7:1 The Ark of God is then brought to the house of Abinadab and his son, Eleazar, is chosen to keep watch over it. Remember that the Ark of God used to be the physical symbol of His presence. The Ark itself had no power but represented the covenant God built with the children of Israel, those who would listen to Him and heed His advice.
7:2 The Ark remains in Kirjath Jearim for twenty years. More proof that the Ark was not powerful itself, is that even though back in rightful custody, the children of Israel have still not fixed the problems in their lives. Because they began to live corruptly, neglecting God's philosophy and worshiping fake gods, their lives are in ruins. They put their faith in false idols, fake gods and their fake gods were not able to lead, advise or save them. They began to act corruptly and therefore filled their lives with corruption. Corruption destroyed the beautiful and peaceful place God build for them. God did not go away, they pushed Him away... and for many years they lamented the consequences of living outside of the sphere of God.
7:3 We know, from the previous chapters, that God has been raising a prophet to rescue the children of Israel. Even though they abandoned Him, He never forgot them. Not only did God answer Hannah's prayer for a son and restore the Levite house after Hophni and Phinehas destroyed it, He also answered the prayers of thousands by planning a rescue for them.
The rescue comes in the form of the prophet Samuel, who communicates directly with God on behalf of his people. And the first thing Samuel has to say to the people is this message from God, the steps of restoration:
- Return to the Lord with all your hearts: God works with earnest, passionate souls. Commitment to His philosophy of compassion proves to Him that we are genuine and conscientious in our effort to be loving, kind people, workers of His will. Children of God serve His love and are served His love, but to receive it, we have to return our hearts to Him. We cannot be half or partially committed. God's work is comprehensive therefore our effort must be focused.
- Put away the foreign gods: For the children of Israel in this time frame, putting away foreign gods was literal. Instead of putting their faith in Him, they put their faith in carved objects. They trusted fertility goddesses made of wood and metal to produce for them. For us today, putting away foreign gods means to put away the elements of the world which corrupt us. Vengeance, vanity and greed are idols, things we place over our faith because we believer they will bring us contentment and peace. God wants us to throw those things away and adopt His righteousness into our lives.
- Prepare your hearts for the Lord: In order to receive from Him, we have to open ourselves to receive. Our faith is a landing zone, a transit system. His blessings can only be delivered if we unblock the tunnel (of faith) and clear our landing zone (trust). We have to be willing to listen to and follow Him; it will not always look easy, sometimes our emotions and desires get the best of us. But if we trust Him, He always delivers the way and the blessing.
- Serve Him only: We cannot be half or partially committed. God's work is comprehensive therefore our effort must too. We are taught that we cannot serve two masters, Luke 16:13, and that a house divided cannot stand Mark 3:25. The reason we are taught those lessons is because God wants us to understand that we cannot be focused, strong individuals if our values contradict. If we are unstable in our commitment to His philosophy, our lives are vulnerable to wobble and perhaps crash. Why? Because God educates us and prepares us to respond, react and act in ways which will deliver us peace, justice and joy. But if we serve our greed or desire instead of Him, we will not find peace, justice or joy. Only cyclical discontentment.
The aforementioned steps are a formula which enables God to produce victory for the group and individual.
7:4 With the service of Samuel as His prophet, God's message reaches the children of Israel and they respond to it. They put away their false gods and focus their attention on the true creator and power of the universe.
7:5 Samuel tells the children of Israel to gather and he will pray for them. Even though in our own day, we have more personal relationships with God, the children of Israel were often represented by a prophet or leader (like Samuel, or Moses). God's ultimate goal is for each individual to have a personal, intricate relationship with Him. He wishes to communicate directly with each of His children. He wants to be invested in every detail of our lives and waits for us to invite Him in.
7:6 The children of Israel begin a process of genuine effort to realign themselves with God. Their effort acknowledges the ways that they neglected God; they were ungrateful for His help, leadership and love. They rejected His philosophy of justice and compassion. At this gathering in Mizpah, they begin to recognize their errors and seek redemption and restoration.
7:7 The Philistines have grown used to the weak and victory-less children of Israel; they do not know that the children of Israel have made themselves right with God once again. Therefore, the Philistines do not realize that their target has become invulnerable and mightily powerful (through their faith).
7:8 When the children of Israel hear about the Philistine's planned action against them, they ask Samuel to pray to God on their behalf. They wished to be saved by God from their enemies. Again we notice that the children of Israel do not have strong personal relationships with God, they rely very heavily on a prophet or spokesperson to deliver their messages to God (their faith, although restored, was not yet truly deep and personal).
7:9 Still, Samuel understood his position as servant of both God and the children of Israel. Samuel makes an offering to God (an ancient and obsolete way of showing reverence to God) and relays the message. Samuel cries out to the Lord - this is an emphatic prayer. A prayer filled with love, gratitude and trust. Samuel himself is a product of earnest prayer; he was born from the womb of a barren but faithful woman).
Instead of: "Hey, God can you help us?" Samuel's emphatic cry to the Lord would have looked more like the prayer Jesus taught us, "Our Father who is in Heaven, hallowed be your name...". An earnest, passionate prayer speaks of our love and trust in God. It speaks of Him as our creator, our loving parent. It speaks of gratitude for His willingness to rescue and lead us. The Philistines present a very real threat to the children of Israel, Samuel goes to God with pure hope for His protection. With pure belief in the power of His protection.
7:10 As Samuel is prayer, God already begins answering the prayer. The Philistines begin their march against the children of Israel and God ensures that they are so thwarted by storm that they are overcome by defeat before even reaching their target.
God is more than quick in answering our prayers (though sometimes we may not feel that way). God knows the perfect timing for everything. He can see forward, behind and all circumstances of the present simultaneously. He knows what we need and hope for and He knows how to deliver.
7:11 God weakened the Philistines so much that the children of Israel are easily able to chase their enemy away.
7:12 Samuel exhibits acknowledgment of God's help as well as gratitude. He places a stone of remembrance in the place God delivered their victory. Like Joshua had, Samuel has the idea of creating a place which will inspire the children of Israel to remember God's presence and power in their lives.
7:13 The defeat was enough for the Philistines to realize that they have no power over the children of Israel. Each of God's children has a protective barrier against enemies. His presence in our lives is made clear to those who try to trespass against us and they learn to stay away from us. The only effort we need to exert is in love and faith for Him.
7:14 Physically and figuratively, the children of Israel find recovery and restoration. They are no longer broken or brittle and neither is their home. They begin again to prosper in peace and land. The lesson for them, and us, is that despite what the way of the world may tell us, God establishes us on this earth. He establishes our prosperity and peace. The only ambition we need is to be ambitious in fulfilling the purpose of His philosophy of compassion. When we are focused on Him, He's focused on perfecting the details of our lives.
7:15 Samuel retains his position as prophet his entire life. Samuel never becomes arrogant or lustful for power or anything else. He remains faithful to our God and happily spends his life in servitude to Him. For children of God who live as servants of His will are treated like royalty by Him.
7:16 Samuel ensures that he moves throughout the region to reach each family in Israel. Samuel inspired God's word and kept it alive in people's minds and homes. Each moment we spent with God keeps us secure... but moments away from Him loosen our grip on His philosophy. Samuel's constantly travel enabled each family to remain focused on God and everything He teaches.
7:17 Although he traveled often, Samuel also made sure to return home. In the place of his home, he made an altar for God and served as judge of Israel. Samuel's job as judge was done by hearing and solving matters in accordance with God's word. It's beautiful that although he put in many miles for gods word, he was always able to return to home base - the place where he grew up and learned to love and listen to the Lord.
Each of us, no matter what service we provide under the leadership of God, have a home base. God is pleased to provide us a home, a place to maintain and ever-strengthen our own connection with Him. All his life, Samuel never stops responding "Here am I" to God and because of that, God was always there for him.
