A. Samuel's Ministry as Israel's Judge 7:2-17

As a totally dedicated Nazarite who followed the stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant as best he could, Samuel became a source of deliverance for Israel. The writer recorded two deliverances in this chapter.

This section sounds more like the Book of Judges than does any other in 1 or 2 Samuel. The cycle of religious experience repeated six times in that book occurs here as well. That cycle consists of blessing, apostasy, discipline, repentance, deliverance, rededication, and blessing. Samuel exercised the same function as the judges whose experiences appear on the pages of Judges.

"In the books of Samuel there are three chapters which stand out as markers, characterized by their interpretation of historical changes taking place in Israel's leadership structure. They are 1 Samuel 7, 1 Samuel 12 and 2 Samuel 7. Not that the remainder of these books is non-theological,' for theological presuppositions undergird the whole, but in these chapters a prophet expounds the divine word for each stage of the crisis through which the people of God are passing."⁸²

Note the continuation of the key word "hand"in this chapter (vv. 3, 8, 13, 14). It reflects the writer's continuing interest in the source of true power.

 1. Samuel's spiritual leadership 7:2-4

Twenty years after the Philistines had taken the ark Samuel led the people in national repentance.⁸³The Philistine oppression resulted in the Israelites turning to Yahweh for help (v. 2). Samuel told the people what they needed to do to secure God's blessing and victory over their enemy. They needed to repent (cf. Deut. 6:13; 13:4; Matt. 4:10). The people did so, and the hope of deliverance revived. Baal and Ashtoreth were the chief male and female deities of the Canaanite pantheon.⁸⁴

 2. National repentance and deliverance 7:5-14 

Mizpah (lit. watchtower, signifying an elevated site) was about two miles northwest of Samuel's hometown, Ramah, on the central Benjamin plateau. Pouring out water symbolized the people's feeling of total inability to make an effective resistance against their enemy (cf. Ps. 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).⁸⁵They 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 to Gideon, Samson, et al., at this time (cf. Judg. 6:25-27).

The Israelites sensed their continuing need for God's help and appealed to Samuel to continue to intercede for them (v. 8). Samuel gave intercession priority in his ministry because he realized how essential it was to Israel's welfare (cf. 12:23). All spiritual leaders should realize this need and should give prayer priority in their ministries. The sucking young lamb he sacrificed for the people represented the nation as it had recently begun to experience new life because of its repentance (v. 9).⁸⁶

After the tabernacle left Shiloh, the Israelites may have pitched it at Mizpah. Since Samuel offered a burnt offering there (v. 9) perhaps that is where the tabernacle stood. Nevertheless at this time the Israelites made offerings to God at other places too.

God's deliverance was apparently entirely supernatural (v. 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.⁸⁷The location of Bethcar is still uncertain, but most scholars believe it was near Lower Beth-horon, about 8 miles west of Mizpah toward the Philistine plain.

Scholars also dispute the site of Shen (v. 12). The Israelites memorialized God's help with a stone monument that they named Ebenezer. This Ebenezer is obviously not the same as the one the writer mentioned in 4:1 and 5:1. It was another memorial stone that marked God's action for His people (cf. Gen. 35:14; Josh. 4:9; 24:26).⁸⁸It announced the reversal of previous indignities and was a symbol of reintegration.⁸⁹This victory ended the 40-year oppression of the Philistines (1124-1084 B.C.; cf. Judg. 3:30; 8:28). However, the Philistines again became a problem for Israel later (cf. 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.⁹⁰

 3. Samuel's regular ministry 7:15-17

In addition to providing the special leadership just described, Samuel's ministry as a judge in Israel included regular civil as well as spiritual leadership. He was active especially in the tribal territory of Benjamin and in the town of Bethel just north of Benjamin in Ephraim. Samuel covered a four-town circuit as preacher and judge. He was obviously similar to the other judges in the Book of Judges all of whom also served local regions primarily. It is not clear whether the Gilgal referred to here was the Gilgal in the Jordan Valley near Jericho, or whether it was another Gilgal located a few miles north of Bethel.⁹¹The fact that Samuel built an altar (v. 17) illustrates his response to God's grace and his commitment to Yahweh.

"Brief as the portrait of Samuel here is, it gives us a glimpse of the ideal ruler. He had been provided by God and trained by him; he now showed himself able to read his people's minds and capable of rebuking them effectively. He was decisive in word and action, and he was fully in touch with God. Nor is his concern to provide justice purely coincidental. Yet the irony was that such a ruler was precisely the man whom Israel rejected, as chapter 8 will show. Political unrest may mirror inadequate or oppressive leadership; on the other hand, it may well demonstrate the fatal flaws in human nature. exactly the same may be true of unrest within any human community, including a local congregation."⁹²

Samuel's personal faithfulness to God qualified him for spiritual leadership and resulted in God blessing Israel. He was God's man calling the people back to faithful obedience to His will so they could experience His blessing.