The Throne Weeks 3 and 4 by Gabe Tringale

The

Day

1 Samuel verses 4:12-22

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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 4:12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, “How did it go, my son?” 17 He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 As soon as he

mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.! 19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

The messenger had run a distance of about twenty miles. The dirt on his head and the tearing of his clothes are signs of grief. This messenger is grieving, and he brings grievous news to those who are waiting at Shiloh. Eli was not waiting comfortably inside, but rather the text shows us he is sitting beside the road anxiously waiting. His main concern is not for his sons, or whether the army has met victory or defeat. Eli’s main concern is for the ark of God. Verse 13 tells us that his heart trembles as he waits for news about the ark.!

As the messenger gives the news to the city a cry arises. Eli’s ears are good, and he hears the cry of mourning though his 98 year old eyes are failing. The messenger makes his way to Eli and delivers the bad news of what has happened. “The messenger’s pitiable report contains four parts building in a climactic fashion. First, the Israelite army has been put to flight before the Philistines. Then he reports the news of heavy casualties. Third, Eli’s own sons are both dead. Finally, the ark of God has been captured. We are not told of Eli’s reaction to the first three pieces of news. But at the mention of the ark’s capture, he falls, and because of his advanced age and great girth he does not survive the fall. The narrator intends us to understand that Eli is practically unaffected by the news of his son’s deaths, supposing that he has given up on them as hopeless.” (Bill T. Arnold, ! 1 & 2 Samuel)!

Hannah names her son in chapter 1,“she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.” The coming of Samuel signaled hope and great joy for his family. Verses 19-22 detail out the birth of another child. His birth comes as his mother hears about the death of her husband, the death of her father in law, and the capture of the ark of the covenant. The mother, in her grief and despair names her child, Ichabod, which means “The glory has departed from Israel!” H. L. Ellison, writing about this text, says this about Phinehas’ wife, “she was wrong. The glory of God had indeed departed, but not because the ark of God had been captured; the ark had been captured because the glory had already departed.”!

Today’s passage ends with great sadness.“The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” The birth of Samuel ushers in a new era of prophet. The birth of Ichabod closes a dark era of ungodly leadership in Israel. The death of Eli and the priesthood that he represents brings an end to Shiloh as the central place of worship for the people of God. The loss of the ark, the loss of the priests descended from Eli are consequences of sin and judgement upon Israel.

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1 Samuel verses 5:1-12

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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 5:1When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6 The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon

our god.” 8 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” 11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

“Yahweh will not permit the Israelites to use the ark of the covenant as though it were a magical wand. But neither can he permit the Philistines to demean him as a trophy of their victory. This episode illustrates that Yahweh himself is responsible for Israel’s defeat and that, contrary to appearances, he is not powerless in the hands of Israel’s enemies.” (Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel)! The Philistines brought the ark of God and treated it as though it were an idol and set it before the idol of their god, Dagon. Their message was clear, the Israelite God is subservient to the Philistine god, Dagon. The problem was that their clear message backfired on them. When they awoke, they found that Dagon had fallen on his face and was in a subservient posture before Yahweh and the ark of the covenant. The Philistines then stood their idol of Dagon upright and put him back into place. The next morning they found their god had met with even more disastrous results. Dagon’s head and hands were cut off lying on the threshold, and his body lay prostrate again in a subservient position before the ark of the Lord. Verse 5 explains that this resulted in a superstition that carried on, “This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.”!

The Philistine’s god had lost his head and his hands which was a symbol of being conquered. Yahweh showed the strength of his hand by afflicting the people of Ashdod with tumors. They respond in v. 7, “When the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, ‘The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” Their answer was to send the ark of the covenant to Gath who then sent the ark to Ekron. Every place that they sent the ark they said that the ‘hand of the Lord was against that city.’ The results of God’s hand being upon them were panic and tumors breaking out on the people of the city. Finally they gathered all the leaders of the Philistines in one place and they determined that they must, “send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” Four times the text tells us that the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. God’s power is seen by the working of his hand. Clearly the theme is spelled out: Yahweh’s hand is all powerful, and he has cut off the hands of the Philistine’s god, Dagon.”!

“In sum, the Philistines have now learned the hard lesson, which the Israelites themselves learned in chapter 4. No one can manipulate or control Yahweh by simply obtaining possession of the ark of the covenant. He is sovereign and free, and though he is enthroned between the cherubim atop the sacred sarcophagus, the sum of his personhood can never be reduced to it alone. He is not chained to his throne. Yahweh is simply bigger than the Israelite or Philistine theological configuration of him. They have both grossly underestimated his power and holiness.” (Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel)

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1 Samuel verses 6:1-12

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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 6:1The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” 3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.” 4 And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. 5 So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land. 6 Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed? 7 Now then,

take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9 and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”! 10 The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

The ark of the Lord resided for what was seven hard months for the Philistines. At the end of the seven months they called all of the priests and diviners together to figure out how to get rid of the ark. The consensus was to return the ark but not to send the ark back empty handed. “The people were advised to return to the God of Israel compensation, namely, five golden mice. These golden objects function as a compensatory sacrifice, carrying away the contamination from Philistia and with it the suffering. But at the same time, they are a payment of a tribute to the God whose property has been violated.” (David Toshio Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel) !

Yahweh’s hand had been heavy against them and the thought was that if they sent the ark back with compensation perhaps, God would, “lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land.” “The term ‘honor’ (6:5) and the verb for ‘to harden one’s heart, (6:6) are from the same Hebrew root (kbd), creating an interesting word play. It is better to honor Israel’s God than to harden one’s heart as the Egyptians did. Ironically, the Philistine priests and diviners were now urging their people (almost preaching to them!) to give glory and honor to Yahweh, the God God of Israel. What a fascinating turn of events! (Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel)!

The priests and diviners came up with a test. They would send the ark back on a cart attached to two milk cows who had calves and watch the progress of the ark of the covenant and the cart. They would be able to discern the results of the test by what happened. “If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.” The cows would naturally return home especially when since they had calves to take care of. !

The Philistines watched the cows go straight to Beth-shemesh. Yahweh spoke through their test. “To be sure, he spoke through cows rather than prophets. He did not give them the whole torah but he did give them some truth. And they were responsible for rightly responding to the truth they did receive. Yahweh had stooped to show them, in terms they could understand that he himself had destroyed their god, their land and their bodies. Now what will they do with that revelation? (Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel)

The

Day

1 Samuel verses 6:13-21

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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 6:13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord. 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.! 17 These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron, 18 and

the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.! 19 And he struck some of the men of Bethshemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow. 20 Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriathjearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”

The people of Beth-shemesh were overjoyed when they saw the ark arrive in their fields in the midst of wheat harvest. The cart stopped in the middle of Joshua’s field, and there was a great stone there. They used the wood from the cart to make a fire, and they offered up the cows who brought the ark as a burnt offering unto the Lord. The Levites handled the ark of the Lord and the box which contained the golden figures that the Philistines sent as an compensatory offering to Yahweh. A problem arises in verse 19, “He struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow.” We are not sure of how the men were physically struck down so that seventy citizens of that city died that day, “but in the minds of the Israelites, it is because they have not properly cared for the sacred symbol of Yahweh’s covenant (6:19); ‘because they had looked into the ark of the LORD.’ The ark was not to be opened, or even touched out of respect for Yahweh. It was important that the Israelites see the recovery of the ark not as a transfer of control from Philistia back to Israel but as it was -an expression of God’s sovereignty over both Philistia and Israel.” (Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel)!

Naturally the question arises, why did God strike down these seventy men? God had given special instructions not to touch the ark and to treat it with the utmost respect. In Numbers 4:17-20, God gives the Kohathites instructions on how they as part of the levitical priesthood who carry the ark are to treat the ark. “The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” "

The Kohathites were given the solemn task of carrying the ark but they were not allowed to look at it. The ark was to be covered by Aaron and his sons before it could be carried by the Kohathites. God took very seriously that all of his prescriptions for the ark would be carried out. The death of the 70 men is a severe reminder to not take the prescriptions lightly. The citizens of Beth-shemesh mourned the loss of their neighbors and cried out, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?! “God’s people today no longer have the ark of the covenant, but we can fall into the same Bethshemesh mode of thinking. We can forget that Yahweh is holy, in a word, different, and that he does not conform to our expectation of an easy going God.” (Ralph Dale Davis, 1 Samuel)

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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel Reﬂection Day Reread I Samuel 5:2 -12 from the Message:

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Once the Philistines had seized the Chest of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, brought it into the shrine of Dagon, and placed it alongside the idol of Dagon. 3-5 Next morning when the citizens of Ashdod got up, they were shocked to find Dagon toppled from his place, flat on his face before the Chest of God. They picked him up and put him back where he belonged. First thing the next morning they found him again, toppled and flat on his face before the Chest of God. Dagon’s head and arms were broken off, strewn across the entrance. Only his torso was in one piece. (That’s why even today, the priests of Dagon and visitors to the Dagon shrine in Ashdod avoid stepping on the threshold.) 6 God was hard on the citizens of Ashdod. He devastated them by hitting them with tumors. This happened in both the town and the surrounding neighborhoods. He let loose rats among them. Jumping from ships there, rats swarmed all over the city! And everyone was deathly afraid. 7-8 When the leaders of Ashdod saw what was going on, they decided, “The chest of the God of Israel has got to go. We can’t handle this, and neither can our god Dagon.” They called together all the Philistine leaders and put it to them: “How can we get rid of the chest of the God of Israel?” The leaders agreed: “Move it to Gath.” So they moved the Chest of the God of Israel to Gath. 9 But as soon as they moved it there, God came down hard on that city, too. It was mass hysteria! He hit them with tumors. Tumors broke out on everyone in town, young and old. 10-12 So they sent the Chest of God on to Ekron, but as the Chest was being brought into town, the people shouted in protest, “You’ll kill us all by bringing in this Chest of the God of Israel!” They called the Philistine leaders together and demanded, “Get it out of here, this Chest of the God of Israel. Send it back where it came from. We’re threatened with mass death!” For everyone was scared to death when the Chest of God showed up. God was already coming down very hard on the place. Those who didn’t die were hit with tumors. All over the city cries of pain and lament filled the air.

God is serious about His glor6. The ark of the Covenant represented God and His glor6. “The f@nctional purAose of the ark was as a simple container for holy objects. The various names of the ark, “ark of the covenant & ark of the testimony) are references to the fact that the tablets containing the Ten Commandments were placed inside it. Other notable items included in the ark were a sample of the manna of the wilderIess and Aaron’s budding staﬀ. Though small, this box-‐like container was one of the most potent images of God’s presence during the early OT period.” (Dictionar6 of Biblical Imager6)

The ark of the covenant was the most powerf@l image because it was the visible representation of Yahweh to His people. King David says in 1 Chronicles 28:2, “Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my hearY to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building.” The ark was the ver6 footstool of God. For God’s people the ark of the covenant and God’s manifest presence were one and the same.

The Israelites car\ied the ark into ba]le thinking that then they could never lose the ba]le. “Yahweh will not per^it the Israelites to use the ark of the covenant as though it were a magical wand. But neither can he per^it the Philistines to demean him as a t\ophy of their victor6. This episode illust\ates that Yahweh himself is responsible for Israel’s defeat and that, cont\ar6 to appearances, he is not powerless in the hands of Israel’s enemies.” (Bill T. ArIold, 1 & 2 Samuel)

God is serious about His glor6. In the passages this week, God demonst\ated that ever6Yhing must bow to His glor6, presence and His plans. As you circle in prayer this week and reﬂect on these passages begin in worshipping, praising God , and giving Him glor6. Reﬂect on your circling prayer and allow that time to be an act of yielding to God’s glor6.

The

Day

1 Samuel verses 7:1-8

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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 7:1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord. 2 From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth,

and they served the Lord only. 5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So 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 people of Israel at Mizpah. 7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

For twenty years the ark of the Lord remained at Kiriath-jearim. During this time the people of God “lamented after the Lord” and Samuel grew into the priest and prophet that he was called to be. Samuel’ s silence and absence has been felt for the past three chapters which represented a period of twenty years. Samuel’s birth and Samuel’s call in chapters 1-3 have already alerted us to the fact that Samuel is ushering something new into Israel. It is almost as though the sorrow of God’s people, their lament, is the kindling for the powerful words of the prophet that Samuel has become. His first sermon hits them with power and simplicity. RETURN… Put away foreign gods… Serve the LORD with all your heart… then HE will DELIVER!

Samuel’s words of repentance emphasize returning to the Lord with ALL YOUR HEART. Samuel’s leadership rose as Eli and his sons’ descended. The man of God prophesied “And death shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, and it shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. 35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind.(2:34-35)” When the prophet who has the heart and mind of the LORD preaches his first message it is a powerful call to the heart of Israel for repentance. “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” “To return here is the act of repentance, that is, a change of direction back to the Lord. Three things are commanded; (1) to turn aside from idolatry; (2) to fix the heart on the Lord; and (3) to serve him alone.” (David Toshio Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel) !

The return that Samuel asks for is to be substantial and thorough. It is letting go of concrete things such as other gods, and at the same time, intensely personal, heartfelt, and relational. The Old Testament idea of heart also conveys the idea of the will and the intellect as well as emotions. Samuel is calling for a fidelity in actions, heart, mind and even in sexual practices. Samuel ask the people to put away the Ashtaroths which were the Canannite gods of fertility. They were to reject these gods and all the sexual practices that accompanied them. Samuel tells the people that this kind of repentance and complete devotion to the Lord will result in God’s deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.!

Samuel’s call for repentance was heard and the people responded by putting away the baals and the Ashtaroth poles and serving Yahweh only. The mark of a true preacher is that repentance follows the message. The mark of a true leader is to know how to direct the people’s repentance. Samuel leads the people into a corporate prayer time calling for all of Israel to gather at Mizpah and to fast and pray. The people cry out in corporate repentance, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Samuel ministers to the people both as prophet and judge in this context. True repentance is seen in the people because they receive the judgement by crying out to God even more. The Philistines respond to Israel’s meeting by deciding to attack Israel. This attack brings forth both a cry and prayer from the people. “The people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”!

“In 1 Samuel 4, the Israelites lost to the Philistines because they attempted to manipulate God by bringing the ark of the covenant into the battle. They had no leadership to warn them against such action, and the military defeat was at the same time a spiritual failure. Now, however, Samuel has replaced the unfortunate Eli and his ignoble sons. The military threat has not changed, but this time the people implore Samuel to continue interceding on their behalf. (7:8) Nothing has really changed-and yet everything has changed. The Philistines are still there and still menacing. But the people have now repented from worshiping Canaanite gods and from trying to manipulate Yahweh. Now they seek Yahweh’s help, demonstrated in their reliance on Samuel to offer acceptable sacrifices to Yahweh and to pray effectual prayers.(7:9)” (Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel)

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1 Samuel verses 7:8-17

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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 7:8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 So 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. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name

Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. And he built there an altar to the Lord.

Samuel stands as intercessor standing in the gap for Israel in the midst of a national crisis. The Philistines hearing about Israel’s meeting at Mizpah have chosen to attack while Israel is repenting before the Lord. Israel recognizing that their only weapon is prayer have implored Samuel to intercede for them. “So 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.” (v.9) “The expression, ‘Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel’ appears only here. The sense is obvious; Samuel is pleading to God as an intercessor. He is ‘a general who makes war by prayer.’ Mc Carter comments: ‘The intercessory role of the prophet and his special function in holy warfare were two important aspects of the prophetic view of leadership.’” (David Toshio Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel) Samuel touches the throne of God in prayer and asks God to “save us from the hand of the Philistines.”!

The story tells us that God answered Samuel’s prayer. It shows us a dramatic picture of what is taking place. Samuel is praying, asking God to intervene while the hooves of horses, chariots and the Philistines are thundering toward Israel. This is no problem for Yahweh because as verse 10 tells us, He thunders his answer, and with a deafening sound, the Lord throws the Philistines into confusion. Samuel’s mother prophesied just this event when she was praising and thanking God for the birth of Samuel. She declares in her song of praise, “The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven.” (2:10)!

After throwing the Philistine army into confusion, God strikes the Philistine army. Then Israel pursues them, strikes them, and the Philistines are utterly defeated before Israel. Samuel takes a stone and sets it up as a memorial of how God won this victory for the Israelites. He actually names the stone, “He called its name Ebenezer; for he said, ‘the Lord has helped us.’” “Thus, Samuel is here continuing an old and sacred tradition of marking the time and place where God had touched his people in a significant way. Unlike other commemorative stones, however, Samuel gives this memorial a name, ‘Ebenezer’ (Stone of Help), because the Lord had helped Israel here. This victory was more than a well-fought and justly deserved triumph. This victory, this ‘help’ , had its origin in the Lord and was a gift of his grace.” ( Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel) The Lord gave such a mighty victory and his hand was against the Philistines for the rest of the days of Samuel. Cities were given back to Israel and we see a picture of restoration and of peace.!

Samuel is the last and most influential judge over Israel. He served God and Israel all of his life. Chapter 8 is a major transition is the book of 1 Samuel and in the history of Israel. The last few verses of this passage sum up this section of the book and also the impact and leadership of Samuel. Samuel served God all of his life and served Israel as their judge.

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1 Samuel verses 8:1-9

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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 8:1-9 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give

us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.

The elders of Israel come to Samuel with their concern over who would govern Israel when Samuel was gone. Their concern seems justified when you consider the fact that Samuel’s sons are taking bribes and being unjust. Verse 3 tells us that Joel and Abijah were judges but they, “did not walk in his (Samuel’s) ways but turned aside after gain.” The succession of judges in the past had not taken place without problems. Following the death of Joshua and during the era of the Judges everyone did what was right in their own eyes and governing Israel was difficult. A pattern arose and is seen in the book of Judges: rebellion, discipline by God, military conquest, repentance, new leadership and then deliverance. Samuel had broken that cycle and understandably, the elders did not want to revert back.!

The elders of Israel rightly wanted to address the approaching problem of leadership, but they wrongly decided that it would be a king. Verse 5 gives us clues as to why they were wrong,”Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” “When the elders ask Samuel to appoint a king to ‘lead’ them (judge them), they clearly have in mind more than a simple change of leaders. They want a change of institutions; they want a fundamental change of national constitution. This is a request for a paradigm shift of political structures, rejecting the older form of charismatically chosen judges who led in peacetime and occasionally also served as temporary military commanders in such defensive wars as were necessary. Requesting a ‘king’ to ‘lead’ is tantamount to a rejection of Samuel’s godly judgeship and ministry of prophecy.” (Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel)!

The elders of Israel and the people want to become like the other nations. God had saved and delivered them calling them his own people. In Exodus 19:6, God had told Israel their identity, “you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” “ Now this very identity is in doubt. They seek a status on the level with their new neighbors, the Canaanites. They have lived among them for at least two centuries, and now they want to become like them. They have grown weary of being unique, they seek conformity and security. But as the passage makes clear, they are grasping for something they fail to understand and will lose the vey things they hope to ensure by having a king.” (Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel)!

Samuel, acting as the prophet and intercessor of the nation, responds to their demands by praying. What Samuel hears from the Lord surprises him. God tells him to do what they want, they are not rejecting Samuel, but in reality they are rejecting God. Israel’s rejection of God is not a new thing, but a regular occurrence since the day they were delivered from Egypt. Until this time, the people have been forsaking Yahweh and chasing after other gods. Israel’s rejection of Yahweh and desire of other gods was in fact their rejection of him as KING. Their asking for a political king was making public what had taken place in their hearts long ago. God tells Samuel to give them what they want but make them understand what they are doing, “solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” (v. 9)

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1 Samuel verses 8:10-22

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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 8:10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11 He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your

male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” 19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

Samuel the prophet of God delivers to the people the words of the Lord about what the king they so long for will be like. Samuel was told by God, “solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”(v. 9) “Samuel’s disclosure of the king’s ways (vs. 11-18) does not depict the extraordinary abuse of kingship but simply the usual practices of kingship (which admittedly, could become abusive) Israel must know what monarchy will cost her. Samuel’s summary of a king’s ways is simple: “He will take….he will take…” (Ralph Dale Davis, 1 Samuel) The idea of “take” is seen over and over again in this passage. He will take your sons. He will take your daughters. He will take your fields. He will take the produce of your fields. He will take your servants and your livestock. The ultimate end of all the taking by the king is that the people of God will become slaves to the king. !

Samuel solemnly warns the people, but his words do not fall on listening ears. Samuel explains to them, when you cry out to God because of your slavery to this king, realize this is something that you have chosen. “The Lord will not answer you in that day.” ( v.17) Samuel is explaining to Israel because you have not heard the Lord on this day, He will not hear you on that day, the day of your slavery. Israel suffered attack from her enemies during the rule of the judges. During the rule of the kings, Israel will be enslaved and oppressed, not from her enemies, but from her own leadership, the king.!

The people at this point not only refuse to listen to Samuel’s voice, they begin to demand, “there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” Verse 5 and Verse 20 express the same theme by the people. We must be like other nations. In chapter 7, Israel saw God be their commander and chief and He fought their battles for them. Now, they look for a king who will fight their battles. “Instead of the Lord’s kingship, they look to the visible human kingship. This is the beginning of a new distrust by the Israelites of their covenant God.” (David Toshio Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel)! Samuel, the ever faithful prophet and intercessor on behalf of God and on behalf of his people hears the words that the people say and the text tells us; “he repeated them in the ears of the Lord.” (v. 21)! The Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.”(v. 22) God’s people do not turn to the Lord or listen, but this has not stopped Samuel from turning to God or listening to God.!

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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel Reﬂection Day 1 Samuel 7: 5-‐12: Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So 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 people of Israel at Mizpah. 7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were ahaid of the Philistines. 8 And the people of

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Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cr6 out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us hom the hand of the Philistines.” So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burIt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burIt offering, the Philistines drew near to a]ack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a might6 sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into conf@sion, and they were defeated before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out hom Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and st\@ck them, as far as below Beth-‐car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up betjeen Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”

Ebenezer means stone of help. As Samuel and the Israelites repented and called out to the Lord, God met them powerf@lly. The people begged Samuel to intercede for them, “Do not cease to cr6 out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us hom the hand of the Philistines.” The Lord’s answer was like thunder and lightening and the Philistines were overcome and defeated. The stone that Samuel set up was a memorial and a remembrance of the help that the LORD had given them. In the 1700s RoberY Robinson wrote in the hy^n, Come thou Fount of Ever6 Blessing, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I'm come and; I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to ar\ive at home.” RoberY Robinson was drawing a prayer circle around his life and liﬅing up his Ebenezer (a stone of help) remembering that he had only go]en as far as he had go]en by God’s help.

Mark Ba]erson writes, “My g\andfather had a prayer rit@al that involved kneeling nexY to his bed at night, taking out his hearing aid, and praying for his family. He couldn’t hear himself without his hearing aid, but ever6one else in the house could. Few things leave a more lasting impression than hearing someone intercede for you by name.” Grandpa Johnson died when I was six years old, but his prayers did not. Our prayers never die! When we pray, our prayers exit our four dimensions of space-‐time. Our prayers have no space or time limitations because the God who answers them exists outside of the four dimensions He created. You never know when His timeless answer will re-‐enter the atôsphere of our lives, and that should fill us with holy anticipation. Never underestimate His abilit6 to answer anyYime, anyAlace, anyhow, He has infinite answers to our finite prayers. He can answer them more than once and He answers them forever. “ He continues in Draw the Circle, “Acts 10:4 declares that our prayers are memorial offerings. I cannot promise that God will answer your prayers how you want or when you you want, but I can promise that God will answer. He always answers! At critical points in my life, the Spirit of God has whispered to my spirit; ‘Mark, the prayers of your g\andfather are being answered in your life right now.’ Those sacred moments rank as the most humbling and exhilarating moments of my life.”

Remembering is imporYant. Samuel set up the Ebenezer stone to remember. Mark Ba]erson remembers his g\andfather’s prayer. What do you need to reﬂect on and remember today?