1 Samuel Summary: Chapter 3. Samuel listens and obeys, The Word goes from rare to widespread, the people hear from God

Chapter 4-6. the people did not listen to God, destruction and sorrow follows.

Now in Ch 7. We see Samuel again and we’re going to see a breath of fresh air, as Samuel teaches God’s plan and their will be many blessings that follow.

Prayer 

How many of have put some kind of furniture together from a box?
It seems simple but sometimes if you mess up one or 2 steps you have to start all over. 

You have to follow the plan carefully. 

Sometimes you miss a step, other times you interpret the directions wrongly and install something backwards. Church, a number of items assembled. I can’t say I got them right the first time.  

Our passage today is a refreshing example of what happens when people follow God’s plan. 

Chapters 4-6 have been full of destruction, punishment for rejecting and ignoring God’s plan. 

The Ark of the covenant, the central means of God’s presence has been violated, used sinfully, idolatry reigns in the land. God’s plan is not followed. 

But here in chapter 7 we get to see God’s plan followed. 

Samuel, faithfully sharing the word of God, leads the people and they respond rightly. 

 

Big Idea: God desires we know and obey his Perfect plan.

We see 3 specific ways God’s plan was obeyed and we get to see the blessing that flows from each act of obedience. 

This passage reveals 3 specific areas of God’s plan that were followed. 

 

1. God’s Plan for Revival 

In Chapter 2, the Word of God was rare but because of Samuel it was now widespread
yet, tragically instead of it being honored, it has been rejected. 

For 20 years, God’s word was not valued or honored in Israel.

One of Israels greatest temptations was looking and acting like the nations around them.  taking on whatever false gods they were worshipping. 

This is one of the defining problems for the nation of Israel and the next chapter is going to give us another example of Israel’s repeated failure to reject God’s plan when they ask for a King. 

Whether it was the idols of the nations or the kings of others nations, Israel was not content with God’s revealed way of doing things and they missed out on so many blessings because they did not follow God’s plan 

But despite these failures and mistakes, After 20 years Israel began to recognize something was wrong. 

vs 2: shows us that the message of Samuel may be finally taking root in the people. Not just one person but a group of people. 

​

1. The First step is to Lament 

 Lament (They see their problem and sin, Lament because this is not right)

This is not only mourning but wailing over their sin. A deep sorrow.

For 20 years Israel hasn’t fully seen their sin and idolatry as sin. It seems right and they’ve done it. 

there would be no need to repent if they don’t see what they’re doing as wrong. 

yet here we see the people taking the first step of restoration in grieving their sin.
As a nation they recognized what they’ve done and see it as wrong. Not just a problem to get out of but as a serious thing that they have done and they Lament. 

Wrong Lament: 1 Samuel 6:19

Right Lament: 1 Samuel 7:2

This is more than just regret the consequences of their sin. 

Samuel sees this, and is ready to tell the people what to do.

 

B. The next step is to Repent. 

“Revival is marked by a sense in which repentance becomes normal” Tim Keller 

This is what Israel did. Finally after 20 years, there was a work in their heart. 

Samuel gives 3 Commands for repentance 

1. Turn away from Idols (Fix the root) 

Quote: G. K. Chesterton, “when people reject God they do not worship nothing, they worship anything.”

This is the problem of Israel. They worshipped the gods around them. Male and female deities. You name it, they worshipped it. 

For Israel, they didn’t reject God completely, they simply added to their worship of God. They wanted to worship God and the gods of the culture around them. They wanted the benefits of both. 

The problem was that God wasn’t enough for them. 

Problem of idolatry: Every day we face temptations towards idolatry, our heart is an idol factory. John Calvin uses a metaphor to explain , “The human heart is a “a perpetual forge of idols” or  “perpetual idol factory”

 

This is what the sinful human heart is capable of. Thankfully when God saves us he gives us a new heart, so to some degree it is not creating as many idols as before we are saved but the battle, the flesh still remains and the temptation is always there to turn form God to idols.

The battle for our hearts rages everyday. 

What temptations do you face? We each struggle with different idols. 

The many different things that we give too much value to,
The things we put too much hope in to make us happy. 

Idolatry: 

"Anything in our lives that takes the place of God and commands the sacrifice and devotion that belong only to Him, is an idol and must be cast out. Idols in the heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple." (Wiersbe)

Ezekiel 14:3

    Wealth, power, sex, pleasure, religion, possessions, image,
You could ask “What do I put my hope in?” Where is my hope and security found?

Whatever it is, The danger is we to make room for idols we push God out of our heart. 

And idols never deliver. they always fail us. 

“Idols are spiritual addictions that lead to terrible evil” Tim Keller 

This is what Israel found out. they pushed God out and made room for the variety of idols around them. and just in this passage alone they were miserable. 

The idols promised so much but never delivered. This is the danger of idolatry. 

God is not pleased. He wants your whole heart. No other gods are allowed. 

This is what Samuel called the people to do, “Put away idols” “prepare your hearts”

Now it’s easy to look at Israel and look down on them for their idolatry. We could sound holy and say how could your worship Baal, how could you go after all these terrible idols. But the reality is idolatry is subtle. 

 Israel matched the culture around them.
Reality: The pull of the World’s system, its values and idolatry is strong. Israel got pulled in time and time again. 

The Challenge then for us is turning from the pull of society. What’s natural and easy. 

One happens without even thinking

Putting off idols. Recognizing the false promise that they offer and then directing our hearts to the Lord. 

2. Direct hearts to the Lord ( Fix the root) 

Repentance means a U-Turn. Turning from Idols, putting them off and adding worship to your life.  Directing your hearts to the Lord 

Turn Away from sin, turn to God. 

A key way to find out if you are fighting idolatry in your life is to examine your life and see where your attention is.
Are you directing your hearts to the Lord? 

Question: When you wake up, what do you give your attention to first? 

Do you look UP TO GOD or do you look DOWN at your phone? 

When you’re waiting at the bus stop, where does your attention go?  Up or down?

When you go to bed at night what is the last thing you give your attention to? 

One of the subtle dangers of idolatry is it often makes sense. You can justify it. 

So…. we have to be on guard of our heart. 

We have to take control. We can’t passively consume social media and expect our hearts to be free from idolatry. 

What does this look like? If you don’t periodically take time to examine your phone habits that would be a good place to start looking for idols.
You have to Give God your attention before you give your phone your attention. 

It may be that you need to charge your phone in a different room at night. What would it look like if you gave God your first moments of the day in prayer and Bible reading and the last moments of the day in prayer, reflection, and gratitude as you come to the end of another day depending on God?

When you come to church, would you be willing to not touch social media or the news while you are in the church building? You come 10 minutes early, you face a choice, scroll or serve. Talking to someone else is a way of serving them. Scrolling is way of serving yourself.   This is one of the reasons I’d encourage to bring a Bible so you aren’t tempted with notifications and distractions throughout the whole morning 

Each of these changes are about directing your heart to God 

Maybe it means writing out a verse or a chapter to take with you during the week. When you have free time you don’t pull out your phone like everyone else around you but you pull out that paper. 

 Whatever change you need to make when it comes to putting off idols, it most likely will involve your some action regarding your phone. 

Why? The reality is the technology makers and social media makers are experts at what they do. They are too good. And we happily play along.  From an observation stance alone, our focus and attention drops, our anxiety rises. One of the main reasons for this is our hearts are drawn away from God. We’re expecting social media to provide what only God can provide. 

What a tragedy it is, when we give so much our attention to worthless things, trivial things that will make no difference in our lives even an hour later yet we try to add these to our worship of God 

and the result is we are no longer worshipping God alone. 

The result is we are consumed by fear and anxiety more and more

And all along God is waiting to be worshipped with our whole heart.

3. Serve  Him Alone ( See the Fruit) 

If we are truly serious about our desire to turn from sin and to God there will de a difference in our heart and actions. 

We will worship God with our lives, we seek to serve Him, Our life is his. 

Luke 3:8 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance"….

Samuel responds, the same way people had turned to God in the past is the way people turn to him. Samuel knew the words of Jacob and Joshua. Spiritual cleansing

2. God’s Plan for Crisis 

Before God’s people can fully appreciate the restoration of their relationship with God they are tested. 

At the height of their revival they already face a serious crisis.
The enemy is noticing what’s happening and they are on their way.  

A. The Natural Reaction to Problems (v.7)

1 Samuel 7:7 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

“they were afraid of the Philistines”.
The Temptation could’ve been to do things on their own as the people did before

Fear has tempted Israel time and time again, they have responded sinfully. 

    Contrast Chapters 4-6. Fear and taking things into their own hands

Here they are again, facing fear, but this time, with a heart of repentance and awareness of God’s plan 

they know there is a danger, they are afraid.
Will they respond by turning to God or taking matters into their own hands? 

B. The Godly Reaction to Problems (dependence on God) (v.8)

1 Samuel 7:8 So the children 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.”

1.The Plea for help

Instead of trusting their own strength (which went terribly wrong) , they go to Samuel, they ask him to pray.

    No longer are they trying to take care of problems on their own. They’ve turned to God with their hearts, they’ve tasted the joy that comes from trusting God and now, in the midst of a crisis, the enemy surrounding them look how they respond. 

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.”

The world says “Take things into your own hands” “You’ve got this” “self-sufficient”

2. The Source of help 

“to the Lord our God for us”…..“that he may save us” 

They rightly depended on God. No longer on their own strength or in objects. 

3. The Request for Help  (v.9) 

1 Samuel 7:9 And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, 

Sacrifice and Intercession. 

Samuel takes an 8 day old lamb and offers a whole burnt offering to atone for their sins. Samuel faithfully serves the people of God as priest when  he acts on their behalf 

“Cried out to the Lord for Israel”. Here Samuel intercedes for the people. 

4. The Response of Help 

“thundered with a loud thunder.”
God showed the people that it was He (and not Baal) that was in charge of the heavens and creation. 

 This thundering brought great fear in the Philistines. 

confused them. A powerful army with many victories under their belt was no match for the power of God. 

Vs 11 shows us how different this battle was than previous ones. Here they pursue the Philistines and drove them away. 

What changed?  Why did they have such a different respond this time? 

Because of where their hearts were. 

We have an amazing contrast from the sons of Eli in ch 4 and Samuel in ch. 7
 "Hophni and Phinehas had sought to bring victory to Israel by bringing the Lord’s ark against the Philistines.Samuel brought victory to Israel by bringing Israel back to the Lord.….The movement of Israel’s heart, not Yahweh’s ark, brought about true freedom from Israel’s oppressors.” Robert D. Bergen,NAC.

 

They had a boldness and willingness to ask God to work because they had restored their relationship with Him. They knew what He is capable of. 

They knew God could protect them and as we read that’s exactly what happened 

5. The Remembrance of Help (v12)

Samuel has waited so long for Israel to turn from idolatry to God and now He and Israel just witnessed and amazing act of God to protect and deliver them. 

God helped them 

Ebenezer: the Lord helped us. “A Stone of help”
“Till now the Lord has helped us” 

Contrast an actual location called Ebenezer. Very different outcome

Notice the difference it makes when people will trust God instead of trying to accomplish things in their own strength. This is the difference that trusting God, turning to God makes. And Samuel stops to recognize just how significant God’s deliverance was. This moment was so special because of what God did.
you see 

God wants to bring about victories in your life that only He can accomplish.
He wants to put you in a place where you get to watch God do things only God can do. 

He wants you to have moments in your life where you look back and can say the Lord was my help. “The only way I made it through that trial or experience was with God’s help.”  

In those moments, you’re not tempted to take credit because you know it was impossible without God.

in those moments you know without a doubt where your help came from. 

This is exactly what scripture says about God. This is who he is. He is our help. 

Psalm 121:1-2

Psalm 46:1 

Those moments are significant not just because of what God did but because of their importance for the future. When you take time to recognize those, to stop and thank God for his provision you have prepared yourself for the future. Future trials where you can look back and see how God helped. 

Have you seen God be your help in the past? 

Have you taken time to notice these and make a note of them. Maybe in a Journal or writing a date down when you saw God do something only God could do. 

Salvation, Answer to prayer, Miracle of salvation of someone you have been praying for, Victory over sin,  

He stands ready, willing, desiring to help you in ways you can’t even imagine. 

Ephesians 3:20 

Would you let God help you today? 

Maybe it’s to save you from your sins. You’ve done religious things, you’ve read the Bible a little, come to church but you’ve never asked God to save you from your sins.  

The Bible calls these kinds of people righteous people. Jesus didn’t come to save these kinds of people. He came to save sinners 

Luke 5:32

This is what it means to ask God to save. You have to repent of your sins. 

you have repent of your sins and done a U-Turn, Turn away from sin and to God.   Today can be the day you cry out to God for help. You say, God help, I am sinner, I’m sorry for my sins, God forgive me, save me. 

Maybe you find yourself wrestling with the same problems, same temptations and you aren’t seeing victory. Ask God for help. Ask God to do things only He can do. 

Application: 

When trials and problems of life come how will/do you respond? 

With Fear? or will you depend on God. Leave it in the Lord’s hands? 

this doesn’t mean we are passive but we know ultimately that God is in control and He desires to help us. 

If you want to see God’s deliverance & power in your life you have to relate to Him in His way 

Samuel says “IF you return/put way/prepare/serve….. He will deliver you”

The lack of God’s power and deliverance was connected to their own sinfulness 

Sin, Idolatry, Divided hearts, fear…. 

Samuel knew God does not tolerate or bless these behaviors. 

3.God’s Plan for Leadership (13-17)

The last area of God’s plan laid out and followed is God’s plan for leadership. 

In a time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes (Judges) godly leadership was almost unheard of. 

This doesn’t mean God didn’t have a plan. 

God always had a plan to care for his people 

Samuel has been faithful to God and here in 1 Samuel 7 we get to see just a glimpse of what God intended for leaders. 

God, as the true King desired to rule his people, using leaders to fulfill his plan 

This was God’s plan but it was a different plan than so many of the surrounding countries. They all had “Kings” and Israel wanted to be just like them. 

Godly leadership brings... 

A.Blessing of Protection 

1 Samuel 7:13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

 “the Hand of the Lord”

   “All the days of Samuel”- Because of His leadership, Israel was blessing with protection. 

   Hophni and Phinehas were the opposite, 

This protection comes from God. Look at what happens when a leaders submits to the true King. 

B. Blessing of Peace 

1 Samuel 7:14 Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

Ekron to Gath, The Amorites: “Israel is protected from enemies outside them and within” 

They now have protection from Their enemies from the outside and from within. 

As they experience protection from the Philistines, they also see the benefit of having land restores and recovered  

Not only that but they experience peace. 

Amorites: Those who controlled the land before they arrived. 

This blessing flows from their submission to God’s plan. Submitting to a godly leader and doing what he says. 

Peace: 

C. Blessing of Justice (and Stability)

1 Samuel 7:15-17

  (judged x3) Most used of a Judge. The last Judge in the Bible.  

“Samuel…is portrayed as the ideal leader who faithfully dispensed justice among the Lord’s people” Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary

Although the tabernacle has been destroyed, Samuel knows how important worship to the Lord is. 

God alone deserves worship 

His heart and the heart of his people can be easily lured away by other gods. Worshipping the Lord draws him again and again to God. 

This circuit was a localized area.
Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah were all  “within a day’s walk of Ramah”

A godly leader is leading the people. This was God’s plan. 

SLIDE “‘Theocracy’—direct rule by God—did not mean no human leaders. “It meant that, whenever Israel got into a pickle, they could appeal to God their King for help and God would provide a human rescuer, a ‘judge’” Alec Motyer,

This is the blessing of Samuel. a godly leader, one who served faithfully, intercedes on behalf of those he served 

Psalm 99:6 

CONCLUSION: Prophet, priest, judge/ruler. 

With Each of these roles Samuel served in roles that we look in the New Testament and see Christ serving as well. Samuel did these well.  Christ did these perfectly. 

We have a ruler, today, his name is Jesus, if you submit to Him,  the King of Kings , trust him He will never lead you astray. He will care for you. He will pour his blessings out on you.
We don’t have Samuel interceding for us, We have someone far better. 

Hebrews 7:25 , Romans 8:34 , Hebrews 9:24, 1 John 2:1

QUOTE: “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me”
(Robert Murray M’Cheyne)

 

God’s plan here was to use faithful leaders to lead his people, Samuel did that and God blessed in amazing ways. 

When the people submit, God leads and blesses

 sadly, this will not last long as we will see in the next chapter.

-Now 3,000 years later, we see God’s plan for us, He wants us to submit to King Jesus, To turn from sin and serve and worship Him with all our heart. 

Obstacles/Challenges: 

The people of Israel struggled with trusting God’s plan. Why? 

The world around them looked enticing, they wanted to have what everyone else had. Sin looks good. It promises what it can’t deliver
It deceives. It even offers religious experiences that mask themselves as good

If I do things my way it is more efficient, I have control, I will fit in. 

If I do things God’s way, I’m no longer in control, I have to wait on God, have faith in what I can’t see.

This is the struggle of the human heart, not just Israel. 

When you read the Bible, you see this pattern repeated time and time again. 

People reject God’s way and it may seem successful or enjoyable for a time but it always bring pain and misery

This is what makes God’s plan shine even brighter, Because of his faithfulness and patience He always stands ready to welcome us when we turn from our sin and turn to God. This is who God is. 

Here in 1 Samuel we get to see what happens when a people are willing to trust God’s plans and obey them. 

Practical: Problem of sin: Danger of not seeing our sin as sin, rejecting God’s plan

 

 God’s Plan is always best

Know God’s Plan. 

God has revealed His Word. You can find out God’s plan for your life, Open the Word and let the light shine. 

No longer walking in Darkness. Samuel shined the light of the Word and it finally broke through the darkness. 

God’s plan is so much better than our own plan.

Obey God’s Plan

 Obedience to God’s plan is essential to our life. Failing to submit to God’s plan leads to so many problems. Recognize and understand God’s plan and learn to live in submission to it every day. 

Let God do what only He can do.

Enjoy God’s plan
There are great blessings that follow when we love the Lord and follow Him with all our heart!
The blessing of relationship with God. 

The blessing of peace. He is in control. 

 

Let’s pray.