Outline of Chapter 7:

       vv.    1–2a      The Ark is Taken to Kiriath-jearim [properly placed with 1Samuel 6]

       vv.   2b–6        Israel Has a Change of Heart Before God

       vv.    7–11      The Philistines Clash with the Israelis

       vv.   12–14      Israel’s Victory is Long-Term

       vv.   15–17      Samuel’s Ministry is Summarized

Charts and Maps:

       Introduction    What has Happened in Israel over the Past 20+ Years

       vv.   1–2a       Options for the Chapter Break between Chapters 6 and 7

       v.      3           Samuel Is a Type of Christ

       v.      3           Ashtoreth vs. Ashtaroth

       v.      3           “If You Return to Jehovah” Speech by Moses and Samuel

       v.     10           God’s Protection of Israel

       v.     12           Ebenezer vs. Ebenezer

       V.    13           Israeli-Philistine Aggressions

       v.     13           A Summary of 1Samuel 7:13

       v.     14           I Samuel 7:13–14 Summarized

       v.     16           The City of Bethel

       v.     16           A Map of the Territory of Benjamin

       v.     17           The Long List of Unanswered Questions

       v.     17           Why Is There No Contemporary Recording of the Destruction of Shiloh?

       v.     17           Where is the Tent of God?

       v.     17           Why Is the Tent of God Not Set up and Functioning?

       v.     17           Why Is the Tent of God Not Set up and Functioning after Samuel Assumes Political and Spiritual Leadership of Israel?

       v.     17           Why Did Samuel Allow the Ark of God to Remain in Kiriath-jearim Apparently Without Function?

       v.     17           Why Didn’t Samuel Simply Take over the Position of High Priest?

       v.     17           Why Are There at Least 4 Altars Set up Throughout Israel?

I ntroduction: 1Sam. 7 begins with the Ark being returned to Israel and then kept in Kiriath-jearim for safekeeping. Eli and his two sons have died. Eli’s grandson is too young to take over his ministry. Samuel has been trained since his youth to take over Eli’s responsibilities, both political and spiritual, but he is young and suddenly, almost without warning, he finds himself as the last man standing. Samuel leaves the Ark where it is taken in 1Sam. 7:1–2, more than likely because he is in awe of the Ark, and possibly afraid for his own life. In any case, God never seems to call upon Samuel to restore the Ark to the Tabernacle (which may or may not be set up at this time). The duties that Samuel takes on are probably primarily political ones. He continues handling mostly Eli’s political responsibilities, judging Israel, and developing a circuit to travel. Twenty years pass. The Philistines were probably devastated by the Ark being in their country for seven months, and they have finally recovered. Israel falls into idolatry during this time period. 20 years later, the Ark is still in Kiriath-jearim, the Philistines are a serious threat and probably have some control over Israel. The Philistines probably own some of the border cities and it is possible that Israel pays them tribute. Also, Israel is playing the harlot with the Canaanite gods. It is now time for Samuel to step in as the spiritual leader of Israel.

To give you a brief preparation for that which is not in this chapter, Samuel has, for about 20 years, been in training. For at least 20 years, he has ministered in some way at Shiloh (or somewhere, as Shiloh was probably burnt to the ground by this time). It is unclear as to how much his authority was respected and followed during the past 20 years. Samuel did not have the Ark in the Tent of Meeting—that was taken when Eli was still alive and the High Priest; and it is not clear that Samuel had the authority to bring it back to the Tent of God; that is, it is not clear that Samuel could have simply dispensed some servants to go get the Ark. Furthermore, we do not know exactly what has happened in Shiloh at this time. Presumably, the Philistines burned Shiloh to the ground, although the Tent of God was apparently dismantled and saved (we covered this at the end of the previous chapter). Given what will occur in this chapter and given the fact that there will be peace between Israel and the Amorites (v. 14 of this chapter), the trashing of Shiloh would have reasonably taken place during this 20 years period of time alluded to in 1Sam. 7:2. This would explain the obvious spiritual hunger in Israel (1Sam. 7:5–8).

The bulk of this chapter deals with the repentance of Israel and God’s blessing upon them as a result. Samuel is also clearly presented as a judge, prophet and priest with authority. We begin with Israel gathering to ask God’s forgiveness. Obviously, this was long in coming, and Samuel initiated the place of meeting in v. 5. When Israel gathered and lamented her sins, Samuel also offered up a young whole lamb on behalf of the errant nation. When Philistia got wind of this gathering, they had assumed that Israel was gathering to revolt against Philistine oppression (v. 7). Even though that was not the intention, that turned out to be the result. The Philistines swiftly moved against Israel during this time of repentance and God showed His allegiance to Israel in no uncertain terms. The Philistines were routed by the elements themselves and Israel, not really prepared for war, became the aggressor and chased the Philistines back to their original territory (vv. 10b–14). The end result was a time of peace between Israel and the various groups of people within the Land of Promise. This chapter concludes with a note on Samuel’s circuit, indicating that his authority was well-established, and that it continued throughout his life (vv. 15–17).

There are those who believe that this portion of Scripture was added sometime later. In fact, there are a lot of scholars (and I use the term as referring to someone who has been to college) who do that with a great many portions of Scripture. Their reasoning here is this: (1) the previous passage dealt with the Ark and its movement and this passage does not; (2) the next section deals with the selection of Saul as the new king of Israel and this passage does not. Therefore, 1Sam. 7:2–17 is not connected to the passages on either side of it; therefore, someone must have added it hundreds of years later. Now let me explain why the subjects covered in 1Sam. 7:2–17 are separate from those on both sides of this passage: (1) The movement of the Ark is finished with v. 7:1; it is not going to move again until the time of David. Therefore, there would be no reason to further discuss the movement of the Ark no matter what came next because there is no further movement of the Ark. (2) Samuel apparently has a great deal of authority, which authority is explained in this chapter. Now, even though Samuel tells Israel not to place their hopes upon some king and yet they do; he still is the one who searches Israel for a suitable candidate based upon God’s direction. Without a clear spiritual and political authority, this function of Samuel would appear to come out of the blue, had it not been for this chapter we are going to study.

The big theme of 1Sam. 6 was the movement of the Ark. The Ark is moved one more time to Kiriath-jearim in 1Sam. 7:1–2, and I therefore covered the exegesis of those verses there. I will include the corrected translation and only brief commentary here:

The Ark is Taken to Kiriath-jearim

Topically, v. 1 properly belongs with this previous chapter; v. 2, on the other hand, is a transitional verse. V. 2a properly belongs with the previous chapter and v. 2b belongs with chapter 7. We have gone from following the Ark (which we have done since 1Sam. 4) to Israel’s spiritual condition. The Ark will not be mentioned after this verse for a long, long time. However, we will still be dealing with Samuel as the leader of Israel and with the Philistines as the thorn in the side of Israel. The lamentation of Israel is what prompts Samuel to step forward as a national leader in the realm of the spirit.

What you need to do now is to put a big old, hankin’ period at the end of the second Kiriath-jearim, place an asterisk before the and, and then, off to the margin put another asterisk and write, the beginning of 1Sam. 7. We have discussed in the previous chapter how arbitrary the chapter and verse divisions were.

Here is where we should properly begin 1Sam. 7:

Here is how others have translated the latter half of v. 2:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                         Days were multiplied (for it was now the twentieth year) and all the house of Israel rested, following the Lord.

Masoretic Text                       And so were increasing the days and so they were twenty years. And so lamented all a house of Israel after Y^ehowah.

Peshitta                                 The time was long,—for it was about 20 years—and all the house of Israel yearned after the Lord.

Septuagint                             The days were multiplied, and it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel looked after the Lord.

Significant differences:          In the MT, the Israelites lament or mourn after Jehovah; in the LXX, they look for Him. The rendering of this verb into the Greek and into the Syriac may simply be interpretation. In all four cases, it is reasonable to end chapter 6 at 1Sam. 7:2a. The rendering of the final verb in the Latin makes little sense, given the gist of this chapter.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       ...and it stayed there for twenty years. During this time, everyone in Israel was very sad and begged the Lord for help. Or, “Israel turned to the Lord and begged him for help.” [I kept all of v. 2 in this one place].

NLT                                The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all. During that time, all Israel mourned because it seemed that the Lord had abandoned them. [This is all of v. 2].

TEV                                       The Covenant Box of the Lord stayed in Kiriath Jearim a long time, some twenty years. During this time all the Israelites cried to the Lord for help. [All of v. 2].

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         A long time passed after the ark came to stay at Kiriath Jearim. For 20 years the entire nation of Israel mournfully sought the Lord. [God’s Word keeps a portion of v. 7a and 7b together; however, the time frame is clearly and correctly explained].

JPS (Tanakh)                        A long time elapsed from the day that the Ark was housed in Kiriath-jearim, twenty years in all; and all the House of Israel yearned after the Lord. [The JPS translation keeps portions of 7a and 7b together].

HCSB                                    Time went by until 20 years had passed since the ark had been taken to Kiriath-jearim. Then the whole house of Israel began to seek the LORD. [This is all of v. 2 from the HCSB. However, there is nothing wrong with the gist of this verse and it would be a good beginning for chapter 7].

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                And the Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a very long time [nearly 100 years, though Samuel's entire judgeship, Saul's reign, and well into David's, when it was brought to Jerusalem]. for it was twenty years before all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. [1Chron. 13:5–7]. [This is all of v. 2 from The Amplified Bible].

NASB                                     And it came about from the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim that the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. [I kept all of v. 2 here].

Young's Updated LT              And it comes to pass, from the day of the dwelling of the ark in Kiriath-Jearim, that the days are multiplied—yea, they are twenty years—and wail do all the house of Israel after Jehovah. [All of v. 2 is here].

What is the gist of this verse? About 20 years pass during which the Ark is in storage and the people lament after Jehovah.

Translation: And the days increased... Although most translations put v. 7a with 7b, note that this portion could be the beginning of chapter 7; and this first portion could be the end of chapter 6.

Obviously, keeping the Ark in Kiriath-jearim was thought to be a temporary measure at first. However, time just continued to increase and the Ark stayed there. Neither Abinadab nor his son Eleazar had the authority to remove the Ark or to ship it elsewhere. Nothing is said about Samuel and the Ark—ever. He is not a part of the Aaronic priesthood, per se, although he has stepped in as a Levitical priest. However, given all of the deaths which have been closely associated with the Ark, it appears to be Samuel's choice to simply leave the Ark where it is being stored.

Translation: ...and they became twenty years. This time represents a period of time where the Ark was returned to Israel and taken to Kiriath-jearim, during which the people of Israel lamented for God. This does not mean that everything went back to normal at the end of 20 years. What will happen is, Samuel will speak to the people after 20 years (1Sam. 7:3).

I first of all need to deal with the time element, which I have already covered in the Doctrine of the Ark of God (1Sam. 4:11). At least two sources mention that the Ark stays in Kiriath-jearim for a period of 20 years and then King David sends for it. Immediately, that is a problem. We still have some time during which Israel will mix it up with the Philistines; we have a portion of Samuel’s ministry to consider (there is no reason to assume that he is anything other than a young man at this point in time). Then Israel will desire a king and they will choose Saul. During this time period, Samuel becomes an old man (1Sam. 12:2) and he eventually dies (1Sam. 25:9). Saul appears to reign for 40 years (Acts 13:21), and there is a lot of interaction between himself and David during approximately the final 10–20 years of his reign (David’s patience with God’s plan would seem fairly namby-pamby if he only had to wait 5 or fewer years to rule over Israel). In fact, we have nearly 30 chapters of the Word of God in I and 2Samuel which will transpire over this time period. Therefore, the Ark did not remain in Kiriath-jearim for the short period of 20 years. Furthermore, we have no indication that it was taken anywhere else. My point in all of this? My point is that the Ark did not stay in Kiriath-jearim for only 20 years, and this verse does not say that it remained in Kiriath-jearim for only 20 years. The Ark was taken to Kiriath-jearim; it remains there for what seems to be a very long time, and, after 20 years, the people of Israel began to yearn for God, as there is no Tabernacle of God functioning (because Shiloh is destroyed and the Ark is in storage). After the Ark was in Kiriath-jearim for 20 years, then the people gather at Mizpah in a meeting called by Samuel. This gathering at Mizpah, however, will not result in the Ark coming out of storage. The 20 year time period in v. 2 begins with the Ark being taken to Kiriath-Jearim and ends when Samuel gathers the people in Mizpah. Many of the freer translations are extremely misleading at this point.

In all, this gives us: And the days increased and they became twenty years... Now we are speaking of a passage of time between the events of chapter 6 and Samuel speaking to the people of Israel in 1Sam. 7:3.

Translation: And all the house of Israel lamented after Y^ehowah. For 20 years, the house of Israel mourns for her God. This means, the Ark is kept at Kiriath Jearim; there do not appear to be any services carried on there; it appears to be simply kept in storage. Furthermore, there does not appear to be any activity at Shiloh (otherwise, why not transport the Ark to there?). So, for 20 years, we have no proper spiritual activity in Israel.

I hope that you note that when the end of v. 2 is properly placed at the beginning of 1Sam. 7, then there is no reason to explain much of anything. When v. 2 was one unit, it appeared as though the Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for 20 years, which was certainly not the case. However, what we are speaking of in this verse is the time which passes after the Ark is moved to Kiriath-jearim. It makes a perfect beginning for this chapter, just as 1Sam. 7:2a is a perfect end for the previous chapter.

Now, in this verse, the people of God begin to cry out for God once again. McGee comments: In this day in which we are living there is a renewed interest in the Word of God. I rejoice in this because it is my firm conviction that God’s people must get back to the Bible. I believe that all sixty-six books—all the way from Genesis to Revelation—are the word of God. I believe in the Bible’s integrity and inerrancy, and in the fact that we need to get back to its teachings. We have been a long time getting back to God’s Word. Progress has been slow. How many more years will it take? Many people today are getting very tired of listening to politicians make promises, promises, promises, and they don’t fulfill them. I want to say in their behalf that they cannot fulfill them—yet they promise. We also have all kinds of new nostrums coming from college professors and leaders in every field. There is only one thing wrong: they won’t work. Maybe in desperation America will turn to God. That is what happened to Israel after twenty years.

More than time passed. This was not some sort of purgatory where Israel remained for twenty years, and then it was all over. There was a problem—idolatry, and Samuel told the people that their idols had to go (v. 3). The people responded by removing their idols (v. 4); then Samuel prayed on their behalf to God (vv. 5, 9–10a) as they confessed their sins (vv. 6, 8). After all of this, then God gave them victory over the Philistines (vv. 10b–14).

Edersheim writes: Twenty years had passed since the return of the ark—a period, as we gather from the subsequent history, outwardly of political subjection to the Philistine, and spiritually of religious depression, caused by the so lateness of their sanctuary, and the manifest absence of the Lord from among His people.

Now, what appears to be the case is, a delegation of elders have come to Samuel, recognizing his spiritual authority, and tell him of the spiritual condition of the people of Israel. This will make perfect sense, as Samuel will eventually say, "Gather all of Israel to Mizpah." (v. 5). He has to be speaking to someone; so my guess would be, to a delegation of elders who represent the people of Israel.

According to Keil and Delitzsch, vv. 2–3 should be run together. Although I don’t see that, v. 3 does follow after v. 2. 20 years pass, Israel laments after God, and Samuel then speaks to the house of Israel. If this is the sense in which this is meant—to define the ending event of the 20 year time period, then that is reasonably accurate. Obviously, if Israel is distressed over her idolatry then it would follow that they would listen to their spiritual leader, Samuel. It would be quite illogical to separate these two thoughts.

First, let’s see what others have done with this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so says Samuel unto all house of Israel to say, “If in all your heart you [all] are returning unto Y^ehowah, put away gods, the foreign, from among you and the Ashtaroth and prepare your heart unto Y^ehowah and serve Him to Him alone and He may deliver you [all] from a hand of Philistines.”

Septuagint                             And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you [all] do with all your heart return to the Lord, take away the strange gods from the midst of you, and the groves, and prepare your hearts to [serve] the Lord, and serve him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

Significant differences:          Since Ashtoreth can be rendered groves, there are no significant differences between the Greek and the Hebrew.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

TEV                                       Samuel said to the people of Israel, “If you are going to turn to the Lord with all your hearts, you must get rid of all the foreign gods and the images of the goddess Astarte. Dedicate yourselves completely to the Lord and worship only him, and he will rescue you from the power of the Philistines.”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         Samuel told the entire nation of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord wholeheartedly, get rid of the foreign gods you have, including the statues of the goddess Astarte. Make a commitment to the Lord, and serve only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”

JPS (Tanakh)                        And Samuel said to all the House of Israel, “If you mean to return to the Lord with all your heart, you must remove the alien gods and the Ashtaroth from your midst and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him alone. Then He will deliver you from the hands of the Philistines.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

Young's Updated LT              And Samuel speaks to all the house of Israel, saying, ‘If with all your heart you [all] are turning back unto Jehovah—turn aside the gods of the stranger from your midst, and Ashtaroth; and prepare your heart unto Jehovah, and serve Him only, and He does deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’

What is the gist of this verse? Samuel tells those of Israel to turn away from idols and towards God; the result will be their deliverance from the Philistines.

Translation: Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying,... Or, to integrate this with the previous verse: Then [after the 20 years passed], Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying,... Israel had not been defeated by the Philistines for no reason. They were at a low spiritual ebb, which was common for Israel during that time period (the period of the judges). Theirs was a roller coaster of spiritual highs and spiritual lows; when they hit a spiritual low, a foreign country would come in and defeat them in war or control them. Philistia was expanding her borders and taking chunks out of Israel. Philistia had a sent back while the Ark was within her borders, but she removed the Ark, some of her population believed in Jehovah-God, and now Philistia was going strong again. It is likely that Shiloh, once home to the Ark of God, had been burned to the ground by the Philistines, although apparently not the Tent of God (this was all discussed in the previous chapter in great detail).

Now, interestingly enough, we have not heard from Samuel in 20 years (v. 2). He is mentioned in 1Sam. 4:1a, and, since then, the focus has been on the Ark of God and Israel’s war with Philistia. Israel realizes that it is in terrible condition, spiritually speaking, and they turn to the only man in Israel who can guide them—Samuel. It is not entirely clear what Samuel has been doing these past 20 years. In my opinion, he had taken Eli’s place as a judge/governor and that was his primary function. He may have been raised up in the Tent of God, but his spiritual authority appears to have been limited (up until this time). Samuel was not an Aaronic priest, although he was probably, in part, a Levite. I have, in the previous chapter, mused as to why Samuel did not set up the Tent of God and reunite it with the Ark of God. The answer may be as simple as the realm of his authority. People were willing to accept him as a judge over judicial matters, as he followed in Eli’s footsteps, having been trained by Eli. However, regardless of his training, Samuel was not in the line of Aaron, thus separating him from the priesthood by ancestors. He may not have felt completely comfortable exerting any sort of spiritual authority—up until this point in time—and it is possible that Israel was not ready to give him any spiritual authority—at least, not for 20 years. Israel has spent the past 20 years under God’s discipline, indicating their low spiritual ebb. Even though Samuel is their perfect spiritual leader, it takes them 20 years to realize this.

There is a point I need to make now, which is often ignored by believers. There are so many people who are saved who are immediately put to work doing this or that. Particularly celebrities—if an evangelical group can get their hands on someone of notoriety, that someone is out giving speeches and giving his testimony before as many groups as possible—and with minimal training. “I don’t need to be trained to speak from my heart.” Bullcrap. When you speak God’s truth, you need some training; and the more you speak, the more training that you need. Samuel was raised up in the Tent of God by priest-judge Eli. Samuel got to watch things being done wrong over and over with the sons of Eli. So, did Samuel, at age 20, spring into action? Not at all. 20 yeas after the Ark was placed in Kiriath-jearim; 20 years after the Philistines took the Ark from Israel; 20 years after the death of Eli—then Samuel springs into action. How old is Samuel? Somewhere between 30 and 50 (I would guess 32). He is raised in the Tent of God, but his ministry does not really begin until this chapter, 20 years after the Ark was returned. My point in all of this is that you do not go directly from salvation to serving God. Okay, maybe you think that you do, but Samuel, whose ministry was a hundred times greater than yours—he didn’t make such a quick transition. Like any believer worth his salt, Samuel grew spiritually before he functioned as a spiritual leader. He grew in grace and the knowledge of God’s Word (1Sam. 3:21).

Application: By the way, let's talk about this for a moment: would you want a doctor with 2 week's intensive training evaluating you? Would you want your lab work done by a lab assistant who has had a week's worth of training? Do you want the pilot of your airplane to have only spent a total of 20 hours simulated flight training before taking off with you and 180 other passengers? Despite the innate abilities of these men, their prior training is what gives them the ability to diagnose your illness or to fly the plane that you are in. Our vocation as believers in Jesus Christ is much more important than being a pilot or being a doctor. Therefore, our training should be intensive and thorough as well. The idea of anyone going from salvation to a pastorate in 2 years is ridiculous; the idea of anyone going from salvation to public speaking in a month is ridiculous. Your service to God as a spiritual baby is negligible. Your service to God as a mature believer filled with God the Holy Spirit has great impact.

We do not know the exact occasion of Samuel's speech. We do not know to whom Samuel spoke specifically. Did he organize the elders of the land? Did he call together a meeting of the elders of the land. Was he on his circuit as a judge (see the end of this chapter) and a crowd gathered to ask him about spiritual matters? The end result was that he spoke to all of Israel. That is, no matter who exactly the first crowd was—there could have been several gatherings—or no matter how they were gathered, all of Israel received this message of Samuel’s. In fact, the import of his message was moot unless all of Israel heard and responded.

Barnes comments: Twenty years of Samuels life had passed away since the last mention of him (iv 1). Now he appears in the threefold character of Prophet, Judge, and the acknowledged leader of the whole people. His words were an answer to a profession of repentance on the part of Israel, the practical proof of which would be putting away all their false gods.

Translation:...“If, with all your heart, you are returning to Y^ehowah,... The idea is that Israel, as a nation, has called out to God for deliverance from the Philistines, and God has sent them Samuel to straighten them out—to guide them in the measures needed in order for God to bless the nation again.

Translation:...[then] put away the foreign gods...from your midst... Samuel then lists the requirements—the visible proofs which should be submitted to God to prove that they are turning toward Him again. Samuel will give them two Hiphil imperatives followed by a Qal imperative, listing the three things which must be done by Israel as a nation. The first thing they must do is, to cause to depart, to remove, to take away. What they are to remove is that which is foreign among them—in this case, foreign gods.

Men in the ancient world were somewhat different than man today—their idolatry was often some sort of worship which involved inanimate objects (although, this is not completely missing from our society, given the statues of Mary, the symbol of the cross, the pictures of Jesus). However, essentially, idolatry is whatever you put before God; whatever takes precedence over God. In this regard, we have hundreds of things which are considered to be more important than the Word of God.

Translation: ...and the Ashtoreth figurines [from your midst]... Then we have a very common Hebraism, where an additional item is also supposed to be taken away from their midst: we begin with the wâw conjunction, the definite article and the feminine plural noun ׳ash^etârôwth (תר ָ  ׃ש ָע) [pronounced ģahsh-taw-ROHTH], and these are apparently the figurines which represent the goddess Ashtoreth. We studied her back in Judges 2:13; suffice it to say that she was a heathen goddess who represented sex and fertility (though not always). Now might be a good time to briefly revisit the two different words:

This gives us: “...remove the foreign gods and the Ashtoreth figurines from your midst...” During this time period, the Israelites had fallen into idolatry, which was a thing that they did often, particularly during the time of the judges (see Judges 2:11–12 3:7, 12 4:1 6:1 10:6). Israel never completely removed the Canaanites from their land, and therefore, the Canaanites and their idolatry remained there. We may wonder how Israel, tied so closely to the God of the Universe, would stray from truth. The United States was founded by men who were closely tied to the truth of Scripture, our schools were principally founded by men of faith, and we send out more missionaries from the US than all other countries combined; yet we have drifted further and further away from our historical roots, even in our fundamentalist churches. Israeli men would be seduced by foreign women and then by their gods. Those who were not tied closely to God’s Word (which was not nearly as available to the Israelites as it is to us), could be easily led astray. As we examined in previous studies, the Ashtoreth appear to be the actual figurines which represent the demon-backed deities. Israelites had become accustomed to keeping these figurines in addition to what they had learned in the Tent of God. It is not unlike the Catholic today who has a statue of Mary, the mother of the humanity of Jesus. It really is not far from these pictures of this long-haired Jesus which are found hung in churches all over. Not only do we not have much of an idea of what Jesus looks like—about the only things we could reasonably guess is that (1) He had short hair; (2) He was physically very strong; and (3) He was decidedly non-Caucasoid. In other words, He did not look at all like the picture that we traditionally display. So we have these things which border on idolatry and the Israelites had them as well. They may or may not have prayed to these figurines; they may or may not have done anything out of the ordinary with the figurines, apart from giving them a prominent place in the house or on their automobile’s dashboard. But they did represent demonic deities and believers were not to make physical representations of things which were in heaven or things which are a part of the unseen world. “You will not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” (Deut. 5:8). As we found in our examination of the book of Joshua, the religious practices of the Canaanites was deplorable enough to call for their extinction (not simply of the practices but of the Canaanites themselves). These practices included human sacrifice, religious prostitution, homosexual activity and self-mutilation. Such activity was practiced by their gods, so it was deemed reasonable for the Canaanites themselves. Israel fell into this more and more often in this cycle of the judges which we studied in the book of the Judges.

Quite obviously, since only a very small percentage of those reading this are Catholics, you may believe that this does not pertain to you. Incorrect. If you place other things before God, then that is idolatry. If you place work, school, family, money, sex, anyone or anything before God, that is idolatry. And it is more than simple verbal ascent. I recall a woman who decided to give me a list of the important things in her life, and, of course, God was number one. However, the same woman, a couple years later, chose to live with a man apart from the institution of marriage. That is not placing God first. If you are too busy to attend Bible class or too busy to study God’s Word each and every day, than whatever has taken up your time is idolatry.

Translation: ...and prepare your hearts unto Y^ehowah... To prepare one's heart means to name one's sins to God in order to restore fellowship with God. At this point in time, this was often done before a priest, who represented Jesus Christ (although, not always, as we have David writing, Against You and You only have I sinned). I suspect that Samuel was going to doa little teaching (more than we have recorded in this chapter), and that they were to prepare for that.

Application: Okay, so how do you prepare for the teaching of the Word of God? Obviously, naming your sins to God is first. However, other things then require individual choices. In some cases, you will turn on and turn down the volume for your answering machine; you may set your cell phone on vibrate and leave it in the car or in the other room. You might turn off your Blackberry or other small computer/communication device. For me, if I am being taught at night, and I have had an active day, then I often need a short nap, 5–15 minutes long, in order to keep from falling asleep while being taught. The idea is, you want to minimize or, preferably, eliminate all distractions from your mind and from your periphery so that you can concentrate on the most important part of your day.

Translation: ...and serve Him [and] Him alone,... This exclusive devotion to Jehovah God is found throughout Scripture: And Jesus answered and said to him, “It stands written, ‘You will worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ ” (Luke 4:8 Deut. 6:13). Joshua said, “Now, therefore, fear Y^ehowah and serve Him in sincerity and truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River [Euphrates] and in Egypt and serve Y^ehowah...put away the foreign gods which are in your midst and incline your hearts to Y^ehowah, the God of Israel.” (Joshua 24:14, 23; see also Deut. 13:4 Judges 10:16). There is no place in Scripture for a man to have faith in anyone other than Jesus Christ (Jehovah Elohim of Israel). Buddha is not another name for God; he was a man and he is dead. Moses, Mohammed and Confucius were all men, and they are all dead (although Moses is in Abraham's bosom at this time). Allah of Islam is an idol representing a demon. The Bible does not teach that sincerity is good enough; our faith must be in Jesus Christ in order to be efficacious. It is quite simple: neither Buddha, Moses, Mohammed nor Confucius died for your sins. Adhering to some religious doctrine or an attempt to be moral, while better for society as a whole, does nothing to improve your relationship with God. God is specific and demands faith in Christ alone, because only Jesus died for our sins.

As Moses said to Israel, “But from there you will seek Y^ehowah your God and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days, you will return to Y^ehowah your god and you will listen to His voice. For Y^ehowah your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.” (Deut. 4:29–31).

Translation: ...that He may deliver you [all] from the hand of the Philistines. Or, “...and then He may deliver you [all] out of the hand of the Philistines.” In the previous 20 years, the Philistine control over the Israelites and the Philistine persecution of the Israelites had increased to grave proportions. As we studied, they captured the Ark of God, and, although they returned it, it was no longer a part of the Tent of God until the time of David. We may infer that the Philistines also marched into Shiloh and burned it to the ground (this would reasonably be simultaneous to the time that the Ark was in Philistia). Israel was in desperate straights, feeling the pressure which God had placed upon them.

The book of the Judges is based upon this cycle, and herein is the final cycle of the era of the judges. It is originally summarized in Judges 2:18–20a: And when Y^ehowah raised up judges for them, Y^ehowah was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for Y^ehowah was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and to bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. So the anger of Y^ehowah burned against Israel.

First, what others have done:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so put away, sons of Israel, the Baals and the Ashtaroth and they serve Y^ehowah to Him only.

Septuagint                             And the children of Israel took away Baalim and the groves of Astaroth, and served the Lord only.

Significant differences:          The LXX inserts groves of, which is not found in the Hebrew, Latin or Syriac.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

The Message                         They did it. They got rid of the gods and goddesses, the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and gave their exclusive attention and service to GOD.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Complete Jewish Bible          So the people of Isra’el banished the ba‘alim and the ‘ashtaroth and served only Adonai.

God’s Word™                         So the Israelites got rid of the statues of Baal and Astarte and served only the Lord.

JPS (Tanakh)                        And the Israelites removed the Baalim and Ashtaroth and they served the Lord alone.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone.

Young's Updated LT              And the sons of Israel turn aside the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and serve Jehovah alone;...

What is the gist of this verse? The people of Israel did get rid of their idolatrous practices and turned to Jehovah God.

Translation: So the sons of Israel removed [or, caused to go away, departed from] the Baals and the Ashtoreth figurines... Recall that Ashtaroth is plural and may be reasonably transliterated Ashtoreths. The use of the plural of Baal and Ashtoreth in this verse and the action of Israel—removing them—indicates that we are speaking of statuettes and figurines which stood for the gods and goddesses of the heathen. During the time of the judges, this was a common cycle, and Israel had suffered in the past and then they put away their idols as a spiritual response (Judges 2:13 10:16).

Translation: ...and they served Y^ehowah [and] Him only. Or,...and they served Y^ehowah only. As we saw in the book of the Judges, this was typical of Israel. Israel would fall into idolatry, God would put them under the control of a foreign nation and they would return to God. We are still in the time period of the judges, as Samuel himself will be a judge over Israel. The period of the judges will end when Saul becomes king over Israel. There is another transition here at work as well. Eli was a priest-judge; Samuel, although he did things that a priest might do, was more of a prophet-judge. That is, the spiritual authority of Israel, once the domain of priests and judges, will soon become the possession of the prophet, whom God will send to Israel more and more.

First, the other translations:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so says Samuel, “Gather all of Israel the Mizpah-ward and I will pray in you [all] unto Y^ehowah.”

Septuagint                             And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Massephath, and I will pray concerning you to the Lord.”

Significant differences:          None, the prepositions which are noted above are more a matter of translation than actual difference.

You may have noted that, for a chapter and a half, there have been many problems with the text of Samuel. The manuscripts from the Greek and Hebrew differed considerably. However, when it comes right down to it, there are actually few problems with the understanding of a passage. Now, from this point on, and for some time, there will be far fewer differences between the Greek and Hebrew.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

The Message                         Next Samuel said, "Get everybody together at Mizpah and I'll pray for you."

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

JPS (Tanakh)                        Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”

Young's Updated LT              ...and Samuel says, “Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I pray for you unto Jehovah.”

What is the gist of this verse? Samuel speaks to those who come to him and tells them to gather all Israel to Mizpah; there, he would pray to Jehovah concerning them.

Translation: Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to the Mizpah... Samuel was an extremely important man in God’s work in Israel. He is the last judge of the time of the judges. He is a prophet. A psalmist recognizes his authority and groups him with Aaron and Moses (Psalm 99:6). Since most of the Psalms were composed during the time of David and soon thereafter, this indicates that there was a very early acceptance of the true authority of Samuel. Obviously, the people of Israel of this time recognize Samuel’s leadership; but this indicates that, in retrospect, Samuel’s authority had been God-given. In speaking to Jeremiah, God also recognizes Samuel’s authority. In fact, Samuel will become known for praying on behalf of Israel and God promises that, even if Moses and Samuel stood before Him, His heart would not be with His people (Jer. 15:1).

Now, here is an interesting place to gather. Recall that Shiloh was the spiritual center for Israel, wherein was the Ark and the Tent of God. Israel removed the Ark from Shiloh and the Philistines took the Ark from Israel. When the Ark was returned to Israel, it was not returned to Shiloh, but first to Beth-shemesh (which was the choice of the Philistines) and then to Kiriath-jearim (which was the choice of the people of Beth-shemesh). Since Israel is not gathering at Shiloh and since the Ark was not taken to Shiloh, we may assume that this is the time that Shiloh had been destroyed. Surprisingly, we do not have the actual destruction of Shiloh recorded by an eyewitness (perhaps there were no eyewitnesses?). Suddenly, when we would expect the name of Shiloh to be mentioned, we have instead Kiriath-jearim (for the place where the Ark is kept) or Mizpah (for a gathering of the sons of Israel for spiritual renewal). We have touched on Mizpah (or, Mizpeh) several times in the past; it is probably time that we examine the Doctrine of the Cities of Mizpah. What we need to get from this is that Mizpah is centrally located in Benjamin and that it was a common meeting place for the tribes of Israel during the period of the judges (Judges 20:1 1Sam. 7:5 10:17).

Translation: ...and I will intercede [via prayer] with you [all] unto Y^ehowah.” I realize that every translation says that Samuel will pray for the Israelites, but it does not say that in the Hebrew or in the Greek and it would be a long stretch to make it mean that. Samuel will pray among the Israelites or in the Israelites or with the Israelites, but not for the Israelites. In other words, this is a joint venture. Samuel does this hand-in-hand with is brothers. The spiritual revival of Israel depends upon the volition of the people of Israel. Samuel can pray all he wants to; however, unless the people of Israel are involved, his prayers will have limited results.

First, what others have done:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so they are gathered the Mizpah-ward and so they draw waters and so they pour [it] out to faces of Y^ehowah and so they fast in the day the that and so they say there, “We have sinned to Y^ehowah” and so judges Samuel sons of Israel in the Mizpah.

Septuagint                             And they were gathered together to Massephath, and they drew water, and poured it out upon the earth before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said, “We have sinned before the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Massephath.

Significant differences:          No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

NLT                                So they gathered there and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. So it was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.

TEV                                       So they all gathered at Mizpah. They drew some water and poured it out as an offering to the Lord and fasted that whole day. They said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” (It was at Mizpah where Samuel settled disputes among the Israelites.)

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

JPS (Tanakh)                        They assembled at Mizpah, and they drew water and poured it out before the Lord; they fasted that day, and there they confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. And Samuel acted as chieftain of the Israelites at Mizpah.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And they gathered 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 sons of Israel at Mizpah.

Young's Updated LT              And they are gathered to Mizpeh, and draw water, and pour out before Jehovah, and fast on that day, and say there, ‘We have sinned against Jehovah;’ and Samuel judges the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.

What is the gist of this verse? Israel did some acts of contrition; they drew out water and then poured it out before God. Also, they fasted and admitted to God their sin. As what appears to be a result of all this, Samuel functions as a judge in Mizpah.

Translation: So they were gathered at Mizpah... In the Hebrew, we have the definite article and the locative hê hung on the end of Mizpah, which essentially gives us Mizpah-ward (i.e., in the direction or in the area of Mizpah). In the English, this makes most sense as a prepositional phrase, just as the passive verb sounds best as a past tense. Again, note, they are not gathering together in Shiloh, which would makes sense, if it had been burned to the ground.

Translation: ...and they would draw water and they would pour [it] out before Y^ehowah. This was a great sacrifice before God. Although water is the most important thing to us in this environment after air, we tend not to appreciate it, as it is so easy for us to go to the faucet and fill a glass of water. In Israel, this was not an easy thing to do. One had to have a well (which was a great deal more work for them then than it is now); and then one had to bring the water up bucket by bucket. If they were by a wadi, then water could be brought from the wadi to where it was needed. That would be a good and convenient location for water (and recall that the wadis often dried up after the rainy season). This indicated that they knew that their basic provisions were given them by God. I have read several commentaries on this event, and most of them take the position that this was representative of Israel pouring out her heart before God (apparently, the Chaldee paraphrase is rendered that way ). 1Sam. 1:15 Psalm 62:8 and Lam. 2:19 are often given as references. Now, certainly the pouring out of the water may have been indicative of their sorrow, but it was not an hyperbole—they literally drew water and poured it out—there is no reason to think otherwise. As for these three passages—they mention the pouring out of one’s heart before God; the last reads: Pour out your heart like water before the presence of Y^ehowah.” That is clearly a simile. However, a simile found elsewhere does not make our passage an hyperbole. Since there is no other instance prior to this of pouring out water before God, I believe that this spontaneous act was more closely tied to fasting, which is the next line:

Translation: Furthermore, they fasted on that day... The verb here is the 3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect of tsûwm (םצ) [pronounced tzoom], which means to abstain from food, to fast. Surprisingly enough, this word is not found anywhere in the Law of Moses, and makes its first appearance in Judges 20:26 when the tribe of Benjamin was all but wiped out. Here we find the word again, making its second appearance in Scripture, still during the time of the judges. Although this verb is found 21 times in Scripture, this amounts to a total of 12 incidents, some incidents whose spiritual merit is questionable. My point is that fasting in the Old Testament was something which was nurtured and pushed by the pharisees and other religious types. One would be hard-pressed to find an Old Testament reference which was commanded or suggested by God for the people of Israel to fast.

This fating is not far removed from the pouring out of the water before God. The fact that they fasted makes the literal understanding of the previous phrase more reasonable. They had done wrong, they were ashamed, and their way of showing this was pouring our precious water before God and not eating. It was an approach of self-sacrifice. Given this mention of fasting and given that Christians have typically misinterpreted the concept of fasting, either over-emphasizing it or ignoring it; it would be time for us to examine the Doctrine of Fasting.

Translation: ...and they said there, “We have sinned with reference to Y^ehowah.” Here is something we would expect: they acknowledged their sins before God. This was a common occurrence in Israel—to sin as a nation, to face divine reproval and then to cry out to God that they have sinned. See Judges 10:10 1Sam. 12:10 1Kings 8:47. This restores fellowship between the individuals and God and appears to restore a sort of corporate fellowship as well—between God and the national entity Israel. Don't be confused here—I am not saying that each and every citizen of Israel poured out their heart before God and confessed their sin before Him. It seems reasonable that there are many who do not. However, there are enough there to count as the national entity turning toward God.

I want you to very carefully note the procedure followed here. Samuel stands between God and Israel and the men of Israel name their sins to Samuel before God. Whereas, this does authorize some sort of a New Testament intercessor, that does not mean that there should be celibate male priests at every corner church. There is an intercessor between man and God, and that such a thing is necessary is found throughout the Old Testament. However, once Jesus came in the flesh, He was the intercessor between God and man. It is through Him that we have access to God, not through some flawed human priest. But when Christ appeared as a high Priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and ore perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason, He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance...For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as the High Priest enters the holy place year by year with blood not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb. 9:11–15, 24–26). Even from that time, it was necessary to recognize one’s sins and confess them before God. Today, we also, as God’s people, need to confess our sins to Him. That approach to Him has never changed: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). We do not go to a priest, because our High Priest has already made intercession for us. We go directly to God and name our sins to Him. This is how we restore our temporal fellowship—we name our sins and He forgives us our sins and He then cleanses us from all unrighteousness. One of the most amazing things about Christianity today is how few people actually realize that this is a part of their daily walk. So many believers sin, and then wander about aimlessly out of fellowship, posing as religious types. For us, confession of sin should be daily or hourly, depending upon how we conduct our lives. If we judge ourselves rightly, then we should not be judged (I Cor. 11:31).

Translation: And Samuel governed [or, judged] the sons of Israel at Mizpah. The idea here is that his spiritual and civil authority was officially recognized by the men of Israel who had gathered there. He called Israel together in Mizpah and he led Israel in its repentance before God. Through his intercession, he secured for Israel forgiveness of its sin and a renewal of the favor of God, thus restoring the proper relation between Israel and God, thus allowing God to proceed to vindicate His people’s rights against their enemies.

Samuel actually took upon himself a three or four-fold role at this point: (1) he was a religious leader, if not the High Priest, then akin to the High Priest. He would pray to God on behalf of Israel, as did Moses (Ex. 17:11–12) and the High Priest on the Day of Atonement; and as would Elijah (1Kings 13:36, 42), Ezra (Ezra 9:51) and as does our Lord Jesus Christ, sitting on the right hand of God making intercession for us. In v. 8, Israel will ask Samuel to pray to God on their behalf; and in vv. 9–10, Samuel will make offerings to Jehovah on behalf of Israel. These are precisely the functions of an intercessor between man and God. Psalm 99:6 reads: Moses and Aaron were among His priests; and Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called upon Y^ehowah and He answered them. Although it is not clear from this passage that Samuel is called a priest, the idea of a priest is a man who represents his fellow men to God; in this respect, Samuel is clearly a priest. God later told Jeremiah, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people.” (Jer. 15:1b). Samuel, like many Old Testament heroes, was a shadow of our Lord to come. Samuel was a mediator between God and man; he was an intercessor, just as our Lord intercedes for us. (2) Samuel was also a civil/political leader, as is testified to in this verse and in vv. 15–17. (3) Samuel was a prophet, a man who spoke the Word of God (1Sam. 3:19). (4) Finally, Samuel was a military leader over Israel. He organizes and marshals the people of Israel for effectual resistance against their oppressors, and leads them to victory, as did the military leaders before him (Othniel, Ehud, Barak and Gideon). This latter role is not as certain as the first two. We are making some assumptions here; however, there is no indication in this passage that there is another military leader apart from Samuel (although, if he occupies this position, it will apparently be temporary). The first military leader introduced in this book will be Saul, who will come on the scene in 1Sam. 9.

Application: As I read through this, I had a thought—there are going to be times when no one around you understands the world as you do, as they do not believe in the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice and they do not recognize the spiritual warfare which is taking place on this earth. We have many instances in the Old Testament where one man's head rises above the crowd to proclaim the truth of God and often to lead the nation Israel. Now, let's apply that to your life—you may be the only person in your periphery who understands the truth. That is not abnormal and can be justified historically and psychologically (man's natural self is to be against God). The key is, do you behave like a self-righteous ass? Do you silently keep the truth, thinking to yourself, "Hey, too bad for them; but their spiritual choices are their spiritual choices." Here is where spiritual maturity plays a part. Jesus has told us not to hide our light. However, this does not mean that you go to your family's Thanksgiving dinner offer up a prayer, and slip in give a 20 minute evangelistic message. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent. Matt. 5:14–16 reads: You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a covering [lit., grain-measure], but on a lampstand. And it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. Leading your life so that you do not come off as a self-righteous ass and yet so that you can be seen by others as having some spiritual quality is not an easy walk. We have a natural tendency to sin, which might include flagrant sins and might include self-righteousness (or both). Now, are you beginning to grasp the importance of spiritual maturity? You might be out there alone, in a mission field surrounded by unbelievers (and I do not mean in a foreign country); surrounded by those who are resistant to the truth. Do you say to yourself, "Hey, it's just too damn bad they did not believe in Jesus Christ." Or do you act like an obnoxious self-righteous ass whom everyone avoids at family gatherings? This is where maturity kicks in. This is where you learn who to talk to, how to approach this or that person. This is where you learn to step back and not be offended if someone rejects the truth.

When I first believed in Jesus Christ, I began to study the literature of various groups, including the Jehovah Witnesses, the Armstrong cult, the children of God cult. This study also included the teaching of the truth, most notably by J. Vernon McGee and R. B. Thieme Jr. As a new believer, I was confused at first; and certainly put off by McGee's very southern, down-home approach, and put off by Thieme's personality. However, in a relatively short amount of time, I recognized, to a limited degree, what is truth; and I began to grow spiritually, principally through tapes from Bob. Now, after a few months of growing, I realized, hey, this is incredible; this is exactly what I had been looking for. Then, just assuming that all Christians were searching for truth in the same way, I began to share these tapes with others. Well, I must admit to being shocked by how few people were interested in any sort of clear Bible teaching. I attended a church of primarily Christians and the pastor was intelligent and accurate in what he taught; but there just was not enough of it and there did not seem to be enough by way of mechanics (i.e., just what do you do in this circumstance or that?). There was a Bible study at my house and I played a tape. But you know, not everyone there said, "Hey, that's great! Where can I get more of these to study?" In fact, no one was even the least bit interested. In fact, there were times when I was the only person I knew who had any interest in the actual teaching of the Word of God. I have since learned, that is not abnormal. You will often be surrounded by unbelievers or by believers who are very negative toward good, expository teaching. What you do and what you say and to whom you speak then becomes a matter of spiritual growth in your own life.

I mentioned some cults along with a couple of Bible teachers. What is one way to tell the difference? A cult will emphasize your relationship to the cult and your adherence to the cult and its teachings in order to be saved. Someone who teaches the Bible will emphasize your relationship to Jesus Christ and your belief in Him in order to be saved. For instance, if you walk away from a cult, they are going to wonder whether or not you were truly converted. You can leave a Christian church, and that should not be the thinking of the pastor or any of the congregation (if it is, then that church and its teachings are suspect).

The Philistines Clash with the Israelis

From what we have seen, it is obvious that Israel is gathering as a sign of repentance before God. Israel recognizes its sins and recognizes that it is being punished by God. The Assembly had met in Mizpeh, not with any thought of war, far less in preparation for it. There is no clear intention here to gather and form some sort of military resistance against Philistia. However, Philistia interprets this large gathering as a military gathering and Philistia simultaneously plans a pre-emptive strike.

First, what others have done:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so they hear Philistines that gathered [themselves], sons of Israel, the Mizpah-ward, and so they go up, lords of Philistines, unto Israel and so they hear, sons of Israel, and so they fear from faces of Philistines.

Septuagint                             And the Philistines heard that all the children of Israel were gathered together to Massephath; and the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel; and the children of Israel heard, and they feared before the Philistines.

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

NLT                                When the Philistine rulers heard that all Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the Philistine rulers came to attack Israel. The Israelites heard [about the Philistine plan] and were afraid of them.

JPS (Tanakh)                        When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had assembled at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines marched out against Israel. Hearing of this, the Israelites were terrified of the Philistines...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

Young's Literal Translation    And the Philistines hear that the sons of Israel have gathered themselves to Mizpah; and the princes of the Philistines go up against Israel, and the sons of Israel hear, and are afraid of the presence of the Philistines.

What is the gist of this verse? The Philistines obviously notice this gathering of the people of Israel, and they become concerned that this is an uprising against them. Therefore, the lords of the Philistines gather together an army and advance toward Mizpah.

Translation: Then the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered [themselves] at Mizpah,... As has been mentioned, there are a lot of things that we do not know, that we have had to reasonably determine using a little logic. Even though capturing the Ark caused the Philistines a great deal of trouble, they also seemed to maintain some kind of control over Israel. As I have suggested, Shiloh was probably burned to the ground immediately after the capture of the Ark (one detachment of soldiers took the Ark to Ashdod while the bulk of the Philistine army marched into Shiloh and burned it down). Even though, after the short 7 month period of time, the Philistine cities were infested with rats and disease, and they were forced to return the Ark to the Israelites, they still seem to have some sort of control over Israel at this time. Whether this control was never completely lost or whether it was reestablished is not made clear to us. However, this tells us that, no matter what happened during the 20 years mentioned in v. 2, at this point in time, there is Philistine control over Israel. To what extent is not revealed to us. That is, we don't know if the Israelites paid tribute (which they probably did). We don't know if the Philistines had established military bases throughout Israel (they probably had some smaller military installations which reported continually to their lords). No matter what the case, this great gathering of Israel to Mizpah is a cause for alarm in the Philistine community. Anytime large groups of Israelites gather, there is the possibility that Israel is going to revolt against Philistine control, and that becomes their concern.

Translation: ...so the lords of the Philistines go up against Israel. During the past 20 years, Philistia has clearly ruled over Israel in some form. All of the details are not known to us, but Israel was under the domination of the Philistines. When the Philistines heard that Israel had gathered together, they assumed that it was to get their forces together in order to fight the Philistines, even though this was not what the Israelites had in mind. This simply means that, although the Philistines had spies who could report movement, or they simply had military installations of men who reported regularly back to Philistia.

What definitely appears to be the case is that the Philistines are holding a great deal of land which was Israel’s not too far back. That will come out in the context of this chapter. There appears to be a lull in their relations and that an equilibrium had been reached. All of a sudden, the Philistines observe this great gathering of Israel. Their intelligence is not good enough to tell them the reason that Israel has gathered; only that Israel has an inordinate number of males all in one place. What is implied here is that Philistia gathers a strike force large enough to stand against the number of men gathered at Mizpah. However, this Philistine force does not simply stand at their borders waiting for Israel; they cross into Israel, and move swiftly toward Mizpah. I am assuming here, of course, that the bulk of the Philistine military is not stationed in Israel.

Translation: When the sons of Israel heard,... In other words, Israel has some limited covert intelligence. Israel realizes that the Philistine forces were now mobilized against them. Israel’s response is somewhat different.

Translation: ...they feared because of the Philistines. Or, ...and so they were afraid because of the Philistines. If the Philistines were simply gathered at their borders in case of attack, there would be less reason for the Israelites to be afraid. However, this huge force has cross over into Israeli territory and the men of Israel have gathered at Mizpah for spiritual reasons. Very few of them brought with them weapons of war. Therefore, they have good reason to be afraid.

What we have are two simple reactions. The Philistines hear that Israel has gathered together a large number of males, and they respond by gathering their armies to fight against the Israelites. When the Israelites hear that Philistia has mobilized forces against them, they become fearful.

Edersheim writes: As rebellion had caused their desertion, so would return bring them help from the Lord. As so generally in this history, all would happen naturally in the ordinary succession of cause and effect; and yet all would be really and directly of God in the ordering and arrangement of events. Israel must not go to war, nor must victory be due to their own prowess. It must be all of God, and the Philistines must rush on their own fate. Yet it was quite natural that when the Philistines heard of this grand national gathering at Mizpeh, after twenty years of unattempted resistance to their rule, they should wish to anticipate their movements; and that, whether they regarded the assembly as a revival of distinctively national religion or as preparatory for war. Similarly, it was natural that they would go on this expedition not without serious misgivings as to the power of the God of Israel which they had experienced during the stay of the ark in their land; and that in this state of mind they would be prepared to regard any terrible phenomenon in nature as His interposition, and be affected accordingly.

First, what others have done:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so say, sons of Israel, unto Samuel, “Do not be silent from us to cry unto Y^ehowah our God and He will deliver us from a hand of Philistines.”

Septuagint                             And the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Cease not to cry to the Lord your God for us, and He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

NLT                                “Plead with the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines!” they begged Samuel.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

JPS (Tanakh)                        ...and they implored Samuel, “Do not neglect us and do not refrain from crying out to the Lord our God to save us from the hands of the Philistines.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

Young's Updated LT              And the sons of Israel say unto Samuel, ‘Keep not silent for us from crying unto Jehovah our God, and He does save us out of the hand of the Philistines.’

What is the gist of this verse? The sons of Israel ask Samuel to pray to God to deliver them out of the hand of the Philistine army.

Translation: Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel,... The men of Israel are gathered at Mizpeh. They look to Samuel for guidance and direction.

Translation:...“[We ask] do not be silent on account of us to call out to Y^ehowah our God;... The idea is that they are going to gather together to go to war against the Philistines; they do not anticipate winning, but they ask Samuel to continue to pray on their behalf that God might deliver them. They request this of Samuel again in 1Sam. 12:19.

Translation: ...then He will deliver us from the hand of the Philistines.” There is a clear element of hope and faith in their request to Samuel. They have gathered together as Samuel requested; they have put away the idols from their homes; and now, suddenly, they find themselves going into battle against their most fearsome enemy (to that time). Their request also recognizes Samuel’s spiritual place as their intercessor.

At this point, the only thing which Israel lacked was a prepared military. They had gathered before God because of their crass idolatry. They had named their sins before God. They had changed their mind about their personal idols (that is true repentance). They recognized God’s power, authority and ability to deliver. They recognized that Samuel was their intercessor, the one who stood between them and God. Finally, and possibly most importantly, they recognized the hopelessness of their situation. Every believer should find him or herself in a hopeless situation so that they can stand back and view the power and reality of God.

First, what others have done:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so took Samuel a lamb of milk one and so he caused him to ascend a burnt offering whole to Y^ehowah and so cried out Samuel unto Y^ehowah for Israel and so answered him Y^ehowah.

Septuagint                             And Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt-offering with all the people to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the lord heard him.

Significant differences:          No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

The Message                         Samuel took a young lamb not yet weaned and offered it whole as a Whole-Burnt-Offering to GOD. He prayed fervently to GOD, interceding for Israel. And GOD answered.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         Then Samuel took a lamb, one still feeding on milk, and sacrificed it as a burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him.

JPS (Tanakh)                        Thereupon Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried out to the Lord in behalf of Israel, and the Lord responded to him.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and the Lord answered him.

Young's Updated LT              And Samuel takes a fat lamb, and causes it to go up—a burnt offering whole to Jehovah; and Samuel cries unto Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answers him;...

What is the gist of this verse? Samuel offers up a young lamb to God as a whole burn offering, and then calls out to God. God answers Samuel.