1 Samuel 7
7
Rescue from the Philistines
1So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated Eleazar his son to care for the ark of the Lord. 2And from that day the ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a very long time, for it was twenty years [until the reign of King David]; and all the house of Israel lamented (wailed) and grieved after the Lord. [2 Sam 6:3, 4; 1 Chr 13:5-7]
3Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth (pagan goddesses) from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him only; and He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone.
5Samuel said, “Gather all Israel together at Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
7Now when the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the lords (governors) of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the Israelites heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8And the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, so that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel and the Lord answered him. 10As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines approached for the battle against Israel. Then the Lord thundered with a great voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated and fled before Israel. 11And the men of Israel came out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as [the territory] below Beth-car.
12Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer (stone of help), saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 13So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore into Israelite territory. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered the cities’ territory from the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
Samuel’s Ministry
15Now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16He used to go annually on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. 17Then he would return to Ramah, because his home was there; and there he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
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1 Samuel 7
7
1The men of Kiriath Jearim came and took the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They took it to Abinadab’s house on a hill. There they made Abinadab’s son Eleazar holy for the Lord so he could guard the Ark of the Covenant.
The Lord Saves the Israelites
2The Ark of the Covenant stayed at Kiriath Jearim a long time—20 years in all. And the people of Israel began to follow the Lord again. 3Samuel spoke to the whole group of Israel. He said, “If you’re turning back to the Lord with all your hearts, you must remove your foreign gods. You must remove your idols of Ashtoreth. You must give yourselves fully to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will save you from the Philistines.”
4So the Israelites put away their idols of Baal and Ashtoreth. And they served only the Lord.
5Samuel said, “All Israel must meet at Mizpah. I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6So the Israelites met together at Mizpah. They drew water from the ground and poured it out before the Lord. They did not eat that day. They confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel served as judge of Israel at Mizpah.
7The Philistines heard the Israelites were meeting at Mizpah. So the Philistine kings came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard they were coming, they were afraid. 8They said to Samuel, “Don’t stop praying to the Lord our God for us! Ask the Lord to save us from the Philistines!” 9Then Samuel took a baby lamb. He offered the lamb to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He called to the Lord for Israel’s sake. And the Lord answered him.
10While Samuel was burning the offering, the Philistines came near. They were going to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered against the Philistines with loud thunder. They were so frightened they became confused. So the Israelites defeated the Philistines in battle. 11The men of Israel ran out of Mizpah and chased the Philistines. They went almost to Beth Car, killing the Philistines along the way.
Peace Comes to Israel
12After this happened Samuel took a stone. He set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named the stone Ebenezer.# This name means “stone of help.” Samuel said, “The Lord has helped us to this point.” 13So the Philistines were defeated. They did not enter the Israelites’ land again.
The Lord was against the Philistines all Samuel’s life. 14Earlier the Philistines had taken towns from the Israelites. But the Israelites won them back, from Ekron to Gath. They also took back from the Philistines the neighboring lands of these towns. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.
15Samuel continued as judge of Israel all his life. 16Every year he went from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah. He judged the Israelites in all these towns. 17But Samuel always went back to Ramah, where his home was. He also judged Israel there. And there he built an altar to the Lord.
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