Hitherto Has the Lord Helped Us
When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him. While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to Israel, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. (1 Samuel 7:7-14).
In 1 Samuel 7:3-6, Samuel calls on the nation of Israel to repent and turn away from their foreign gods. He promised Israel that if they would put away the strange gods then God would be able to deliver them out of the hands of the Philistines. The Israelites were being called on to put away their Baals and their Ashtoreth.
Baal was considered to be the god who controlled weather and brought financial success and a good harvest. Ashtoreth was supposedly the goddess of fertility, love and war. In Palestine, archaeologists have unearthed numerous plaques of naked female figures from the Bronze and Iron Age. Baals were the corresponding male gods.
Baal, Ashtoreth, and Asherah were associated with fertility and were part of depraved sexual rituals at Canaanite shrines which made them especially abominable in the eyes of the Lord. Baal is often linked with shameful in biblical texts. “You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’” (Jeremiahn11:13). “...But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.” (Hosea 9:10b).
The Israelites listened to Samuel and put away the strange gods. They then gathered at Mizpah to fast, pray, and repent. They drew water and poured it out, as that signified that they were pouring out their souls before God. They confessed that they had sinned. Samuel who was serving as their leader, interceded for them before God.
When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.
The Philistines undoubtedly believed that this was a great time to take out the Israelites as they were all in one place. The rulers of the Philistines and we are told that they were five of them were launching a highly coordinated, strategic attack on the Israelites. When the Israelites lost the Ark, they brought it into battle against the Philistines believing that it would automatically deliver them. Instead, they suffered a debilitating defeat. Now, they are humble and praying before the Living God and they know that in and of themselves they have no means whatsoever to defeat the combined forces of the Philistines. The Israelites are in the correct position spiritually.
They asked Samuel to do the only thing that works and that was to call on the Lord to deliver them. God is a prayer hearing and answering God. Jehovah God, appeared to Solomon after the dedication of the Temple promised him that, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14). God is able and willing to deliver us from the hands of the Philistines, whatever they may be, that is COVID-19, debtors, and/or the forces of evil. We must humble ourselves, pray, and turn from our wicked ways so that God may forgive our sins and heal the land.
Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as whole burnt offering to the Lord. This lamb had its throat slit; the blood was drained from it. Then the body was cut up and the carcass burnt. This was to show that this was what the Israelites deserved but instead they were offering the lamb as a substitutionary sacrifice. They were asking the Lord to accept the punishment of this innocent lamb instead. This is what Jesus did when He died on the cross. He took the punishment that we deserved so that we may be found acceptable in God’s sight.
Additionally, Samuel was a mighty man of prayer. He sought God on Israel’s behalf. God who is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, answered Samuel’s praying. Are we praying hard enough? I was struck when I read that James the brother of Jesus, his knees looked like camel’s skin because he spent so much time in prayer. We need to spend more time in prayer, so that our prayers can be heard and answered.
While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.
It is important to see that Samuel engaged the enemy spiritually first. He did not have the Israelites take up their swords and array themselves to fight first. Instead, Samuel offered sacrifice to God and prayed, and he did so in the face of the enemy’s attack. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6). The Apostle Paul states that, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms... And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6: 12, 18). The Apostle Paul urges us to pray in the spirit always. We must deal with the matter on a spiritual level first and foremost. Then we will be given the wisdom as to how to deal with the matter in the physical world.
Having called on God in the right attitude, the Lord Jehovah, the all-seeing one showed up and showed out. The Lord used thunder here to rout the army of the Philistines. Baal was supposed to be the god of thunder and is often depicted with a lightning rod in his hand. It is as if God said, “I will show you who is the real God of thunder.” The same thunder that confused and frightened the Philistines, had no impact on the Israelites. When you are spiritual you see spiritual matters in a different light than when one is under the hands of the enemy. The Israelites were empowered when they saw the Philistines being discombobulated and afraid. They knew that God was doing the great work that they had called on Him to do. They ran out and slaughtered the same persons that they were afraid of before Samuel sought the Lord on their behalf. Victory was theirs because they had humbled themselves before God.
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to Israel, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
Ebeneezer translates to “stone of help.” The battle had been won by a humble and repentant nation that was engaging in prayer The nation needed to remember the great victory that had been won by the Lord, so the stone was set up as a memorial. David said, “I will lift up my eyes unto the hill, whence does my help come from. My help cometh from the Lord.” All of our help comes from the Lord. Through humility, prayer, and fasting, we can hear from God. Let us turn our eyes on Jesus as we bow down and worship Him. Then the change that we have been longing for can take place in our lives, in the nation and the world.
In Samuel’s lifetime, while he acted as judge of Israel before the Kings took over, the Philistines were utterly subdued. The beatdown that the Philistines received that day prevented them from coming up against Israel while the man of prayer, Samuel, was in charge. Not only that, but they were also constantly being battered and defeated while Samuel was praying as the leader of Israel. Restoration took place. What the enemy had taken was given back. The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to Israel. The Amorites used to side with the Philistines against Israel, when they saw that the Philistines were defeated, they joined forces with Israel against the Philistines. “When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Proverbs 16:7).
Donald Lawrence says, “What was meant to break you, God used it to make you. Write my story again.” The God of the second chance and multiple chances is writing our story again. He is bringing peace to our lives. God is restoring to us what we thought was lost forever.
We have to put away the strange gods from amongst us, just like Israel put away the Baals and the Ashteroths. Our gods may not be physically represented but they are real nonetheless, the bank accounts, the friends, the jobs, the connections. We must turn our eyes to Jesus. We must come together as a corporate body and call on the name of the Lord. We need leaders who are men and women of prayer who can lead the people into prayer and teach them how to pray. In the face of the enemy’s attack, we must not look to the arm of flesh as that will surely fail us. We must seek God for direction. We can count on the God who never fails to hear our prayer, acknowledge our humility, defeat the enemy and heal the land. Restoration will take place. Those who once sought to destroy us will be at peace with us.
Let us humble ourselves and pray.