Sermon Tone Analysis

Samuel: God’s Leader for Deliverance (1 Samuel 7)

PRAY

Samuel becomes God’s leader for spiritual renewal/revival.

- at a time when Israel desperately needs such a leader

Not only do we learn from the leadership pattern of Samuel as one we ought to follow, but we also see again the pattern set by God for providing a deliverer that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Vv. 1&2 are a reminder of where things have been going for Israel.

- through all the problems from chapters 4-6 (actually 7:2), Samuel is conspicuously absent (for 20 years)

Samuel Emerges & Speaks Up (v. 3)

A note about Samuel’s rise to leadership - Samuel had never done anything to elevate himself to this position.

From birth we see it was all God’s doing.

For his part, we have a picture of a man who was faithful to God in whatever area was given to his care and who remained focused on the interests of God.

- There always will be a need for leaders who courageously redirect people to God.

It isn’t popular to speak up for God, particularly when it inevitably involves calling people to repent of their errors and change their ways.

When Samuel speaks, what does he say?

Samuel Calls for Repentance (vv.

3-4)

Remove all idols

Direct your hearts to the Lord

Serve/worship him only

As Moses before him, Joshua had warned Israel about the religious practices of the people around them:

It’s in this context that we find the famous line of Joshua:

And of course, the people overconfidently declare their allegiance to God:

(and v. 18b) “Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” - But Joshua warned them about their lack of true reliance upon God and what the results of their waywardness would be:

Well, that’s at the close of the book of Joshua.

Guess what we find happening in the very next historical book in the Bible?

But as is the case with God, hope is never lost.

The prophet Joel gives an illustration of this:

When we repent, God relents.

Repeatedly in the book of Judges when the people wept bitterly about their plight and recognized that the cause was their waywardness from God, God would send them a deliverer to judge and defeat their enemies.

But the pattern would continue to repeat itself, and they would need a new deliver.

Here in the book of Samuel we find the same pattern with this final judge.

But with Israel’s last and greatest judge, we also find the clearest instruction with regards to said repentance that leads to deliverance:

Again - Put away, take down, remove the objects/people/ideas that you have set up in the place of idolatry in your hearts; Direct, fix, give, commit your hearts to the Lord; Worship and serve him only.

- To this final point even Jesus used this inspired word of God here against the devil’s temptation in the wilderness:

How does Jesus respond?

Our Lord fully comprehends, from first hand experience, our temptation to elevate ourselves and "stuff” to a place of worship and service that such created things and created beings do not deserve!

And like the pattern of Israel, does this happen to us only once, or must we be ever careful to repent of idolatry and return our hearts fully to God and serve him only?

Now granted, there must be a first time… a first time where we recognize how we’ve lifted up sinful pursuits, ourselves, and things in the place of God.

A first time where we tear it all down and lay our hearts bare before God, agreeing with him that we have been so wrong and we are desperately in need of him to be our deliverer.

A first time then that we have saving faith.

But as people who have not yet reached the end of this perilous journey we call life, we must never cease to be vigilant of our need to confess sin and redirect our hearts to God.

We must approach the tendencies of our hearts like the renowned King David of these very books of Scripture:

But now we get to continue in our passage to see how Samuel proceeds to ensure God’s help and that God’s people will indeed return to their God:

Samuel Intercedes for the People (vv.

5-14)

This is where Samuel’s true strength lies.

- Samuel is a man of prayer.

Samuel is a man who calls upon God for direction and for help.

Samuel doesn’t take matters into his own hands… Samuel presents matters into the hands of God—completely faithful, always trustworthy, perfectly good, infinitely capable hands of God. - When you look at it through Samuel’s eyes you think, “Why would I do anything else?”

So… ‘Everybody gather at Mizpah and I will pray for you.’

Pouring out water and fasting is a sign of their repentance - of their sincerity toward God in confession of sin and dependence on him, with a special focus on pleading for his mercy and his help.

(The end of v. 6 states that) Samuel judged Isreal there - Shows him officially taking over Eli’s former role (Samuel here becomes both domestic leader and military leader (It’s almost funny to think that without fighting or immediately directing any men in battle, he’s military leader over Israel… by virtue of interceding for them with God!

They don’t move unless Samuel says, “OK, God says go… I’m with you in this fight to grant victory.”)

Samuel leads the charge into battle through prayer.

Even when he’s “signing off” as their leader (since Saul has become king), Samuel still declares in his farewell address (as their leader… he sticks around for quite some time):

Samuel becomes the last judge before the first king.

He is a prophet, priest, and judge of God’s people who remains wholly devoted to and entirely dependent on God.

But in the section just read we also see that the enemy hasn’t learned their lesson - The Philistines think the people, gathering for worship at Mizpah, are gathered there for war.

- While others fear, Samuel prays.

Notice too that Samuel never calls for the ark… he simply calls upon God.

It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the ark itself, except that the people had elevated it as an idol (a talisman) in their eyes.

They now needed reminding that it was the God of the ark whom they both sinned against and to whom they needed to return wholeheartedly.

In this process then Samuel also offers a sacrifice of atonement.

- for their sin against God - God had ordained that it would be this way: a sacrifice of blood atonement for sin.

(And then what happens?) God intervenes.

He literally thunders (again recall 2:10) against the Philistines to throw them into a fearful confusion, giving the Israelite army the upper hand.

Samuel commemorates the occasion by setting up a reminder that it is God who is our faithful stone of help, the sovereign one who has brought us this far and will continue to be our provider.

- It was to serve as a reminder that God could always be trusted to accomplish, to complete his plan for his people.

Simply through Samuel’s submission to God and leading the people accordingly, God gave Israel, during the days of Samuel, victory and peace.

(success against the philistines and peace with the Amorites - canaanites from before Israel’s conquest - They suffered heavy defeats from both the days of Moses and especially Joshua, and now those who remained still lived in the hills in the southern mountains of Judea.

Later Solomon would defeat them all and those who remained alive were made to serve Israel as slaves.)

But during the days of Samuel, there is peace.

Samuel quite literally leads the people by unwaveringly maintaining first allegiance to God.

Through that kind of leadership God delivered and blessed his people.

Through that same submission to God, Samuel instructs and maintains order in the land:

Samuel Judges on a Circuit (vv.

15-17)

map

Arbitrating between people and dispensing God’s law impartially.

Samuel serves the Lord to teach the people and administer justice

- leading consistently and for a prolonged period of time

Conclusion: The pattern of Samuel’s leadership was to himself be fully surrendered and submissive to God.

He courageously spoke up for God and called people to repentance.

But he certainly didn’t stop with yelling at them.

Samuel led the people through the process of repentance and restoration to God, which led to God’s intervention and deliverance.

Once God delivered them from the immediate danger, Samuel continued leading over a prolonged period of time to make sure the people didn’t go right back to where they were before.

When Israel desperately needed one, God raised up a man with a heart for him to be a deliverer.

Not only is does the text provide a good example of leadership in the life of Samuel, but there is glorious Gospel clarity in the pattern of these verses… - The gospel: God’s grace to offer us deliverance when we repent, because he himself provides the means to atone for sin and be restored to him!

To this point about all of humanity’s need for deliverance from sinful idolatry of the heart is where I want us to turn our final thoughts.

Time and time again God displayed the pattern of his faithfulness and grace to deliver those who would repent and put their trust in the one true God and his promises.

But that same pattern in the Old Testament reveals their need and ours for a perfect and complete, once-for-all deliverer.

Jesus: God’s Deliverance

Jesus provided once-for-all deliverance.

(for all mankind, for all sin, for all time) - He is the perfect prophet, priest, and king.

As such he is the sovereign who will judge the world.

Will today be the day that you repent and turn to God for the first time?

Is today the day that you forsake all other gods (self, concepts, people, things that you worship) and put faith in God through his promise that he saves those who trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of the God-man Jesus Christ?

Ongoing Repentance for Deliverance

What is repentance again?

A deep sense of the holiness of God, followed by a corresponding awareness and confession of our sins, and a forsaking of any other object of trust other than God and His provisions – this is the way God leads sinners from irreverence, sin, and judgment to righteousness, forgiveness, peace, and access into the presence of our holy God. - Deffinbaugh

I wonder, if you know you have been delivered from sin and it’s corresponding punishment—eternal death—is that less reason or MORE reason that you should be always desiring to repent of sin and be restored to fellowship with the God who has made you his own?

You see, we still need ongoing deliverance from the grip of sin in our lives, and the only means remains repentance and faith in Jesus.

God desires to give us what is best—himself—but if we erect idols and chase after other lusts of the mind and flesh, we’re missing out on the goodness of God.