37: A Tale of Two Battles: From Weeping to Worship in 1 Samuel 4-7

G' day, and welcome to Stories of a Faithful God.

I'm Dave Whittingham.

I want to kick off today with an apology and a correction.

My goal in explaining the Bible is always to try and let the passage speak for itself.

God said what he wants to say, and it's not up to me to impose my ideas on the passage.

I simply need to listen to what God's already said and let my ideas be shaped by that.

In the last episode, I talked about Hannah's prayer to God.

She was experiencing great sadness from the taunts of her rival wife and the thoughtlessness of her husband over her childlessness.

This is her prayer from 1 Samuel 1:11.

She pleads, Lord of armies, if you will take notice of your servant's affliction, remember and not forget me and give your servant a son.

I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.

I was trying to understand why she would give up the son that she's asking for.

And the explanation I gave was that her request was about saving her from shame, the shame she was feeling for not having any children.

And while I don't think that's completely absent, I wasn't feeling comfortable with it.

I went back and looked at a commentary by John Woodhouse, and you know when you read something and suddenly it all makes sense.

He helped me to look back at the passage and see what Hannah's actually asking for.

She's asking for God to pay attention to her, to listen to her, to not forget her.

What she wants is the attention of God and to not be abandoned by God.

She wants God, which makes total sense of what she promises.

If she loves God that much and wants God that much, what would she want to do with the son that he gives her?

Of course she'd want to give him back to God.

God is her chief love.

And so I apologize for not simply reading the words on the page, for imposing a new idea on the passage and missing one of the really wonderful things about the passage.

And that passage actually leads us into today's theme.

How can you tell the difference between asking something from God and trying to manipulate God, between genuinely wanting to serve God and just doing things in the hope that he'll give you something.

As I said, if Hannah was trying to bargain with God, manipulate him, bribe him to get a son, it would make no sense at all to give that son back to God.

She'd lose the very thing she was bargaining for.

So that can't be what she's doing.

All human religion is in some way a way to manipulate God or gods, to control them.

Whether it be about getting God to do something or stopping him from doing something, or answering a question the way that you want it answered.

Christians can be just as guilty of this as non Christians.

If I pray enough, God will bless me.

If I promise God something, perhaps he'll give me something in return.

If I do something in faith, then he'll make what I want work, work.

If I do enough jobs at church, if I preach enough sermons, if I teach enough Sunday school classes, if I give enough money to overseas mission, hopefully God will treat me in a certain way.

Now, it isn't bad to pray or teach or give money.

In fact, they're all really good things.

But when those things become a tool to get something from God, to exert some power over God, we've got a real problem.

God is immensely powerful, but that power is in his good hands for his good plans.

It isn't for us to capture and to use for ourselves.

In today's story, people try to manipulate God.

They think they can control him or direct him like he's some kind of cruise missile flying where it's been ordered.

They discover, though, that this God, the one true God, is not to be controlled, ordered around or messed with.

The consequences of trying to do that are really bad, of course.

The consequences of stopping, trying to get your own way of resting in him and trusting him and accepting that He's God and you're not.

Well, they're out of this world.

And so, without further ado, I present to you our next episode of stories of a Faithful God.

At the end of our last episode, we'd heard about God's judgment against Eli the high priest, and his sons Hophni and Phinehas.

They'd treated God as nothing and used their position as priests to fatten themselves and and for gaining sexual favours.

God had declared that Hophni and Phinehas would both die on the same day.

Now the drums of war are beating.

Israel has marched out to meet the Philistines in battle.

The Philistines are a people who have migrated to the land of Canaan from the sea.

They've appeared earlier in the Bible, but they seem to have been getting stronger and stronger, possibly as more of them have arrived.

By this stage, they occupy the coastal strip of flat land between Egypt in the south and Mount Carmel in the north.

The Gaza Strip, where so many horrible things are happening today, is a southern part of that land.

The Philistines had five chief Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath.

Each of these cities is ruled by its own ruler, but they still all work together.

In the days of the Judges, God's used the Philistines a few times to punish the Israelites for their sin.

Most recently, God used Samson to save the Israelites from the Philistines.

Now the Philistines are back.

The Israelites camp at a place called Ebenezer and the Philistines at a place called Aphek.

The two sides line up for battle with their spears, swords and shields.

Almost every movie you've ever seen that shows an ancient battle gets it wrong.

They make it all about individuals having one on one sword fights.

In reality, the individual soldiers in an army lock shields together in a shield wall, walk towards the enemy, push and shove, and try and get a stab in with the spear or sword where they can.

As long as the shield wall holds.

People do die, but it isn't too much of a disaster.

The real problems come when people realise they might be losing.

They panic and they run.

Then they get slaughtered as they run away.

As the battle rages, the Philistines get the upper hand and 4,000 Israelites are killed.

That's a defeat, but not a disaster.

I mean, it's a disaster for the 4,000 Israelites who are killed, but not for the nation as a whole.

They can still field an army.

They can still have another crack at the Philistines.

The Israelite army manages to make it back to their camp intact.

When they get there, they ask exactly the right question.

In 1 Samuel 4:3 they say, why did the Lord defeat us today before the Philistines?

They recognize that if they've lost, it isn't because the Philistines are better soldiers.

It's because God's fought against them and gave the Philistines the victory.

They don't need to ask, what better tactics should we use?

They need to ask, why did God fight against us?

Their only hope of winning is to have God fight for them instead of against them.

When he does, it doesn't matter how good each side's tactics are.

Just think about Gideon in the Book of Judges.

He defeated an army so big that no one could count them on his side.

He only had 300 men.

He won because God fought for him.

If the Israelites look carefully at their recent history through the time of Joshua and the Judges, the answer to why God fought against them should be pretty straightforward.

God fights against them when he is punishing them for their sin, when they Repent, turn away from their sin and back to Him.

Then he fights for them.

They should be looking at themselves, asking what evil they've done and repenting.

That sort of self examination, though, is far from their mind.

In their sin, they don't want to think of themselves as the problem.

They don't want to think of God as a king who judges them as their creator and ruler who they should submit to.

Instead, they choose to think of God as a tool, a weapon that they haven't used properly in the first battle.

But if they change how they use him, he should bring victory.

To do this, they decide to bring out the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark is a wooden box covered in gold.

It's about 1.2 metres long, or 4ft.

Its breadth and height are roughly 70 cm or 2ft on either side.

There are two wooden poles covered in gold, placed permanently through rings.

That way the Ark can be carried by the poles and no one ever has to touch the Ark.

Inside the box are the stone tablets with the ten Commandments on them that God gave Moses.

And also there's some manna that God gave to the Israelites in the desert.

On top of the Ark, there are two golden figures of cherubim.

In ancient times, Cherubim, the plural of cherub, aren't little flying babies with pink bottoms.

They're generally depicted as creatures with animal bodies and a human head, as well as some wings.

If you imagine the Sphinx with wings, you're probably heading in the right direction.

They generally serve as royal guards for God.

God put cherubim outside the Garden of Eden to stop any humans coming back in after the fall.

On the Ark, they sit at each end of the lid, facing each other with their wings leaning forward, shadowing the Ark.

The lid is known as the Mercy Seat.

It serves as a symbolic throne of God on earth.

The Israelites are thinking, if we bring God's throne here, then he'll be with us and fight for us.

It's almost like God forgot the date of the battle and slept in.

They want to use him as a weapon rather than respect him as their king.

They haven't really answered the question, why did he fight against them?

So they send messages back to Shiloh where the Ark is being kept, and listen to the description.

Verse 4 says this.

So the people sent men to Shiloh to bring back the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim, Lord of Armies or Lord of Hosts.

In the older translations, God is powerful and the Ark is one reminder of his power.

He commanded the Israelites to build it just after he'd rescued them from the great superpower of the day, Egypt.

He'd crush the Egyptian pharaoh.

He'd crush their gods.

He'd crush their armies.

Yahweh, the Lord is a mighty God.

And they think by bringing his throne, they're bringing him, and so they'll bring victory.

Well, the ark is brought out from Shiloh.

It's accompanied by the two priests, Hophni and Phinehas, the two men who God said would die on the same day.

And verse five tells us, when the Ark of the covenant of the Lord entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a loud shout that the ground shook.

Imagine being not far away in the Philistine camp.

The first day of battle's gone.

Well, you think your enemy must be sitting over in their camp, feeling really worried.

But then you hear this almighty roar.

It's like a victory roar spreading across the valley.

Terrified, you start asking yourself, what's happened that the Israelites are suddenly so confident?

Soon the news comes back of the arrival of the Ark of the Lord, and it makes the Philistines terrified.

Word spreads from one huddled group to another.

A God has entered their camp.

A God has entered their camp.

Part of the reason for their terror is they know something about the Israelite God.

The story is a bit muddled.

They change it from God to gods.

They're confused about the details, but they know they are in deep trouble.

In verse 7, they say, Woe to us.

Nothing like this has happened before.

Woe to us.

Who will rescue us from these magnificent gods?

These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

Unfortunately, even with this kind of muddled knowledge, they don't respond in the right way.

They don't think that the right response is to submit to the Israelite God.

They think it just means they have to fight harder.

They say, show some courage and be men, Philistines.

Otherwise you'll serve the Hebrews just as they served you.

Now be men and fight.

And fight they do.

Again, they defeat Israel.

This time, though, their victory is overwhelming.

The Israelites flee, and 30,000 foot soldiers are left dead on the battlefield.

What's more, the Ark of God has been captured by the Philistines.

Also, Eli's two sons, the priests of God, Hophni and Phinehas, have both died.

What does that mean?

Does it mean God wasn't powerful enough?

Are the Philistines stronger than God?

Are the Philistine gods stronger than Yahweh.

No.

In fact, this utter defeat of Israel actually displays the power of God, the power of the Word of God.

God had said to Samuel in the last chapter, I am about to do something in Israel that will cause everyone who hears about it to shudder.

On that day, I will carry out against Eli everything I said about his family from beginning to end.

And God has made everyone shudder as they Hear the news.

30,000 dead.

The Ark gone.

Both priests killed, just like God had said.

They both died on the same day.

In verse 12, we get a small glimpse into that shuddering as people hear the news.

We're told how a Benjaminite man runs from the battlefield to Shiloh.

His clothes are torn, he puts dust on his head.

He's in deep mourning.

Eli's sitting beside the road, anxiously waiting for news.

He's anxious for the Ark of God, which isn't usually taken out of the Tabernacle.

The man runs into the city and gives his report from the battle.

The whole population cries out, shuddering in grief and despair.

Eli's an old man now, 98 years old.

He's almost completely blind, and he's sitting there helpless, no idea what's going on.

He calls out, why this commotion?

In verse 16, we're told the man said to Eli, I'm the one who came from the battle.

I fled from there today.

What happened, my son?

Eli asked.

The messenger answered, israel has fled from the Philistines.

And also there was a great slaughter among the people.

Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead.

And the Ark of God has been captured.

You can imagine, each one of these statements is like a knife in the heart.

The army slaughtered, Hophni and Phineas dead.

The Ark of God captured.

The horror is too much for the aged man.

He's old and fat.

Fat from what his sons stole from the sacrifices of the Israelites, fat from the food stolen from God.

As he hears the news, he falls backwards off his chair.

His neck breaks under his weight and he dies.

We're told in verse 14, Eli had judged Israel 40 years.

Eli is emblematic of what's happened to the Judges of Israel.

Over time, they've become more corrupt, more evil, more useless.

And yet, even as that happened through the Book of Judges, even when they did nothing to stop the ungodliness of the Israelites, at the very least they still had military victories.

Eli couldn't even do that.

And so perishes the second last Judge of Israel, Eli's daughter in law, the wife of Phinehas is pregnant and about to give birth when she hears about the capture of the Ark and the deaths of her husband, her father in law and her brother in law.

She's so overwhelmed, she collapses in her anxiety.

She goes into labour and it doesn't go well.

As it drags on, everyone knows that she's dying.

The women who are helping her try to give her some ray of hope.

They say in verse 20, don't be afraid.

You've given birth to a son.

In other words, your family will go on.

Israel will go on.

There is a future here.

And yet in this woman's mind, the future for her son is one without hope, without light, without comfort.

She gives him the name Ichabod.

A name which means where is the glory?

She says in verse 22, the glory has departed from Israel because the Ark of God has been captured.

What hope does Israel have without the Ark of God?

What help do they have without the glory of God?

As this woman's eyes close in death, it's like the light has gone out in the entire nation.

Sa the Philistines are jubilant in victory.

In their mind, they've not only fought the Israelite army, they've also fought the Israelite God.

And they've won.

They assume that their God Dagon must be stronger than the Israelite God Yahweh.

They don't understand that it's actually Yahweh himself who fought against the Israelites.

It's Yahweh who gave the victory to the Philistines.

They carry the captured Ark back to the city of Ashdod.

They take it into the temple of Dagon, their God, and place it next to his statue.

They're saying that Yahweh now submits to Dagon.

His power now serves the interests of Dagon.

They have no idea how wrong they are.

But they're about to find out.

When they wake up the next morning and head into the temple, they can't believe their eyes.

Dagon has fallen face to the ground, bowing before the Ark of Yahweh.

This is super embarrassing.

The people of Ashdod don't take this as a warning or a sign of the power of Yahweh.

Instead, they decide to pretend it never happened.

They pick Dagon up and they return him to his place.

I love how as God causes this passage to be written, he talks far less about the statue of Dagon and just describes Dagon.

The statue is the sum total of Dagon.

That's all he is a block of wood or Stone or metal, the statue isn't a representation of a supernatural being.

The this statue is Dagon.

His power is nothing.

The people of Ashdod go about their day hoping to never speak about this little incident again.

Night comes, they go to bed and wake up in the morning.

They head into the temple and lo and behold, it's happened again.

Dagon's fallen face to the ground before the Ark of Yahweh.

This time Yahweh's been even more emphatic in the point he is making.

Dagon's head and both his hands have been chopped off and are lying on the threshold of the temple.

Only his torso remains, bowing to the arc.

This should be enough.

They should get the point.

Dagon is useless.

He has no power.

Yahweh has all the power.

They should give up on Dagon and serve the true and living God.

Instead they just come up with a stupid tradition, something that should remind them of how useless Dagon is, but instead becomes just one more superstition.

Verse 5 says that is why still today the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on Dagon's threshold.

God has graciously revealed himself to the people of Ashdod.

He's shown his power over their fake God.

But they've chosen instead to stick with a lie.

If the people of Israel couldn't escape God's anger at their sin, the Philistines have no chance.

Verse 6 tells us the Lord's hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod.

He terrified the people of Ashdod and its territory and afflicted them with tumors.

As painful as this is, it's actually another gracious warning.

Stop treating Yahweh as a spoil of war.

Stop worshipping your fake God.

Start honouring Yahweh and only Yahweh.

Instead of that, they decide they just need to get rid of him.

They say in verse seven, the Ark of Israel's God must not stay here with us because his hand is strongly against us and our God, Dagon.

They call together the Philistine rulers to decide what to do with the Ark.

This is the ruler's chance to recognize the power of the Lord, submit to him and and send his Ark back to Israel.

Instead, they decide to keep the ark and just move it to another city, Gath.

Perhaps they think they just need to get him away from Dagon.

They're treating the Ark as though it's an idol, a statue, a thing that contains the power of the God, and idols are there to be controlled.

If you move the idol, you move the God.

They're making the same mistake as the Israelites made.

Predictably, though, the people of Gath get the same treatment as the people of Ashdod.

In verse nine, we're told after they'd moved it, the Lord's hand was against the city of Gath, causing a great panic.

He afflicted the people of the city from the youngest to the oldest with an outbreak of tumors.

The people of Gath aren't quite as ready to consult as the people of Ashdod.

They don't summon the Philistine rulers to come up with a solution.

They just know they need to get rid of this thing.

So without asking and without telling, they send the ark off to Ekron.

The people of Ekron, as soon as they see the ark, freak out.

It's like the people of Gath have attacked them.

In verse 10, they cry out, they have moved the Ark of Israel's God to us, to kill us and our people.

They call the Philistine rulers together and explain that this is a potato too hot to handle.

They say, send the Ark of Israel's God away.

Let it return to its place so it won't kill us and our people.

And we're told, for the fear of death pervaded the city.

God's hand was oppressing them.

Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

Gone are the cries of victory.

Gone is the gloating of how their God is stronger than the Israelite God.

Gone is the thought that somehow they can control this God.

After the ark's been travelling around Philistine territory for seven months, the Philistines have had enough.

They call together their priests and diviners.

In chapter six, verse two, they ask, what should we do with the Ark of the Lord?

Tell us how we can send it back to its place.

These priests and diviners are not godly men.

They serve fake gods.

They try to discover the future by speaking to the dead or reading the entrails of animals.

They don't know the one true God and yet God uses them to give good advice.

In verse three, they reply, if you send the Ark of Israel's God away, do not send it without an offering.

Send back a guilt offering to him and you will be healed.

Then the reason his hand hasn't been removed from you will be revealed.

The people ask, what guilt offerings should we send back to him?

And they answer Five gold tumors and five gold mice corresponding to the number of Philistine rulers since there was one plague for both.

You and your rulers make images of your tumors and of your mice that are destroying the land.

That might seem like a bit of a weird thing to do, but in their own way, these guys are saying, you've got to show a sign acknowledging that this plague has come from Yahweh.

You're acknowledging your guilt before Yahweh.

All through this story, the problem has been that people don't treat God as God.

They've treated him as a tool or a weapon or a prize.

But these priests and diviners draw on history to show that this God must be treated with respect.

They say in verse five, give glory to Israel's God and perhaps he will stop oppressing you, your gods and your land.

Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs when he afflicted them?

Didn't they send Israel away and Israel left?

They do hedge their bets a little bit, though.

They come up with a plan to return the ark.

That'll only work if.

If God really has been doing this.

They say to put the ark and the guilt offering on a cart that's being pulled by two milk cows, then lock their calves away in a stall.

The instinct of the cows will be to go back to their calves to feed their calves.

In verse nine, they say if it goes up the road to its homeland toward Beth Shemesh, it is the Lord who has made this terrible trouble for us.

However, if it doesn't, we will know that it was not his hand that punished us.

It was just something that happened to us by chance.

So the rulers do as instructed, and God makes it super clear that he's been in charge all along.

The cows don't even glance back at their calves.

In.

In verse 12, we're told the cows went straight up the road to Beth Shemesh.

They stayed on that one highway, lowing as they went.

They never strayed to the right or to the left.

It's like the cows are going before their king, blasting trumpets and announcing his triumphal return.

Just to make sure the Philistine rulers follow the cart all, all the way to the region of Beth Shemesh.

At Beth Shemesh, it's harvest time.

The people are all out in the fields.

Imagine their surprise when they see this cart coming up the road.

It isn't being led by anyone.

The cows are lowing so much that every head turns to face it.

As it gets closer, they notice something on.

On the cart, it seems to be sparkling in the sun, almost as though it's made of gold.

Imagine the cries of shock and surprise as people realize what's happening.

This is the Ark of God, the earthly throne of God, the box that was stolen when the Israelites were defeated in battle.

It had been such a traumatic event for the nation that one dying mother had named her son, or where is glory?

Because the glory had departed Israel.

Now the glory is returning.

And why is it returning?

How is it returning?

The entire Israelite army hadn't been able to defend the Ark.

Who's beaten the Philistines that they're now sending it back?

Only God.

Yahweh, the Lord of Armies.

He'd fought against the Israelites because of their sin and he'd fought against the Philistines because of their sin.

People had tried to use God for their own ends, but it's God's will that matters, God's agenda that works, God's power that decides what happens as the people watch.

We're told this in verse 14.

The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh and stopped there near a large rock.

The people of the city chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.

The Levites removed the Ark of the Lord along with a box containing the gold objects and placed them on the large rock.

That day, the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord.

God has brought glory to himself.

The Israelites offer him sacrifices.

Even the Philistines have given glory to God by giving him sacrifices.

It seems like everything's right with the world.

And yet there's a dark note that hangs over this triumphal return.

It turns out that despite the sacrifices, the people of Beth Shemesh still don't fear and honour the Lord.

They treat his ark, his throne, like a mere curiosity.

Remember, the ark is meant to represent something of the glory of God.

It isn't even meant to be seen by anyone but the priests.

Most of the time, it lives in the holy of Holies inside the tabernacle, which only the high priest can enter.

Once a year, when they had to move the tabernacle, the ark is covered up so it can't be seen.

It's a reminder that God is so holy that sinful people can't be in his presence.

That isn't going to change until the curtain of the temple tears in two as Jesus dies, opening up the way to God.

And yet, some of the Israelites still don't respect Their God.

In verse 19, we're told God struck down the people of Beth Shemesh because they looked inside the Ark of the Lord.

He struck down 70 persons.

The people mourned because the Lord struck them with a great slaughter.

Having received a similar punishment to the Philistines because of a sin similar to the Philistines, they then go another step further in acting like the Philistines.

They realize that God's so holy people can't stand in his presence.

And then they simply palm the problem off to another town.

They don't tell the people of that town what's happened, how 70 of them have been killed.

Instead, they send a message of rejoicing to the people of Kiriath Jearim.

Hey guys, guess what?

The Ark is back.

You should definitely come and get it.

And in chapter seven, verse one, we're told so the people of Kiriath Jearim came for the ark of the Lord and and took it to Abinadab's house on the hill.

They consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it.

They have to consecrate someone new because remember, the priestly family's been wiped out.

The question is, has Israel learned?

Have they grown so far it doesn't seem like the people are any better.

Will the new priesthood be any better?

Will they be able to help Israel and lead Israel in obedience to God?

20 years go past, 20 long years where the Israelites are still subject to the Philistines.

20 long years since the Ark has been returned to Kiriath jearim.

Finally, after 20 long years, the Israelites start to realize that their fake gods, their statues, the thing they'd put their trust and their hope in, are useless.

They start to long for their true God.

They long for Yahweh, the God who rescued them from Egypt, the God who's rescued them so many times in the land of Canaan.

They start to have that same true, honest longing that Hannah had way back in chapter one.

But who will help them return to the Lord?

Who will help them repent, help mediate between them and God?

Thankfully, God's been preparing for this exact moment for decades.

The priests were useless leaders, but God raised up an unexpected leader.

A leader who truly trusted him and listened to him and obeyed him.

A leader brought into the world through a miracle, born to a mother who couldn't have children, raised in the tabernacle even though he didn't belong there, given the word of God to take to the people of God.

The man, of course, is Samuel.

Samuel doesn't tell the Israelites to go get the Ark and use it like a good luck charm.

He doesn't tell them to try and manipulate God or bend him to their will.

Instead, he calls them to trust him, obey him, turn away from their fake gods and put their faith in the faithful God.

He tells them in verse three, if you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you.

Set your hearts on the Lord and worship only Him.

Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.

It doesn't seem like much of a battle plan.

He doesn't say, do more training, work out how to function as a united army, discover the Philistine weaknesses and target them.

No.

They lost the last battle because they didn't trust God and God fought against them.

Now they need to give themselves over entirely to God, and that's what they do.

They remove the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods worshiped by the Canaanites.

They worship Yahweh and him alone.

And so Samuel intercedes for them.

He prays to God for them.

He gathers all the people at Mizpah.

At Mizpah, they make offerings to God and fast and confess their sins.

We have sinned against the Lord, they say.

And Samuel judges them there, not like a punishment, but he leads them and teaches them in trusting and serving the Lord.

Again, this isn't the sort of thing you'd expect in an army camp.

Humility.

Submission to God.

Confession.

And yet, this is what the Israelites truly need.

The Philistines hear about this large gathering.

They see it as a threat to their power and rule over Israel.

So the rulers of the cities gather their forces and march out for battle, just like they did 20 years ago.

When the Israelites hear about the army making their way towards them, they are afraid.

How can they be saved?

For the first time in the story, they know the answer.

Their God can save them.

Not by them manipulating him like when they got the Ark, but by trusting him and by his servant interceding with God on their behalf.

They say to Samuel in verse 8, don't stop crying out to the Lord our God for us so that he will save us from the Philistines.

Samuel takes a young lamb and offers it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord.

He doesn't steal any for himself like Hophni and Phinehas did.

He's a far more worthy priest than they were.

He cries out to the Lord on their behalf, and The Lord answers him as he's offering the burnt offering to the Lord.

The tramping of the Philistines can be heard as they approach approach for battle, their spear tips glinting in the sun, their shields like a powerful wall advancing to crush the enemy.

And yet their power is nothing compared to the power of the Lord.

Yahweh thunders against them.

He throws them into confusion.

They panic and break apart.

And the Israelites charge out of Mizpah and cut them down.

The Philistines are routed and defeated.

The Israelites chased them all the way to a place below Beth car.

I have no idea how far that is, but far enough to be mentioned as like, whoa, that far.

In chapter four, God had fought against his people who'd abandoned and betrayed him.

Now he fights for his people who've repented and come back to him.

He delivers them and saves them.

To commemorate the salvation, we get another reminder of how different this situation is to the previous battle.

Samuel takes a stone and sets it upright and calls it Ebenezer.

The name means Stone of Help.

And he says, the Lord has helped us to this point.

You may remember that at the previous battle, the Israelites had camped at a town called Ebenezer.

Then they'd been at the Stone of Help, but God hadn't helped them.

They'd had the ark of God, but God hadn't fought for them.

Now the Lord has helped them because they've trusted him.

In verse 13, we find out just how substantial this help has been.

We're told so the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israel's territory again.

The Lord's hand was against the Philistines all of Samuel's life.

The cities from Ekron to Gath which they had taken from Israel were restored.

Israel even rescued their surrounding territories from Philistine control.

There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

The salvation given by God is comprehensive.

Notice, though, the link between the salvation and the span of Samuel's life.

While Samuel lives, the man who intercedes for the Israelites, who teaches them and helps them to trust and serve God while he's around.

Things go well.

In verse 15, we're told Samuel judged Israel throughout his life.

Every year he would go on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah and would judge Israel at all these locations.

Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there.

He judged Israel there and he built an altar to the Lord there.

The events of Samuel's life show us the power of God.

His power isn't like a light switch or a tool or a good luck charm.

It's the power of the real, living God.

A power completely under his control.

A power he uses to bring about his plans.

And his plans are so good.

He uses his power to show his people not to use or abuse him.

He uses his power to show his enemies that he's truly the victorious one.

He uses his power to save his people who trust him.

When the Israelites were still evil, God was already getting ready to save them.

When their priests were evil, he'd already planned to provide Samuel.

He powerfully set everything in place.

And at just the right time, he powerfully saved.

The pattern established in the Old Testament is that God usually saves through a human leader.

God powerfully raised up Samuel to intercede for his people, to lead them in repentance, and to request that God save them.

And yet, those leaders only lived for a certain amount of time.

Israel was safe during the lifetime of Samuel.

But how long will that be?

Thankfully, God had a better savior in mind, a better mediator.

A mediator who'd powerfully conquered death itself, so he could be the mediator forever.

In Jesus Christ, God displayed his power over sin, over sickness, over death.

He showed the goodness of his powerful plans.

Before sinners like you and me had repented.

God had already powerfully done everything necessary to save us through.

Through the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so how should we treat this powerful God?

Like a good luck charm?

Like someone to be manipulated?

Like someone to be used to fulfill our plans?

No.

No.

We need to stand in awe of this God, the true and living God.

The God who powerfully saves, but who won't be treated as something less than what he is.

We don't need him for our plans.

We can trust him in his plans.

Trust that he'll use his power to do what's best back in Israel.

Samuel's getting older.

As the inevitable day of his death arrives, what'll that mean for the Israelites?

What'll it mean for their relationship with God?

Well, that's a story for next time.

Hi, everyone.

I hope you found that episode really helpful.

We've had a whole bunch of new people coming on board and listening in the last few months, which is really exciting.

I'd like to ask you to do something, particularly if you're on Apple Podcasts.

Could you please rate and review the show?

It'd be really helpful.

And it just makes the algorithm work more for revealing the show to other people.

So if you haven't done it yet, put in a rating 5 stars.

Of course, put in a review and that would be really helpful.

Keep trusting Jesus.

Bye for now.