1 Samuel 7:5-14

1 Samuel 7:5-14

[5] And Samuel  said,  Gather  all Israel  and I will pray  for you unto the LORD.  [6] And they gathered together  to Mizpeh,  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 children  of Israel  [7] And when the Philistines  heard  that the children  of Israel  were gathered together  the lords  of the Philistines  went up  against Israel.  And when the children  of Israel  heard  it, they were afraid  of  the Philistines.  [8] And the children  of Israel  said  to Samuel,  Cease  not to cry  unto the LORD  our God  for us, that he will save  us out of the hand  of the Philistines.  [9] And Samuel  took  sucking  lamb,  and offered  it for a burnt offering  wholly  unto the LORD:  and Samuel  cried  unto the LORD  for Israel;  and the LORD  heard  him. [10] And as Samuel  was offering up  the burnt offering,  the Philistines  drew near  to battle  against Israel:  but the LORD  thundered  with a great  thunder  on that day  upon the Philistines,  and discomfited  them; and they were smitten  before  Israel.  [11] And the men  of Israel  went out  of Mizpeh,  and pursued  the Philistines,  and smote  them, until they came under Bethcar.  [12] Then Samuel  took  stone,  and set  it between Mizpeh  and Shen,  and called  the name  of it Ebenezer,  saying,  Hitherto hath the LORD  helped  us. [13] So the Philistines  were subdued,  and they came  no more  into the coast  of Israel:  and the hand  of the LORD  was against the Philistines  all the days  of Samuel.  [14] And the cities  which the Philistines  had taken  from Israel  were restored  to Israel,  from Ekron  even unto Gath;  and the coasts  thereof did Israel  deliver  out of the hands  of the Philistines.  And there was peace  between Israel  and the Amorites. 

What does 1 Samuel 7:5-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Mizpah (lit. watchtower, indicating an elevated site) was about two miles northwest of Samuel"s hometown, Ramah, on the central Benjamin plateau. [1] Pouring out water symbolized the people"s feeling of total inability to make an effective resistance against their enemy (cf. Psalm 62:8; et al.). The people showed that they felt a greater need to spend their time praying to strengthen themselves spiritually than eating to strengthen themselves physically. They did this by fasting (skipping a meal or meals). [2] They admitted that what they had been doing was a sin against God (cf. 1 John 1:9). The writer described Samuel as one of Israel"s judges similar in function to Gideon, Samson, and others, at this time (cf. Judges 6:25-27).
The Israelites sensed their continuing need for God"s help and appealed to Samuel to continue to intercede for them ( 1 Samuel 7:8). Samuel gave intercession priority in his ministry because he realized how essential it was to Israel"s welfare (cf. 1 Samuel 12:23). All spiritual leaders should realize this need and should give prayer priority in their ministries. The suckling young lamb he sacrificed for the people represented the nation as it had recently begun to experience new life because of its repentance ( 1 Samuel 7:9). The burnt offering was an offering of dedication, but it also served to make atonement for God"s people (cf1Samuel24:25; Leviticus 1:4; Job 1:5; Job 42:8).
After the tabernacle left Shiloh, the Israelites may have pitched it at Mizpah. Since Samuel offered a burnt offering there ( 1 Samuel 7:9), perhaps that is where the tabernacle stood. Nevertheless at this time the Israelites made offerings to God at other places too (cf. 1 Samuel 7:17).
God"s deliverance was apparently entirely supernatural ( 1 Samuel 7:10), probably to impress the people with His ability to save them in a hopeless condition and to strengthen their faith in Him. Baal was supposedly the god of storms, but Yahweh humiliated him here. [3] The location of Bethcar is still uncertain, but most scholars believe it was near Lower Beth-horon, about8 miles west of Mizpah toward the Philistine plain.
Scholars also dispute the site of Shen ( 1 Samuel 7:12). The Israelites memorialized God"s help with a stone monument that they named Ebenezer (lit. stone of help). This Ebenezer is quite certainly not the same as the one the writer mentioned in 1 Samuel 4:1 and 1 Samuel 5:1. It was another memorial stone that marked God"s action for His people (cf. Genesis 35:14; Joshua 4:9; Joshua 24:26). [4] It announced the reversal of previous indignities and was a symbol of reintegration. [5] This victory ended the40-year oppression of the Philistines (1124-1084 B.C.; cf. Judges 3:30; Judges 8:28). However, the Philistines again became a problem for Israel later (cf. 1 Samuel 9:16).
The memorial stone bore witness to the effectiveness of trusting the Lord and His designated judge. If the Lord had helped the people thus far, what need was there for a king? This incident shows that the people should have continued following the leadership of the judges that God had been raising up for them. This was not the right time for a king.
The concluding reference to peace with the Amorites may imply that this victory began a period of peace with the Amorites as well as with the Philistines. The Amorites had controlled the hill country of Canaan, and the Philistines had dominated the coastal plain. The native Canaanites, here referred to as Amorites, would have profited from Israel"s superiority over the Philistines since the Philistines were more of a threat to the Canaanites than were the Israelites. [6] Often in the Old Testament "Amorites" (Westerners) designates the original inhabitants of Canaan in general.