philistines. So what do they do? They don't repent. They don't pray. They go get the furniture! They carry the ark of the covenant, a literal piece of the tabernacle's furniture, into battle, as if God were a good-luck charm in a gold box. And Israel is crushed. Thirty thousand men die, the priests die, and the ark is captured.

Then chapter 7 opens with that same ark sitting in a house in Kiriath-jearim... for twenty years. Nobody moves it. And here's what's surprising: when deliverance finally comes, it doesn't come from bringing the ark back to the battle. It comes when God's people bring their hearts back to God.

So this morning, let me ask you: What's your furniture? What are you leaning on that isn't God himself? Your track record? Your family's faith? Your church attendance? Your savings? For some of you here who aren't yet followers of Jesus, maybe it's the hope that being a pretty good person is enough.

Transition: Samuel's word to Israel is God's word to us this morning: "If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods... and serve him only" (1 Sam 7:3). Let's see what happens when God's people stop trusting the furniture and start trusting the Lord.

Argument: set your hearts on the Lord and depend on Him alone.

Rid ourselves of idols vv.2-4.

Time changed the Israelites: after twenty years of the ark’s return the whole house of Israel longed for the Lord.

This is likely the second half of the 40 year oppression from the Philistines described in Judges 10 which ends at Mizpah.

Consider the change from 6:19 to 7:2 - they went from mourning over the blow they suffered at the battle of the Philistines to moruning and seeking the Lord.

CSB vs. ESV - Longed for versus Lamented after - a loss plus yearning for restored fellowship. Both good translations.

Samuel led by taking the moment and calling the people to action:

Rid yourselves of the foreign gods and Ashtoreths that are among you.

Baal is the Canaanite storm and fertility god.

Ashtoreth is the vowels of boshet which means shame. The combination of these two things together stood for

Set your heart on the Lord.

Worship him only.

The result: the lord would rescue you. Deliver vs. save is key here. Deliver focuses on the one snatched out of danger; save focuses on removing the enemy.

Application

How do we rid ourselves of idols?

What does it look like to set our hearts on the Lord and to worship him only?

Repent and confess our sins vv.5-6.

Samuel called for all the people to be gathered at Mizpah.

This location was 5 miles north of Jerusalem and according to Judges 20 was a place for gathering tribal assemblies.

The name actually means watchtower — it was a hard place to ambush.

There were three actions that they had taken together.

Prayer - Samuel interceded for the people.

Fasting - this is what the whole pouring out water thing was about. It’s a mark of self denial. A symbolic confession that God’s favor mattered more than life-sustaining water.

Confession - we have sinned agains the Lord.

Samuel judges Israel for the first time.

This was a public recognition of his leadership at a covenant renewal. He is the last of the judges.

Application

Rely on the Lord’s power to save vv.7-11.

When the Philistines heard that the Israelites were at Mizpah they were concerned.

The assembly of this people could mean that they were about to go to war.

Israel’s fear was in their destruction.

Their renewal with the Lord did not remove the threat of the outside nations.

They ask Samuel to intervene that God would rescue them - language that is repeated throughout the book of Judges (3:9, 15; 6:6-7; 10:1, 2:16; 18).

The climax is verses 9-11.

Samuel offers up a sacrifice as a priest. He offers up a lamb and cries out to the Lord for the people, and the Lord answers him.

How did God answer? v.10. As he prayed, the Philistines drew near to attack, and the Lord brought a mighty thunder.

Hannah’s prayer - 1 Samuel 2:10 “The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.””

God’s confirmation of his glory in Jesus - John 12:29 “The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.””

Thunder was also closely related to the god of weather — Baal. The Philistines would have seen this as a bad omen on their military efforts too.

This threw them into confusion and led to their defeat, as the Israelites chased them down for their destruction.

Application

Remember the Lord’s Help v.12.

Samuel set up a stone of remembrance between Mizpah and Shen and called it Ebenezer — meaning the stone of help.

Throughout the Old Testament God is known as the rock of Israel and the helper of Israel.

Genesis 49:24 “yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),”

Psalm 10:14 “But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.”

The idea that this stone is meant to communicate is that God is strong and God helps. Back in 1 Samuel 4:1 Ebenezer is mentioned again. Is it the same site? That’s unclear but the contrast between the two sites is helpful: one is loss through sin, the other restoration through repentance.

Connection back to the furniture - not to be worshipped itself but to point you back to the one you worship.

Application

Come Thou Fount of Ev’ry Blessing

Connection to the Lord’s Supper

Live under the Lord’s rule vv.13-17.

Deliverance - Samuel’s ministry would entail bringing judgment against God’s enemies. All of his days the Lord helped subdue the Philistines.

Restoration/Expansion - the land of Gath to Ekron would be delivered over to the Israelites.

Peace - the other outside nations decided not tot test the Lord. They learned from the Philistines downfall.

Proclamation - Samuel went on a circuit to judge the nation - that is to speak the word and call them to live in light of it.

Unity/blessing - the people of Israel recognized him.

Application

Conclusion

What do I want them to take away from this sermon?