November 15th, 2026: Israel Recommits to God | 1 Samuel 7:3-11, 15-17

The Philistines have taken the Ark of the Covenant, the most sacred item in the Israel Tabernacle.  The Philistines have kept it for about seven months.  They have suffered plagues with mice and rats, tumors and the destruction of their idol to Dagon because of its presence.  The Lords of the Philistines decide to send the Ark back to Israel.  

Israel too has reaped the consequences of lightly esteeming the Ark.  Many lives were lost in battles.  As they work their fields in Bethshemesh, the children of Israel look up to see a miracle.   

And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord. ( 1Samuel 6:13-14) .

And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.

The Ark was back in Israel and the people were glad!  They wanted to renew their relationship with God and to live under the safety of His guidance and provision.  So, the prophet Samuel advises them.  They must return  to God with their whole heart,  That means clearing out the sin. 

And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, 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 children of Israel in Mizpeh.

The children of Israel agreed to offer their most precious commodity - water as an offering to God. After all it is not really an offering  if it costs one nothing or very little.  Jesus uses himself as our example of offering.  He is our offering for sin.   

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 10:14-15).

The children of Israel made an offering.  Our offering for sin has already been made.  Our job is to remember who our offering is and give Him our hearts.   

Fasting has been watered down today to mean a type of diet or a lifestyle change.  The fasting here is a day of voluntarily refraining from food and often drink as a sign of seeking an answer from God. God had the prophet Isaiah tell us His thoughts on fasting. 

 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity (Isaiah 58: 4-9). 

True fasting requires committed individual actions and desiring what God desires.  Help us never to think that fasting makes us look holy, or brings about things contrary to the will of God.    

And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

With priorities in the correct order, the enemy hears and attacks.  The Philistines show up for a battle.  That’s what the enemy does.  Whenever drawing yourself closer to God, expect a battle, a raising up of your old doubts, fears, regrets and problems.  The battles begin in your mind.  Who is stronger, God or the enemy?

And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him.

The people call on the right person.  Samuel was not a high priest but he was a Levite that could offer sacrifices.  He was their Judge and was a prophet.  This qualified him to offer a sacrifice and intercede on behalf of the people. The children of Israel repent, asking for forgiveness and protection. 

We too have an advocate and He is so much more.   My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. (1 John 2:1-3).  He is the payment or the substitute for our sin.  We show Him our commitment by keeping His commandments. 

And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.

God is able. God can do more with our faith than we ever can on our own.  His answer to the fasting, the prayer and sacrifice, and the repentance was a great thunder.  Possibly just a snap of his fingers to remind the Philistines and the children of Israel that He alone is God. The fear of the Lord allowed Israel to overcome their enemies. He can and will do the same for us. Note:  Bethcar means “house of the lamb” and by pursuing this far, they recovered most of the lands they had lost previously. 

 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the Lord.

The last part of the lesson tells us that Samuel, dedicated to God by his mother Hannah, fulfilled her agreement with the Lord.  He did indeed judge Israel the entirety of his life.  He became somewhat of a circuit riding judge, traveling among the people. 

Samuel sees the good, the bad, the ugly. He has every reason to be battle weary and give up.  People are so fickle. They are easily drawn to the wrong things. Samuel knows that God is what they truly need.  Israel messed up big.  They repented big.  God allows us to do the same through our acceptance of His son Jesus. 

Samuel knows God, believes in His authority, and knows that He keeps His promises.  He helps others to know the same.  

Be like Samuel!

Thank you for studying with us! God bless!