CHAPTER 7

(1112 B.C.)

THE HOUSE OF ABINADAB

¹And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the Ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the Ark of the LORD. (There is much evidence that the Ark was neglected and not at all respected. Kirjath-jearim was about eight miles northeast of Beth-shemesh. It would remain in this location for approximately twenty years, in which time Israel was more or less under the yoke of the Philistines. It seems, as well, that it would remain there during the forty-year reign of Saul. David would reign approximately ten years [seven years in Judah and three years over the whole of Israel] before the Ark would be brought to Jerusalem. This is a total of approximately seventy years.

Furthermore, when the Ark was finally found by David, it seems that it had been discarded and was standing alone out in a field next to the woods. The Psalm of David says, Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood [Ps. 132:6]. Whether that can be taken literally or not, we cannot say; yet, I wonder if the Glory of God has not been abandoned in the modern Church even more so than it was with Israel?)

²And it came to pass, while the Ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the House of Israel lamented after the LORD. (The time is always long, when one is out of the Will of God. One possibly could as well say, The Lord lamented after Israel.)

REPENTANCE

³And Samuel spoke unto all the House of Israel, saying, If you do return unto the LORD with all your hearts (this was a Message of Repentance; Gods true servants always preach as Samuel preached; they arouse people to a consciousness of their sinful condition before God; they set forth the Lamb of God evidently crucified among them [Gal. 3:1; 5:9, 17] as the Divine Way of Pardon and Righteousness; and they denounce all compromise with evil), then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you (everything thats not Jesus Christ and Him Crucified is idolatry, i.e., strange gods), and prepare your hearts unto the LORD (people are not won to the Lord by the route of intellectualism, but rather by appealing to their hearts), and serve Him only (the bane of Israel was serving the Lord as well as idols; it is the same presently! Paul refers to such worship as another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel [II Cor. 11:4]): and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. (The die is cast! The Lord will deliver, but only on His terms, and those terms are spelled out in Samuels Message. God hasnt changed; if deliverance is to be obtained presently, He demands the same now as He did of Israel of old.)

⁴Then the Children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.

⁵And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. (Israel is about to see a Move of God, the first one seen in a long, long time. It is time, as well, for the Church!)

⁶And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD (this was a Type of Christ pouring out His All on the Cross, which He did without reservation), and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD (and sin is the cause of all problems). And Samuel judged the Children of Israel in Mizpeh (and did so according to the Word of the Lord).

VICTORY

⁷And when the Philistines heard that the Children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the Children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. (It would seem that what the Philistines had seen, as it regards the Ark of God, would have caused them to have the exact opposite reaction; however, miracles seldom draw people to God! As well, Israel, now that Repentance was the order of the day, had no reason to be afraid.)

⁸And the Children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines (if there is not a strong spiritual leader, the people perish [Eph. 4:11]).

⁹And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a Burnt Offering wholly unto the LORD (the whole Burnt Offering was a Type of Christ giving His Perfection to imperfect people, at least to those who will believe; Samuel was a Levite and, accordingly [I Chron. 23:27-32], he could offer a Burnt Offering; he could not enter the Tabernacle, though, not being a son of Aaron; in fact, the Tabernacle, at this time, was useless as a center of worship; for the Throne of God, that is, the Ark, had been removed from it): and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him. (Every generation must have a Samuel, or else the Church is set back immeasurably, oftentimes taking a century or more to recover.)

¹⁰And as Samuel was offering up the Burnt Offering, the Philistines drew near to the battle against Israel (however, Israels strength now is based upon the shed blood of the slain lamb): but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Is rael. (As is obvious here, the Lord cannot give victory to sinful man. He can give victory only to His Son, and our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; however, if we are properly in Christ, which we can only be by virtue of what He has done for us at the Cross, His Victory will be ours, and thats the way its meant to be [Jn. 14:20].)

¹¹And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. (It is the Will of God for us to pursue the Devil, in the sense of discomfiting him, instead of him pursuing us. But let us not forget, we can do such a thing only in the Power of the Slain Lamb, i.e., the Cross.)

¹²Then Samuel took a stone (and that Rock was Christ [I Cor. 10:4]), and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto has the LORD helped us (and again I say, the Lord will always help us, providing Christ is looked at as the Source, with the Cross as the Means).

¹³So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the Hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. (Every enemy of our soul can be subdued, and come again no more, as long as our Faith is in Christ and Him Crucified [I Cor. 1:23].)

¹⁴And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts (borders) thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites (were restored to Israel; the Lord wants to give back all that Satan has stolen and, in the Cross, it can be done, and only in the Cross can it be done).

SAMUEL JUDGES ISRAEL

¹⁵And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. (In fact, Samuel was the last Judge, with the order of events now being changed, but not by God, but rather by the people. Ideas and schemes which are born by man can never be blessed by God.)

¹⁶And he went from year to year in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.

¹⁷And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an Altar unto the LORD. (From this, we see that the Aaronic Priesthood was now in abeyance, meaning that Samuel was not only a Prophet and a Judge, but also a Priest. Thus, he was a Type of Christ! Under David the Priesthood would be restored, with the Ark brought back to its rightful place, but that would be some years yet.)