1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord. 2 From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered at 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 people of Israel at Mizpah. 7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.
15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. And he built there an altar to the Lord. – 1 Samuel 7:1-17 ESV
The ark had been returned to Israel but the situation was far from perfect. In their two battles with the Philistines, the Israelites suffered staggering losses, including the deaths of 34,000 soldiers and the destruction or confiscation of many of their cities and lands. Their high priest and his two sons were dead and the ark was no longer located within the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle at Shiloh. For 20 years, it was kept at the home of Abinadab in Kiriath-jearim, and its absence made it impossible for the Israelites to keep the annual Day of Atonement impossible. This most sacred and solemn of all the annual feasts was held once a year and was the God-ordained means by which the people of Israel could receive atonement for all their sins.
On this one day each year, the high priest was allowed access to the Holy of Holies where God’s glory rested upon the mercy seat above the ark of the covenant. But before the high priest could enter, he had to atone for his own sins by offering a bull as a sin offering. Once he had been properly cleansed, he was to take two goats provided by the people and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. One goat was sacrificed as a sin offering for the people and its blood was taken inside the veil and sprinkled over the mercy seat.
“Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.” – Leviticus 16:16 ESV
The final step involved the ceremonial transfer of God’s judgment onto the second goat, which was then released into the wilderness.
“Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.” – Leviticus 16:20-21 ESV
For at least 20 years, this entire process had been unavailable to the Israelites and the spiritual toll on the nation was significant. Verse 2 states that “all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord” (1 Samuel 7:2 ESV). They mourned over the seeming loss of God’s presence and power. They had gotten their precious ark back but its presence didn’t seem to do any good; they felt as if God was nowhere to be found.
During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the Lord had abandoned them. – 1 Samuel 7:2 NLT
Even as they cried out to God for help, they hedged their bets and turned to the false gods of the Canaanites in the hope that they could protect them from the Philistines. It was in this dark and desperate spiritual vacuum that Samuel began his ministry. The nation was rudderless and in need of someone to guide them back to God.
God had called and commissioned Samuel for this role at this specific time in Israel’s history.
Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. – 1 Samuel 3:19-21 ESV
Now a young man and a proven spokesman for God, Samuel called the people of Israel to repentance, demanding that they turn their backs on the false gods of Canaan and return to the one true God.
“If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” – 1 Samuel 7:3 NLT
Mourning would not be enough; God wanted demonstrable evidence of heart change that showed up in their behavior. He would not tolerate their idolatry and infidelity. If they wanted God’s help, they would need to treat Him with honor, and the people responded to Samuel’s message.
So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord. – 1 Samuel 7:4 NLT
A purging took place, with the Israelites physically removing all the images of their false gods from their homes and businesses. These pagan deities had become a normal part of Israelite life and it probably took time to eradicate them. With the last vestiges of the false gods removed, Samuel called the people to gather at Mizpah for a time of corporate confession and cleansing.
When the Philistines learned of this great gathering at Mizpah, they assumed that the upstart Israelites were preparing to make war. So, they gathered their troops and marched toward Mizpah to put a stop to any Israelite insurgence. When news of the Philistine army’s advancement reached the ears of the Israelites, they began to panic and demanded that Samuel call out to Yahweh for help. In response, Samuel “took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him” (1 Samuel 7:9 NLT).
This time, rather than sending for the ark, the people begged Samuel to take their problem directly to God, which he did, and God answered in a big way. As the Philistines began their attack, “the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them” (1 Samuel 7:10 NLT). This was a Red Sea kind of deliverance. The Israelites stood back and watched as God miraculously intervened on their behalf. He spoke and the enemy panicked. God’s voice alone brought the Philistine advancement to a standstill and turned it into a rout.
In celebration of their divinely ordained victory, Samuel erected a memorial stone, naming it Ebenezer, which means “stone of help.” In their time of desperate need, Yahweh their “rock” had shown up and provided them with deliverance. He had done for them what they could never have done for themselves. To record this memorable event for posterity, Samuel erected a stone monument that would serve as a perpetual reminder to future generations of Israelites of God’s power to deliver. Even David, the future king of Israel, would declare the glory of the Lord, his rock and strength.
I love you, Lord;
you are my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies. – Psalm 18:1-3 NLT
It’s important to note that Israel received God’s help after they repented, confessed, and purged the land of their false gods. Their willingness to honor God resulted in His willingness to deliver them from the enemy. As long as they remained faithful to Yahweh, He would give them victory over the Philistines and ensure their safety and security in the land. For the first time in a long time, the Israelites found themselves under the leadership of a man whose close relationship with God provided them with the guidance they needed to thrive in the hostile environment of Canaan.
…throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the Lord’s powerful hand was raised against the Philistines. – 1 Samuel 7:13 NLT
The judgeship of Samuel had begun, and this young man took his role seriously. He traveled throughout the land of Israel, encouraging the people to walk in obedience to the Lord. He modeled faithfulness and called the people to maintain their allegiance to God at all costs. The stone of Ebenezer was intended to remind the people of Israel of Go’s presence and power. He had proven Himself trustworthy in the past and He would do so in the future. Samuel spent his life reminding the people, “Till now the Lord has helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12 ESV), and as long as they remained faithful, He would continue to do so.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.