1 Samuel 7:3 Commentary and Bible Study

The idea is that Samuel’s speaking to the house of Israel in verse 3, doesn't refer just to the end of the twenty years; he was doing it throughout this period. ‘If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you.’ Baal was the male, Ashtaroth was the female, held to be his wife: a god and goddess of the Philistines, and certain other nations too. ‘Put away these strange [foreign] gods from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord.’ Prepare your hearts: it’s a big repentance that is necessary, ‘and serve him only.’ It would take some doing. They would have to prove to God their absolute undivided loyalty to him. ‘Serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines and their oppression.’ Separation, total separation from that which is wrong. ‘Serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’ But that was happening throughout the twenty years without a rustle of activity or response from among the people. Then at long last Baalim and Ashtaroth are put away. It required repentance, shame and sorrow, and turning away, and it required separation from the things that were wrong. Not for long, tragically, but they were.When you see what passes for repentance, sometimes even among so-called Bible believers, you go all the way back to the Old Testament and you see the true nature of repentance, clearly laid out in text after text. ‘If ye do return unto the Lord’ – it's really a synonym for repentance – ‘with all your hearts’ – with utmost sincerity; this is not just a lightly meant word – ‘then put away the strange gods’ – repentance involves the turning away from the wrong – ‘and prepare your hearts.’ That translates a Hebrew word which literally says, ‘stand-up your hearts’. ‘Prepare your hearts’ is a perfectly good translation, but you get the sense: ‘Stand-up’. Prepare your hearts in such a way that you become determined for the Lord ‘and serve him’ – the serving word – ‘serve him only.’ But the significant thing is, they do. And they are earnest or at least many or most of them, at last, after so long a time. ‘Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh’ – the name means ‘watchtower’ – ‘and I will pray for you unto the Lord’ – Mizpeh was a near three thousand foot mountain. It required intercession, much prayer. ‘And they gathered together at Mizpeh’, and went through the various ceremonies in connection with repentance and dedication. ‘And said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.’ What does that mean? In the ordinary course of events, Samuel would judge by sitting in the position of a chief magistrate and judging the most serious disputes and crimes of the land. Lesser things were dealt with by others, but he would deal with the most serious cases. But in this context it indicates something larger. Perhaps people who were most guilty in leading the people down these wrong parts were humbled and demoted from their elderships. That is just speculating, but ‘Samuel judged the people’ – there seem to be some consequences following the long period of decline. Some people could no longer be trusted. Verse 6 is a wonderful picture of their pride being renounced. ⁶ And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD’ – probably signifying their acknowledgement of wasted years, wasted times – ‘and fasted on that day’ – in repentance – ‘and said there, We have sinned against the LORD.’ Their repentance is going to be accepted at this point. It was obviously sincere, because God is going to bless as a result. ‘And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.’