1 Samuel 6–10: Ebenezer & A King

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Read the Bible in 2023 ◊ Week 12: Tuesday

Thus Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he used to go annually on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. But his return would be to Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar to Yahweh.
1 Samuel 7:15–17 LSB
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Today’s Bible reading is 1 Samuel 6–10.

If last week’s reading, the Philistines had defeated Israel in battle, took the Ark of the Covenant and brought it to Ashdod. 1 Samuel records how the Ashdodites were smitten with tumors. Today’s reading begins six months after the Philistines had taken the Ark.

1 Samuel 6 recounts the Philistines’ return of the Ark to Israel. In the next chapter, Samuel tells the Israelites:

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are to return to Yahweh with all your heart, then remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and set your hearts toward Yahweh and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served Yahweh alone.
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Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahweh for you.” And they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Yahweh and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against Yahweh.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.
1 Samuel 7:3–6 LSB
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The Philistines, having heard that Israel is gathered at Mizpah comes to attack them. The people ask Samuel to cry out to God for deliverance. Samuel offers up a sacrifice to God and Samuel cried out to Yahweh for Israel, and Yahweh answered him. The Philistines come to attack, but God routs and confuses them. Israel then pursues and defeats them.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer. And he said, “Thus far Yahweh has helped us.”
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So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
1 Samuel 7:12–14 LSB
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You may recognize the word Ebenezer because it’s found in the hymn I’ve always loved, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Ebenezer is found in last Tuesday’s reading in 1 Samuel 4:1, and today it’s used in 1 Samuel 7:14.

Ebenezer, literally means the stone of help. In 1 Samuel 4:1, it’s the place Israel camped before the Philistines defeated them in battle, taking the Ark of the Covenant and killing Eli’s sons, however in today’s reading, after the Philistines are defeated, Samuel sets up a stone between Mizpah and Shen, and calls it Ebenezer.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer. And he said, “Thus far Yahweh has helped us.”
1 Samuel 7:12 LSB
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Stained Glass Window: 1 Samuel 7:2-14

A place name remembered as a defeat will now be remembered as the name of a monument to God’s help and victory. Isn’t that wonderful?

1 Samuel 8–10, tells of Israel’s rejection of God as their king and their demand to be like other nations and have a man to rule them as king. Despite Samuel’s warning that this will bring changes they won’t like, they persist in their desire, and Samuel anoints Saul as Israel’s first king.

As you read and think over these chapters, think about victory God gave the Israelites, and the memorial stone Samuel raised. In national parks and cities, there are various monuments that have been raised to remember important battles and important people. The second verse of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, speaks of raising a Ebenezer to God that marks and remembers the help God has given.1

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

The greatest Ebenezer in the lives of Christians is when Jesus sought us and brought us into the fold of God. Remember that. Thank God.

God helps us continually in our lives, but there are times we can look back and see a significant milestone when God helped in a crucial time in our life. What are your Ebenezers? Think back. What are the significant milestones you can recall when God helped you? Write them down. It can be an encouragement to you in the present to see how God has helped you in the past. Even today, and every day, “Thus far Yahweh has helped us.”

May God bless you as you read His Word, and may He take your places of defeat and change them to monuments to His help and victory.

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Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
A stained-glass window (German, 1728) at Pena Palace, in Sintra, Portugal. It includes a depiction of the Israelites defeating the Philistines, after Samuel has offered a sacrifice at Eben-Ezer (1 Samuel 7:2-14).: Public Domain.
1“Come, Thou Fount,” Worship and Service Hymnal For Church, School, and Home (Hope Publishing Company, Chicago: 1957) Hymn 104.

I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.

Copyright ©2021–2023 Iwana Carpenter

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