1 Samuel 7
7
1So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and got the ark of the Lord. They brought it up to Abinadab’s house on the hill. They set his son Eleazar apart to guard the ark. 2The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim for a long time. It was there for a full 20 years.
Samuel Brings the Philistines Under Israel’s Control
Then all the Israelites turned back to the Lord. 3So Samuel spoke to all the Israelites. He said, “Do you really want to return to the Lord with all your hearts? If you do, get rid of your false gods. Get rid of your statues of female gods that are named Ashtoreth. Commit yourselves to the Lord. Serve him only. Then he will save you from the power of the Philistines.” 4So the Israelites put away their statues of gods that were named Baal. They put away their statues of female gods that were named Ashtoreth. They served the Lord only.
5Then Samuel said, “Gather all the Israelites together at Mizpah. I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6When the people had come together at Mizpah, they went to the well and got water. They poured it out in front of the Lord. On that day they didn’t eat any food. They admitted they had sinned. They said, “We’ve sinned against the Lord.” Samuel was serving as the leader of Israel at Mizpah.
7The Philistines heard that Israel had gathered together at Mizpah. So the Philistine rulers came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid. 8They said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God to help us. Keep praying that he’ll save us from the power of the Philistines.” 9Then Samuel got a very young lamb. He sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord to help Israel. And the Lord answered his prayer.
10The Philistines came near to attack Israel. At that time Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering. But that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He threw them into such a panic that the Israelites were able to chase them away. 11The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah. They chased the Philistines all the way to a point below Beth Kar. They killed them all along the way.
12Then Samuel got a big stone. He set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer. He said, “The Lord has helped us every step of the way.”
13So the Philistines were brought under Israel’s control. The Philistines didn’t attack their territory again. The Lord used his power against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived. 14The Philistines had captured many towns between Ekron and Gath. But they had to give all of them back. Israel took back the territories near those towns from the control of the Philistines. During that time Israel and the Amorites were friendly toward each other.
15Samuel continued to lead Israel all the days of his life. 16From year to year he traveled from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah. He served Israel as judge in all those places. 17But he always went back to Ramah. That’s where his home was. He served Israel as judge there too. And he built an altar there to honor the Lord.
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1 Samuel 7: NIrV
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1 Samuel 7
7
1 #
2 S 6.2-4; 1 Ch 13.5-7. The people of Kiriath-Jearim got the chest and took it to Abinadab's house, which was on a hill in their town. They chose his son Eleazar to take care of it, 2and it stayed there for 20 years.
During this time everyone in Israel was very sad and begged the Lord for help.#7.2 Israel … help: Or “Israel turned to the Lord and begged him for help.”
The People of Israel Turn Back to the Lord
3One day, Samuel told all the people of Israel, “If you really want to turn back to the Lord, then prove it. Get rid of your foreign idols, including the ones of the goddess Astarte. Turn to the Lord with all your heart and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”
4The people got rid of their idols of Baal and Astarte and began worshiping only the Lord.
5Then Samuel said, “Tell everyone in Israel to meet together at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”
6The Israelites met together at Mizpah with Samuel as their leader. They drew water from the well and poured it out as an offering to the Lord. On that same day they went without eating to show their sorrow, and they confessed they had been unfaithful to the Lord.
The Philistines Attack Israel
7When the Philistine rulers found out about the meeting at Mizpah, they sent an army there to attack the people of Israel.
The Israelites were afraid when they heard that the Philistines were coming. 8“Don't stop praying!” they told Samuel. “Ask the Lord our God to rescue us.”
9-10 #
Si 46.16-18. Samuel begged the Lord to rescue Israel, then he sacrificed a young lamb to the Lord. Samuel had not even finished offering the sacrifice when the Philistines started to attack. But the Lord answered his prayer and made thunder crash all around them. The Philistines panicked and ran away. 11The men of Israel left Mizpah and went after them as far as the hillside below Beth-Car, killing every enemy soldier they caught.
12-13The Philistines were so badly beaten that it was quite a while before they attacked Israel again. After the battle, Samuel set up a monument between Mizpah and the rocky cliffs. He named it “Help Monument”#7.12,13 Help Monument: Or “Ebenezer.” to remind Israel how much the Lord had helped them.
For as long as Samuel lived, the Lord helped Israel fight the Philistines. 14The Israelites were even able to recapture their towns and territory between Ekron and Gath.
Israel was also at peace with the Amorites.#7.14 Amorites: In this verse, the non-Israelite peoples of Canaan.
Samuel Is a Leader in Israel
15Samuel was a leader#7.15 leader: The Hebrew word could mean an army commander, a judge, and a religious leader. in Israel all his life. 16Every year he would go around to the towns of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah where he served as judge for the people. 17Then he would go back to his home in Ramah and do the same thing there. He also had an altar built for the Lord at Ramah.
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.