1 Samuel 7 - Introduction
VII. (1 Samuel 7:1) The Revival of Israel. The Work of Samuel.... [ Continue Reading ]
VII. (1 Samuel 7:1) The Revival of Israel. The Work of Samuel.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ARK OF THE LORD. — Kirjath-jearim, the home of the Ark for nearly fifty years, was probably selected as the resting-place of the sacred emblem as being the nearest large city to Beth-shemesh then in the hands of the Israelites. It was neither a priestly nor a Levitical city, but it no doubt had... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHILE THE ARK ABODE IN KIRJATH-JEARIM, THAT THE TIME WAS LONG; FOR IT WAS TWENTY YEARS. — Literally, _And it came to pass, from the day that the Ark rested at Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years._ There is something very touching in this sad note of t... [ Continue Reading ]
THE STRANGE GODS. — The strange gods are in 1 Samuel 7:4 described as “Baalim.” This plural form of Baal refers to the numerous images of Baal which existed, as does the plural form Ashtaroth to those of the female goddess Astarte. They were both favourite Phœnician deities, known under the familiar... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DID PUT AWAY BAALIM AND ASHTAROTH. — The answer of the people showed how well and thoroughly the prophet-statesman had done his Master’s work. Through the land of Israel the graven images of the Phœnician idols were thrown down, and their impious worship everywhere was bo... [ Continue Reading ]
MIZPEH. — Or, as it should be spelt, _Mizpah,_ a common name for lofty situations. It signifies a “watch-tower,” a place where an outlook could be kept against an advancing enemy. Now the assembly of the tribes at Mizpeh marked a new departure for Israel. It was the result of more than twenty years... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SAMUEL JUDGED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN MIZPEH. — For some quarter of a century Samuel had been the principal personage among the people, and had, no doubt, long exercised the varied functions of the “judges” of Israel; but the tribes were scattered, their fortresses in the hand of enemies, ther... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORDS OF THE PHILISTINES WENT UP AGAINST ISRAEL. — This was what might naturally have been expected. The sudden destruction of the Phœnician idol shrines throughout the country, followed immediately by the summons of a vast popular assembly, held in so conspicuous a place as Mizpeh in Benjamin a... [ Continue Reading ]
CEASE NOT TO CRY UNTO THE LORD OUR GOD FOR US. — The fear on the part of Israel was very natural Unarmed — or, at least, very poorly armed and equipped — the assembled Israelites saw from the heights the advancing Philistine army. What hope was there for their ill-disciplined masses when they joined... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTIL THEY CAME UNDER BETH-CAR. — “House of the Lamb,” or, as some would render it, _House of the Field._ Of this place we know nothing; it was, no doubt, a Philistine fortress, where the scattered remains of the beaten host were able to rally and defend themselves.... [ Continue Reading ]
BETWEEN MIZPEH AND SHEN. — The situation of Ha-Shen, “The Tooth,” has not yet been identified. It probably denotes a peak or crag, a prominent rock formation, so named, like the modern French _dent_ — a favourite name for a peak in some districts of the Alps and Pyrenees: _e.g., Dent du Midi. _... [ Continue Reading ]
SO THE PHILISTINES WERE SUBDUED. — The work of Samuel had been thorough. It was no mere solitary victory, this success of Israel at Ebenezer, but was the sign of a new spirit in Israel, which animated the nation during the lifetime of Samuel, and the reigns of David and Solomon and the great Hebrew... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CITIES. — The immediate result of Samuel’s great victory at Eben-ezer, and the renovated national spirit of the people, was their recovery of the towns and villages which during the late disastrous period had fallen into the Philistines’ hands. FROM EKRON EVEN UNTO GATH. — It is doubtful whethe... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SAMUEL JUDGED ISRAEL ALL THE DAYS OF HIS LIFE. — The influence and supreme power of Samuel only ended with his life. For a very long period — probably for at least twenty years after the decisive battle of Eben-ezer — Samuel, as “judge,” exercised the chief authority in Israel. The time at lengt... [ Continue Reading ]
TO BETH-EL, AND GILGAL, AND MIZPEH, AND JUDGED ISRAEL. — These centres, it is observable, were all situated in the southern part of the land, in the tribe of Benjamin. This leads us to the conclusion that the power of Samuel, if not exclusively, was chiefly exercised among the southern tribes. The w... [ Continue Reading ]
RAMAN. — The same Ramah “of the Watchers” where Elkanah and Hannah had dwelt. After the destruction of Shiloh, Samuel seems to have fixed his abode in his father’s city. AND THERE HE BUILT AN ALTAR. — Thus following the old custom of the patriarchs. It must be remembered that at this period there w... [ Continue Reading ]