Bn – Repentance and Recommitment at Mitzpah 7: 2-17

Repentance and Recommitment at Mitzpah
First Samuel 7: 2-17

Repentance and recommitment at Mitzpah DIG: In what ways had the people of Isra’el become unfaithful to the LORD? What things needed to be purified in their lives? How did YHVH bring Isra’el to repentance? What was involved in their repentance? How did God demonstrate His faithfulness to Isra’el in this story? What did He require the Israelites to do? How did Samuel exercise his roles as both a judge and prophet of Isra’el? What were some of the ways in which he remained faithful to his dual calling?

REFLECT: How is today’s Church in danger of mixing false doctrine with worldly entertainment and fixated with secular concepts of success rather than sticking closely to the Word of God? Are there areas in your life in which you need to confess and repent? Spend time asking the Lord to show you anything that is not pleasing to Him. What “Ebenezers” do you have to remind you of God’s faithfulness? What kind of memorials can you set up as future reminders? Who can you help this week?

So the people of Isra’el got rid of their images of Ba’al and Ashtoreth, and served ADONAI alone.

From the day that the Ark arrived at the house of Abinadab in Kiriath-Jearim (to see link click Bl – The Ark at Abinadab’s House) twenty years elapsed. All that time the Philistines maintained their domination over God’s people. Isra’el was reduced to virtual serfdom, forbidden by the Philistines to employ blacksmiths, lest the Israelite plowshares be beaten into swords, while their enemy maintained forts deep in Israelite territory (13:19 to 14:5).¹⁶⁶

During the period of the judges, the people of Isra’el had fallen into a cycle of sin and repentance (see Judges At – Twelve Cycles). They would turn away from obedience to YHVH, and He would permit an enemy to oppress them. After a period of suffering, the people would cry out to God for help, and He would raise up a leader to serve as judge and deliverer. Under the spiritual misconduct of ‘Eli, the nation had again turned to the pagan practices of the world around them, and YHVH had removed His hand of blessing.¹⁶⁷

Isra’el mourned (7:2-4): Many wonder where Samuel was when all these events took place. He probably would have been present at Shiloh when the news of Isra’el’s defeat came and ‘Eli the high priest had died (see Bc – The death of ‘Eli), and perhaps returned to his home in Ramah when Shiloh was destroyed (see Ae – The Tabernacle at Shiloh). During those long years of oppression, Samuel must have prayed and urged Isra’el to repent and return to the LORD. So when all the people of Isra’el mourned and sought after ADONAI (7:2), it seems that he waited for just the right time before calling a national convention. The apostle Paul says that godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation (Second Corinthians 7:10).¹⁶⁸

Rather than remaining satisfied with a fleeting remorse, Samuel sought to lead Isra’el in true repentance so as to restore the people to the LORD. Therefore, Samuel addressed all the people of Isra’el; he said: If you are returning to ADONAI with all your heart, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and Ashtoreths that you have with you, and dedicate your hearts to ADONAI (7:3a). The people of Isra’el had added many elements of pagan religion into their worship practices, and YHVH used numerous judges to purify His people. Isra’el had not utterly abandoned the Torah or stopped worshipping the LORD, but they had adulterated their worship with other Canaanite practices.¹⁶⁹ The Canaanite way of life was totally opposed to everything Isra’el should have stood for as the people of God, and therefore repentance, if it was to be credible, had to totally reject that foreign worship.

Putting away their false gods was only the beginning of their return to ADONAI; the Israelites had to prepare their hearts for the LORD. Samuel declared: If you will serve only Him, He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines (7:3b). This was in keeping with the first commandment: You shall have no other gods in addition to Me (Exodus 20:3).

An idol is a substitute for God – anything that we trust and serve in place of the Lord. The Israelites gave themselves to idols of wood, stone, and metal, but believers today have more subtle and attractive gods: houses and lands, wealth, automobiles, boats, position, recognition, ambition, and even other people. Anything in our lives that takes the place of God and commands the sacrifice and devotion that belong only to Him is an idol and must be cast out. Idols in the heart are far more dangerous than idols in the Temple (Ezeki’el 8-9).¹⁷⁰

So the people of Isra’el got rid of their images of Ba’al and Ashtoreth, and served ADONAI alone (7:4). Ba’al was the male pagan god of fertility, and was believed to be the son of Dagon (see Bf – The Ark at Ashdod); Ashtoreth was the female goddess of fertility. The association of Ba’al and Ashtoreth expressed the depraved sexual ritual at the Canaanite shrines, making them especially abominable in the eyes of Ha’Shem. They were represented in pagan temples by statues. The Israelites had probably incorporated both the idols and the wicked practices into their worship of YHVH. God does not permit His people to create their own syncretistic religion, selecting at a whim this idea or practice from the world’s abundance of false gods, even if some worldly practices seem “culturally relevant.”¹⁷¹

Samuel gathered the people (7:5-6): Then Samuel said: Gather all Isra’el to Mitzpah, which was in Benjamite territory some seven miles north of Jerusalem. The phrase “all Isra’el” did not necessarily include every single Israelite living in the Land, but probably consisted of the representatives from all the tribal territories. This was a common place of assembly for Isra’el. In the time of the Judges the elders of the tribes gathered there to decide Benjamin’s fate following the murder of a Levite’s concubine (Judges 19:1-20:1 and 3; 21:1, 5 and 8). Later, Sha’ul was presented to Isra’el as king at Mitzpah (First Samuel 10:17). It was even the capital of Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (Second Kings 25:23 and 25).¹⁷² Samuel then added: And I will intercede and pray for you to ADONAI (7:5). Serving in his priestly capacity, Samuel was appointed to represent the people to God, and God to the people. Note the contrast here with the prior situation at Shiloh: it was the absence of godly priests, ‘Eli’s son’s being rejected for their wickedness (see Ar – ‘Eli’s Wicked Sons), that Isra’el had been disciplined by ADONAI. Now there was a true and godly priest, and the people were restored to God’s favor.

Once the people had gathered at Mitzpah, they responded in two specific actions designed to express their repentance and recommitment before the LORD. First, they drew water and poured it out before ADONAI. It seems as though they were denying themselves water as a symbolic confession that God’s favor was more important to them than life-sustaining water. This was a symbol of their pouring out before YHVH the depths of their surrender to Him. As Yeshua said: I tell you the truth, unless one is born of water and the Ruach, one cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 7:37). Secondly, there was public fasting, the purpose of which was to express special humiliation and grief for sin (Second Samuel 12:21; First Kings 21:27; Dani’el 10:2-3). For several days, the Israelites came before Ha’Shem declaring their eager readiness to repent and receive His renewing grace. There can be little doubt of the sincerity, fervor, and grief poured out in their words of confession. On that day they fasted and confessed, “We have sinned against ADONAI.”¹⁷³

And Samuel began serving as judge over the people of Isra’el at Mitzpah, the successor to ‘Eli (7:6). The name Mitzpah means watchtower and it was a vantage point for military purposes. For the first time, Samuel’s activity as judge is mentioned, though he was primarily the prophet of the LORD (3:20), and His word had authority all over Isra’el (4:1). Notice of Samuel’s judgeship is immediately followed by a report of Philistine attack. We are thus reminded that the function of a “judge” during this dark period was more executive than judicial. The word judge often paralleled “ruler” or “prince” (Exodus 2:14), and one of the most common roles of the judge was to repel invaders (Judges 2:16 and 18).¹⁷⁴

The Philistines make war (7:7-8): When the Philistines heard that the people of Isra’el had gathered together at Mitzpah, the lords of the Philistines’ feared Samuel was leading Isra’el to rebel against their rule, so they moved up to take the initiative and attack them. It was a testing moment for the Israelites, who had been defeated so decisively in the previous battle (see Bb – The Philistines Captured the Ark). The circumstances, however, could not have been more different. Instead of the brash, misplaced confidence in the Ark of the covenant (4:3) or any other material object, there was genuine (if timid) faith in the power of their God to save them from their enemies.¹⁷⁵ From a human perspective, the Israelites had good reason to fear. The Philistines were a powerful and wealthy nation, possessing five major fortified cities, each with a well-trained standing army. The people of Isra’el said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to ADONAI our God for us, that He may save us from the power of the Philistines.” The LORD would indeed defend Isra’el, but He wanted His people to approach Him in prayer and obedience.¹⁷⁶

ADONAI fights the battle (7:9-14): Samuel took a baby lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to ADONAI (see the commentary on Leviticus Ai – The Burnt Offering: Accepted by God). He cried out to ADONAI for Isra’el, and ADONAI answered him (7:9). God is faithful. God is attentive. It is the character of God to respond to the genuine need of faithful people. For everyone who asks will receive (Matthew 7:8a). It is the Lord’s character to respond faithfully to the genuine need of His faithful people. Isra’el’s great prayers (Psalm 107) are structured as a relation of the people crying out to Him, and He answering. This relation is disrupted whenever Isra’el believes that she is self-sufficient; or when Isra’el believes that prayer is futile; or when Isra’el concludes that YHVH is not attentive, does not care, or will not act. For us, prayer is a scandal in our modern world and surely violates our “enlightened reason.” We may be sure, however, that such a daring prayer was also an affront to the “realists” who took the Philistine threat seriously. Prayer must have seemed silly to them when the mighty Philistines were approaching. Nevertheless, Samuel’s prayer was not mere piety, but an act of real courage in the midst of real danger.¹⁷⁷

As Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines advanced to attack Isra’el. So, the offering was made just in time, and would bring about God’s special intervention. Although the approaching Philistines threatened to interrupt the worship, and the temptation to stop the sacrifice and defend the city, faith held out and ADONAI thundered violently over the Philistines, throwing them into such confusion that they were struck down before Isra’el. Intimated by the thunder-storm that broke their battle lines, the Philistines fled downhill towards their own territory. The men of Isra’el rushed out from Mitzpah, pursuing the Philistines and attacking them all the way to Beth Kar (7:10-11). The enemy was decisively defeated.

Then Samuel took a stone, placed it between Mitzpah and Shen, and gave it the name Ebenezer [the stone of the Helper], for Psalm 115;9-11 declares that God is Isra’el’s help and shield (7:12a). This Ebenezer was certainly not the Ebenezer of 4:1 and 5:1, since the latter is too far to the northwest for Mitzpah to be used as a benchmark for this location. Previously, Joshua had instructed the people to build a pile of stones beside the Jordan River to remind them of the LORD’s miracle in parting the river for them to cross over on dry ground (see the commentary on Joshua Au – The First Stones at the Jordan). Samuel was now continuing the practice by setting up a monument to commemorate their great victory that Ha’Shem had won for His people. It is important to be reminded frequently of all God has done for us, lest we forget and begin to distrust His faithfulness. This is the reason Yeshua Messiah instituted the Lord’s Supper (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kj – Breaking the Middle Matzah).

Samuel set up the stone, explaining, “Thus far has ADONAI helped us” (7:12b). This does not mean, “Well, God has helped us thus far – let’s hope that He’ll continue to do so.” On the contrary, it means that YHVH had been faithful to Isra’el throughout the past, and the people could depend on His continued help in the future. Samuel was teaching the Israelites they could fully trust in the faithfulness of the LORD. The stone memorial would serve as a constant reminder of that fact.¹⁷⁸

Thus, the Philistines were humiliated, so that after forty years of supremacy they no longer invaded Isra’el’s territory; and the hand of ADONAI was against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived. The LORD gave Isra’el the victory over the Philistines, suspending their threat for the immediate future during Samuel’s lifetime; however, they did resume their subjugation during the kingship of Sha’ul. The cities between ‘Ekron and Gath which the Philistines had captured from Isra’el were restored to her, and Isra’el rescued the neighboring territory from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Isra’el and the Amorites (7:13-14). The name Amorites is used loosely to cover the whole Canaanite population, who regarded the Israelites as less of a threat to them than the Philistines, and so they stopped their aggression against Isra’el, resulting in peace between the two nations.¹⁷⁹

All the days of Samuel (7:15-17): Samuel continued in office as judge of Isra’el as long as he lived. The whole section ends with a summary of Samuel’s ministry. He did not expect people to come to him at Ramah, but he would travel annually in a circuit that included Bethel, Gilgal and Mitzpah, all on the border between Benjamin and Ephraim, to the south of Shiloh, about 50 miles in circumference; judging Isra’el in all those places. These were the cities where the schools of the prophets (First Samuel 19:19-24; Second Kings 2:3, 4:38 and 6:1) were located. So this indicated that Samuel was the founder of the schools of the prophets. But he would always return to Ramah, because that’s where his home was, and he would judge Isra’el there too. He also built an altar there to ADONAI, Ramah was a place of sacrifice between the time of Shiloh and Jerusalem. Thus, the Ruach summarizes Samuel’s era: Isra’el was secure and stable both externally and internally under Samuel’s judgeship. Traveling on the circuit gave the people confidence and trust in God and in Samuel’s leadership. Despite all of this, the people of Isra’el would soon senselessly request a king, rather than a new judge, despite Samuel’s opposition (see Bq – Give Us a King!).¹⁸⁰

Dear heavenly Father, Praise You for being perfect in Your character. How amazing that when there is repentance from sin, you listen and forgive! The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some consider slowness. Rather, He is being patient toward you – not wanting anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9). Repentance is not merely the acknowledgement of sin, but real heartfelt sorrow and grief. True repentance is when someone is grieved over how their sin hurt God. Repentance sees the sin from God’s point of view and desires to turn from that sin and go in a different direction (Second Corinthians 7:9-11). David is an excellent example of true repentance that leads to God’s forgiveness and restoration. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your mercy. According to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. . .Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalms 51:1-2, 11) Praise You heavenly Father for being such a loving God to accept true repentance and forgive! In Your Holy Name and the power of Yeshua’s resurrection. Amen