20260708 1 Samuel 7 Wednesday Bible Study Dave Dickmann

So before we read it, I'm just going to introduce

it as probably a summing up and a conclusion

to Samuel's life as a judge. The last three chapters,

he hasn't even been mentioned, and now he comes

back on the scene. And really this chapter sticks

out in sharp contrast with chapter 8. Here in

chapter 7, we see what it's like when God's people

submit to his rule through his man. In this case,

it's Samuel. The results are always good and

right. The repentance that we see here, you remember

in Judges, we saw several times where the people

lamented, but they weren't lamenting or mourning

over their sins. They were just disappointed

that their enemies were winning the day, and

they turned to God, and eventually God didn't

respond at all. But here in this chapter, they

do repent, and God hears them, and he acts on

their behalf. It's undoubtedly frustrating when

we read the next chapter and we wonder what in

the world happened. But we ought to at least

be encouraged that this chapter 7 stands in sharp

contrast to the three chapters we read before

where Israel was in a shambles. And so God works.

And this was God's design for Israel, and we

will have to content ourselves with that. I think

the Old Testament is probably frustrating to

us in the New Covenant when we look back. We

try to import ourselves and what we know. We

import Jesus back in time there, but he wasn't

there. The Spirit wasn't there. So we rejoice

that we live in the new covenant age of the Spirit

and the finished work of Christ. But there are

lessons undoubtedly for us here. It's a chapter

full of lessons. So let's read it and then we'll

try to pull some lessons out. Verse 2, chapter

7. And it came to pass while the ark abode in

Kirjath -Jerim that the time was long, for it

was twenty years. Then all the house of Israel

lamented after the Lord. And Samuel spake unto

all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return

unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put

away the strange gods and Ashtoreth from among

you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and

serve him only. And he will deliver you out of

the hand of the Philistines. And the children

of Israel did put away Balaam and Ashtoreth,

and served the Lord only. And Samuel said, Gather

all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you

unto the Lord. And they gathered together 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 children of Israel in Mizpah. And when the

Philistines heard that the children of Israel

were gathered together in Mizpah, The lords of

the Philistines went up against Israel. And when

the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid

of the Philistines. 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. And Samuel took a suckling

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. 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. And the men of Israel

went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines

and smote them until they came under Beth -kar.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah

and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer,

saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. 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. And the cities which the Philistines

had taken from Israel were restored to Israel,

from Ekron even unto Gath. And the coast thereof

did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines.

And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his

life. And he went from year to year in circuit

to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah and judged Israel

in all those places. And his return was to Ramah.

For there was his house, and there he judged

Israel, and there he built an altar unto the

Lord. So all good stuff that's going on here.

Exactly what was Samuel doing for those 20 years

while the ark sat dormant? We're not told whether

he was busy on his circuit during that time.

But what is obvious? What was going on in those

20 years? The Lord was working, wasn't he? and

the people began to lament. They began to be

sorry that they had turned away from the Lord.

And then, and only then, in preparation, Samuel,

we're told, delivers the message of repentance,

the need for repentance among the people. If

you've truly repented, then put away the false

gods and turn only to the Lord. Now, what does

that tell us about repentance? We have sorrow.

And then we have the turning away. So being sorry

for sin isn't repentance, is it? It's the first

part of repentance. But it's not enough to just

simply be sorry. People are sorry for all kinds

of different things. It doesn't have anything

to do with true repentance. So then true sorrow

for sin always leads to what? It leads to true

repentance. And what is true repentance? In the

case of Israel, what was it? Putting away the

false idols. What were the false idols? How did

they relate to these false gods? They were looking

to the false gods for what? Any number of different

things, weren't they? Okay, so they ceased looking.

at these false gods and they turn to the one

true God. In our day, probably, we don't have

a whole lot of idols proper unless we're in the

Catholic Church, maybe Buddhism. But what do

people, what are people's God? How is it that

they intend to relate to the eternal being, the

Almighty? What will we expect to see in someone

that was sorry from sin? What will we expect

to see them turn away from? Not particular sins,

but in general. I mean self -sufficiency. In

terms of? Whatever they decided was going to

be what got them to heaven, I guess. Good works.

Okay, good works. I think that is dominant in

our culture. People think if they can just do

enough good works, then everything will be fine.

Most people think if they do more good works

than they do bad works, then they'll be fine.

What else? Well, it's looking to men, isn't it?

The institutions of men, is that not? I mean,

that dominates our culture, doesn't it? It takes

the form of what? What are people looking to?

Some kind of earthly authority. Mostly what?

In the politic of the country. Is that right?

If we can just get a good president, if we can

just get a good Congress, if we can just get

Supreme Court justices, then righteousness will

rule the land. Or maybe they say it's in the

realm of education. If we could just get people

educated. then we would see the result would

be what? This peaceful society where everyone

gets along, where everyone is working for the

other person's good. I'm not saying there's anything

inherently evil about either one of those things,

but to look to those things for deliverance,

to look to those things for some kind of redeeming

quality in a person's life is folly. There's

only one place to look, and it's away from our

works. It's away from any deliverance that man

can bring. And it's to look to the Lord God.

It's right that we should say it's good to be

sorry for sin. What does it look like though

for a person to repent? And we have the picture

here. What did the people do? Samuel calls them

to repentance and they gather together. Apparently

in some kind of national way. It says all Israel.

So all Israel gathers together there in Mizpah.

What do they do? They pour out water and they

fast. So what does that mean? What are we supposed

to see there? Anybody have any ideas? What was

that? It wasn't prescribed in any kind of way

in the Old Covenant, was it? So I can't say with

certainty. If we look at the rest of Scripture,

we might, or just in Israel, we might say that

it had something to do with their distress before

the Lord or, you know, they're pouring it out,

symbolizing they've been poured out, they're

useless. You know, maybe something like that.

I tend to think that it just goes along with

the fasting. That not only did they cease from

eating, but they poured out the water. And, you

know, without food and without water, there is

no such thing as life. Why would they fast? Why

would they pour out this water? If you just want

to think of it as a fast, why were they fasting?

What was the purpose of it? Was it to garner

favor from God? Were they falling into the same

trap as they did when they took the ark out in

front of them and said, now we've got the ark,

the Philistines will fall? Practically speaking,

what is the purpose of fasting? Okay. You're

not going to bother yourself with the need to

prepare food or the time it takes to eat the

food. You're going to have your sole attention

focused on the Lord. If we fast, if you fast

at lunchtime, then you would spend your lunchtime

before the Lord in prayer, presumably. So I think

that what's going on, and we know what they were

saying in this pouring out of water and fasting

because it tells us what they said there. We

have sinned against the Lord. So true repentance,

you cast yourself entirely upon the Lord. It's

not that you hold something in reserve. It's

not that you think, well, if this doesn't work

out right, then I'll try the next thing. It's

the idea of casting myself completely upon the

Lord and upon his grace and his mercy. And that's

what was going on. there in the valley of Mizpah

when all of Israel gathered together. They poured

out the water, they set aside all their food,

and they concentrated all their efforts towards

the Lord in some kind of way, committing themselves

to the Lord's care. Now, how do we know that?

We know that because of what follows after. They're

down there in the valley. They're all gathered

together. They're seeking the Lord. And what?

The Philistines got wind of it. Now, if you're

interested, you can go back to chapter 4. And

you can see the Philistines heard this great

noise before when they brought the ark. And you

have those three verbs repeated in both of these

chapters. It's a stark contrast between the two.

The Philistines get word that Israel's gathered

together. And what do they say? They're ripe

for the taking. Maybe they had spies. Maybe they

knew. Israel didn't come there to prepare for

battle. So how are they there? Hungry, thirsty,

and without any kind of defense. We're just gathered

together here in this valley. And here comes

our great enemy. They're coming to slaughter

us. I mean, it really is an exciting picture,

right? Now, this is the way the Lord meets us.

He doesn't meet us when we say, well, we need

to see some changes. Let's come up with a plan.

Let's get a new procedure. What he does is he

meets us when we say, we have no, there's nothing

that we can do. We followed you in everything.

And we do not possess the power to accomplish.

your will here among us. If your will is going

to be accomplished, then the Lord is going to

have to work. And that's exactly what Israel

did. They cry out to Samuel and they say, don't

stop praying for us. We're afraid of the Philistines.

And they were rightly afraid of it. Now, it wasn't

a fear that was without faith. They recognized

the danger that was there. There's nothing wrong

with that. What that drove them to was it drove

them to the Lord. That's the way the Lord works.

When you feel pressure to go to the Lord, go

to the Lord. Whatever's going on in your life

is designed then to cast yourself upon him. It's

not designed for you to find some way out of

it, whether it's a long, burdensome trial or

whether it's a temporary circumstance. When we

feel the pressure, we realize our need, we are

cast upon the Lord. Otherwise, we are just preparing

ourselves for disaster. And that's exactly what

Israel did. Was the sacrificing of the lamb,

or was Samuel's praying, is that the thing that

moved the Lord? How does that fit into the picture

here? Remember, They had the ark and they put

the ark out in front of the army and they went

out. They thought it was some kind of magic words

or something that they were going to force the

Lord's hand. In this case, what is it? Well,

it's an accurate reflection of their state of

mind. They were wholly cast upon the Lord. And

so they tell Samuel, don't stop praying for us.

If there's any hope for us, if the Philistines

aren't going to fall among us and just destroy

us all, then the Lord is going to have to do

something. We're following the Lord and we are

sacrificing this land in accordance with his

word. And it's that then. It's the people's mind

submitted to the Lord, cast upon him that the

Lord works. The Lord works. And what does he

do? What does he say? Now what did they do before?

Remember the Philistines defeated them and so

they said, okay, let's come up with a plan and

get the ark and go out there. They never asked

the Lord. But here, they wait for Samuel. They

just wait. They just stay there. They stay there

before the Lord. And the Lord, what? He thunders.

He confuses. and he smites the Philistines. And

what does Israel do? They go out, they pursue,

and they smite. What does that tell us? That

fits right along with the let go and let God

philosophy, right? Well, what we see there is

the sovereignty of God and the responsibility

of man. God works, but he works with a willing

partner in you and in me. If you want to know

God more, he's not just going to pour the knowledge

of him into your head. You're going to have to

pursue after him. And as you pursue, as you study,

as you pray, then the Lord will reveal himself

to you. But apart from that, there's nothing.

And so the enemy is there, the Lord works, but

Israel has to go out. Israel has to not only

go out, but how did they go out? Did they all

run home and get their, I mean, maybe get their

pitchforks? Did they pick up some sticks? It

just says they just went out. The Lord thundered

and confused the Philistines, and Israel just

went out. Now, that's a picture, an Old Testament

picture, of our spiritual warfare. We go with

whatever the Lord has given us. We go as he has

prepared us into battle each day. We don't go

with our own devices. It doesn't mean that we

don't think. It doesn't mean we don't act reasonably

or rationally. What it means is we go out into

the world and we face the day in the power of

the Spirit. That's what they did. They just went

for it. God was working, and so they went. No

reliance on themselves at all. And the result

of that was what? That the Philistines were destroyed.

Now, how does Samuel fit into this whole picture?

Was he leading them? Remember the judges before

him that we read all through Judges. Remember,

they all led the people. Out into battle. Except

for Samson. Who began the victory himself. But

all the rest of them. What? They went out with

the people. They led the people. Samuel doesn't

do that. Samuel wasn't raised up. Because of

even the Philistine problem. Or because of the

oppression. God just brought him on the scene.

And then what did he do? What did it mean to

be a judge? He spoke the word of God, right?

And we read in chapter 3 that everything he prophesied

came to pass. Every word that he told the people

was true. So what do we have in this picture

is God is the king. Hopefully we can see that.

God's already demonstrated his almighty power

in the last three chapters when the ark went

through and he slew the Philistines. Here he

does it on the battlefield. It's God that's ruling,

and he's mediating that rule through Samuel,

who speaks his word. And the people submitted

to God then go out according to God's instruction.

And then we see Samuel also, what, as a priest.

Now later on he's going to build an altar. But

here he's interceding for the people before the

Lord. He's taking their cares and their requests

to the Lord. It's a picture that is... undeniably

encouraging to us. Now, we don't have a Samuel

among us, but we have someone better than a Samuel,

don't we? And who is the better that we have?

Now, Samuel's intercessory prayer for the people

was effective. The Lord heard it. Do you think

that there's a prayer that Jesus prays on your

behalf and on my behalf that isn't answered by

the Father? It's impossible for us to imagine.

But that's the high priest that we have. A high

priest that knows us, that cares for us, that

takes our petitions to the Father for us. So,

we ought to be encouraged. A heart submitted

to the Lord. A heart acting upon the instruction

of the Lord. A heart that hears the voice of

the Lord. and then acts accordingly, is a beautiful

and... It's our stronghold. It's our strong tower.

I mean, you cannot be defeated when you are going

in the power of the Spirit according to God's

plan and doing things God's way. You stand. That's

what Israel did. They stood. in the face of their

enemy, outnumbered, outarmed, and without a hope

in the world, but God was with them, and God

acted, and victory was theirs. There's no reason

for them to seek after anything other than the

word of God, mediated through whoever God rose

up at any given time. It's a beautiful picture.

Alright, who wants to say something? Anybody?

Alright then. What do they do after they have

secured victory? Or the Lord has secured victory.

Samuel picks up a stone, right? And he called

the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath

the Lord helped us. Now, if you don't have Ebenezers

in your life, then you are not paying attention.

If you are not... Now, I suppose that if you

were to keep a journal, then every day you would

have to raise up another Ebenezer, because the

Lord delivers you through the day. But there

are significant events in each of our lives when

we really feel the Lord's presence and we see

his amazing deliverance for us, whether that's

on a personal level, whether that's in our families,

or even in our church. And it's right and proper

that those things be remembered. Why? How does

it honor the Lord? Start there. What does it

acknowledge? Okay. So it acknowledges that the

Lord was our help. This is the Lord's doing.

And it is marvelous in my eyes. And so it is.

It's full of thanksgiving. It's a testament to

his mercy and to his grace. I forget what else

mom said. It is all those things, but it is an

acknowledgement that whatever deliverance, whatever

salvation was received, it was of the Lord. Now,

we all have a common Ebenezer in our lives if

we're Christians, and that is what? Our salvation.

The day that the Spirit woke us up and we realized

we were sinners and what? We saw Jesus, finally.

How is it helpful to us to have these Ebenezers?

It honors the Lord because it acknowledges that

it's his work, but how is it helpful to you and

to me? Or how should it be helpful? It encourages

us to press on, to remember what God has done

and what he can and will do in the future. Okay,

so it should fill us with hope that God does

work. That he does care for me. That he is the

one that's in control. He is God Almighty. He's

my king. He's my Lord. He's my deliverer. He

is all these things to me. And so I ought to

remember that so that the next time I face or

the next time I realize that I'm facing this

insurmountable task, I can remember that. It's

not by my strength or by my power or even by

my plan that deliverance or salvation will be

had, but it's submitted to the Lord. So, you

know, however you do that in your life, do it.

Whether you store it up in your memory, whether

you write it down, whether you hang it on your

wall, whatever it is, make note. Raise up Ebenezers.

Now, the chapter ends in a most interesting way.

And again, there's lessons for us here. What

does it tell us? Samuel judged Israel all the

days of his life. Now, I don't know if that means

literally all the days of his life, or if that

means all the days of his life as a judge. I

would suspect it's as a judge. Because once he

anoints Saul to be king over Israel, he functions

as a prophet. But all the days of his life, he

functioned just as God had instructed him and

just as he had equipped him and just as he had

called him. And so he goes around from year to

year to Bethel, to Gilgal, to Mizpah, and he

judged Israel in those places. Now, what does

it take for Samuel to be a judge? It takes two

things. Number one, he's the judge, but what

else does it take? The people have to obey what

he said. Okay, the people have to submit to him

as a judge. That was the Lord's way. The Lord

said, I'm raising up Samuel as a judge. And the

people said, very good. Then we'll meet him on

his circuit or we'll go to Ramah and we will

submit to the Lord kingship mediated through

Samuel. Whatever Samuel says, that's what we'll

do. And then what happens? His return was to

Ramah. For there was his house, and there he

judged Israel, and there he built an altar to

the Lord. Now what came first in that formula

was what? The people's willing submission to

the rule of the Lord through Samuel. And their

repentance and their turning from these false

gods. And their turning to the one true God.

And that's the only context that will allow for

any kind of right worship of the Lord. An altar.

Was raised up in Rama. So. What is that? How

are we going to apply that in our lives? Is the

Lord going to be pleased. If we come in here

on Wednesday nights. And Sunday mornings. And

we don't have any thought for him. We aren't

submitted to his will. Or to his way. Any other

time during the week. Are we expecting that we're

going to be able to worship the Lord in that

kind of a circumstance? Is that even possible?

Is it possible, Ben? It's not even possible,

is it? To expect or to presume otherwise is a

folly. The Lord is worshipped. corporately, when

we are following the Lord personally through

the week, when we come together on Wednesday

nights and on Sunday mornings, it ought to be

a great rejoicing and it ought to be the demonstration

that we've been with the Lord. I've seen the

Lord. I've sought His face. He's drawn near to

me. And now with His people, I'm going to speak

forth His name and I'm going to tell what wonderful

things He's done. I'm going to see the Lord work

as I walk through my day. Now that's the way

it was in the old covenant. That's certainly

the way it is in the new covenant. The Lord is

not honored by presumption. He's not honored

by ceremony. He's honored by a people submitted

to him. And in the case of Israel, that submission

looked like... Whatever the judge said, that's

what we're going to do. We're going to submit

to the Lord through the judge, because the Lord

is going to speak to us through Samuel. And so

when Samuel says, go out, when Samuel says this,

it's the same thing as the Lord saying, go out,

or the Lord saying this. That's the way it is

in your life, and that's the way it is in my

life. What honors the Lord, that's what brings

glory to his name. If singing songs is the only

thing that you do on Sunday morning and Wednesday

nights, then you're not worshiping the Lord.

If you're singing the songs is a reflection of

where your heart has been all week, then you

can honor the Lord, and only then. When you have

submitted to his call and to his direction in

your life, then you and I can worship the Lord.

Where am I getting this out of the text is what

you're asking me? Yeah, from his circuit. It

says he what? He went from year to year in circuit

to Bethel to Gilgal and Mizpah and judged Israel

in those places. Anybody going to say anything

tonight? Anybody want to say anything today?

Well, I'll say something. Good. So your thing

about Ebenezer reminded me of the psalm that

I'm working through. And that idea is all through

the psalms. So the verse 2, well, so first of

all, he's like putting his eyes on the Lord.

What psalm is this? Psalm 27. Psalm 27. He's

declaring the facts. The Lord's my light, my

salvation, my strength, so I don't have to be

afraid. Then verse 2 is, when the wicked came

against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and

foes, they stumbled and fell. That's bringing

up an Ebenezer. So that's the way that we pray.

And that's the way that we strengthen our faith.

That's the way that we prepare ourselves to pray

and to worship and to, you know, live. So, anyway.

That's what I thought. I mean, when you're in

a tough spot, and then you're delivered out of

that spot. If you say, well, I was really smart,

and that's how I got out of that pickle. Or you

say, boy, I was really strong, and that's how

I got out of it. That's no Ebenezer. You've missed

it completely. So the idea is to view the circumstance

of your life through spiritual eyes, to acknowledge

God's work, to see it, to see what you're really

up against on a daily basis, to see what you're

up against throughout the course of your life

and to acknowledge His work there. You want to

say something? Are you going to talk about the

altar? That's what I was impressed by. Just the

altar? Go ahead. He erected an altar in his house.

Well, go ahead. Well, that's how we maintain

or that's how we should maintain our relationship

and our walk with the Lord by having our private,

personal altar. Obviously, we don't have the

same type of altar, but we should have a place

that we go. To be alone with the Lord, to study

the Word, to pray, that's our altar. That's our

meeting place. That's what the altar was. It

was the meeting place where they could worship.

We all should have our own altars in our own

homes if we intend to maintain our walk with

the Lord. Yeah. So that means what? Does that

just happen? Did Samuel just go home and say,

boy, I wish there was an altar here. And then

sit back and wait. So if we're going to have

an altar in our home, it's going to require what?

Some planning. It's going to require some preparation.

It's going to require some effort. It's going

to require all those things. And it's well worth

the effort. We should have an altar in our home.

Yes. Well, I'm not going to tell you that you

have to have a place, but I would say you ought

to think about it. Where am I going to be able

to concentrate my efforts on the Lord? So it's

probably not going to be in some busy place.

It's probably going to be somewhere quiet. Somewhere

where you can concentrate on the Lord. And once

you've identified that ideal spot, I don't know

why you would vary from that. If you have the

wherewithal to have a room, a study, an office,

somewhere that you can go to on a regular basis,

I would say that's ideal. But wherever that is

in your apartment, that's fine. Anybody else

want to say anything? I usually change where

I'm meeting with God. What's the purpose of that?

Well, it seems like you get too used to it. I

don't know. It seems like when I change, it helps

me focus better. So then it's with a purpose

that you move. So I'm not going to, I don't intend

to bring shame upon you or correct that. However

it is that you're able to seek the Lord the best,

to pay attention and to concentrate your efforts,

that's what you do. Amen.