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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Samuel 7:1 - 7:8
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Reformation in Israel
v. 1. And the men of Kirjath-jearim, to whom the Bethshemites had sent word of the return of the ark, 1Sa_6:21, came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, on an elevation near the city, and sanctified Eleazar, his son, to keep the ark of the Lord, for he was probably of Levitical descent, otherwise he would hardly have been entrusted with this office.
v. 2. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long, its length, on account of conditions in Israel and on account of the oppression of the Philistines, seemed unusually great; for it was twenty years, twenty years of servitude and disgrace; and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord, turning to Him again and entreating Him to deliver them
v. 3. And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, with reference to the apparent sincere sorrow of the people, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, if their lamenting was no mere sham and hypocrisy, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth, the male and female idols of the heathen nations of Canaan, from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, firmly established in faith and trust in Him, and serve Him only, for the service of the true God and of false deities of any kind does not agree together; and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines, announcing His relation as covenant God to them by saving them from their enemies and once more establishing them as an independent people.
v. 4. Then the children of Israel, heeding the earnest words of their great prophet and leader, did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, they completely did away with the worship of strange gods, and served the Lord only, they restored His exclusive worship. Here again the fact is brought out that idolatry had been practiced, but in such a manner that the Jehovah worship had outwardly been kept up. It was the same mixture of true and false religion which is now found in so many parts of Christendom, where antichristian religious societies are existing in the very midst of so-called Christian congregations.
v. 5. And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, which was used as a place of assembly at other times also, Jdg_20:1, and I will pray for you unto the Lord, principally with the object of restoring them to the covenant relation with Jehovah, now that their conversion had been shown to be sincere.
v. 6. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, a symbolic act of penitence as expressing their deep misery, care, and anxiety, Psa_22:15, and fasted on that day, to express the deep humiliation of their souls, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. It was a frank, unequivocal confession of their guilt, accompanied by such outward acts of mourning and sorrow as showed the sincerity of their conversion to Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh, exercising the functions of his judicial position in Israel, he administered right and justice, and proposed measures that looked to the good of the people.
v. 7. And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel, they mobilized an army to attack the children of Israel, for they considered the great assembly a hostile demonstration, if not an actual mustering for war. And when the children of Israel heard it, not being in readiness, evidently, for such an attack, they were afraid of the Philistines.
v. 8. And the children of Israel said to Samuel, the sincerity of their recent conversion showing also in the fact that they now relied entirely upon Jehovah, Cease not to cry unto the Lord, our God, for us, by keeping silence for so much as one moment, that He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. That is genuine repentance, if a sinner is truly sorrowful over his sins, makes a frank confession of his transgressions, puts away from him everything that displeases God, and places his trust in the Lord alone.