The Times of the Judges Part 7

Some of you will recall back in October of 2021, I went through a six-part sermon series on the Judges. We took time and unpacked that book, judge by judge, from one end of the book to the other, and highlighted some of the wonderful qualities of some of these Judges. Of course, God used them in a very specific time and place for His purpose, primarily to bring His people back around to repentance and remembrance of Him, and to deliver them from the oppression that they were under. You'll recall that the Book of Judges is a book of history covering approximately 325 years. It's ancient Israel's account, essentially 25 years after they entered the Promised Land, then going forward for 325 years, following the death of Joshua, and that time period where they're spreading out in the land, and they're taking possession of their tribal inheritance in the Promised Land. So, during the time of the Judges, who will recall then, God provided this leadership. There was not a king. There was not anyone in that way. Moses has gone. Joshua has died. And now it's not going to be just a free-for-all, either. There were times where clear, decisive leadership was needed, and God appointed Judges as deliverers. Individuals such as Gideon and Samson and Deborah, individuals that we studied about in that series, who arose by God's design to rescue Israel from oppression. There had been over 300 years of physical and spiritual challenges for God's people, and the moral condition of Israel in that time of the Judges was much like a roller coaster ride. You'll recall those stories. It was a reoccurring pattern that took place over and over through that history. It was a pattern of sin, where the people would depart from God and go after false gods and forget the Lord their God, and it would become so bad that God would essentially bring them to their knees for the purpose of remembering Him. So it was sin leading to oppression or servitude at times, followed by supplication, a time where they eventually groaned under the hand that was upon them and cried out to God for deliverance, cried out in repentance to Him, and God would then raise up a judge who would come and deliver them, point them back to God again, and you would have that cycle then of salvation. So it was sin, servitude or oppression, supplication, salvation, deliverance. And sadly, it was a cycle that repeated over and over because rarely did they stay in a place of close relationship as a nation for long. Those sermons were more like a Bible study series, you'll recall, in their presentation as we went through them, but there was something valuable to learn about each judge and the way that God used them in His service. And the book of Judges ended, and the study itself ended, but as I got to thinking about it, it was not the end of the era of the Judges. Judges continued on even, indeed, beyond that book. So today what I'd like to do is go back and add to that series with one final message. Again, because the completion of the book was not the full completion of Judges in Israel. And in fact, the book of Judges ends with a router, ominous string of words, and they're probably some of the most recognizable words from the book of Judges. The last verse of Judges, Judges 21 verse 25, says, In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Again, that's how the book ends, and it almost just sort of leaves you hanging there on the edge of your seat after all the nation had gone through, through that 325 years. There was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. But again, it's not the end of the story of Judges.

So today what I'd like to do is look at the life of Samuel, the final judge in Israel's history. And in doing so, we're going to recognize that Samuel was much more than your typical judge. Samuel was also a prophet. He was one who engaged in priestly duties. And Samuel had the unique opportunity to eventually be the anointer of the first two kings of Israel.

So I want to look at at least a portion of Samuel's life today. The title of the message is The Times of the Judges, Part 7. I apologize to take you back four years to tag this on to the series, but The Times of the Judges, Part 7, Samuel, the servant leader. And maybe that's a good, condensed title. Samuel, the servant leader.

Today's message, we're going to take the first seven chapters of the book of 1 Samuel right up to the point that Israel demands a king. And then actually wrapping up, we'll put the bow on that set of sermons. But then I want to transition to move forward through time with a study series on the kings.

But understand, Samuel is that transformational and that figure in time that bridges the time between the judges and the kings. Because he overlapped both. And I want to connect his story with the judges before we go to the kings.

It's my hope to carry out the study series, not back to back, but maybe one sermon a month somewhere in that timeframe. Where we'll just kind of have this ongoing study series running alongside other sermons that would come along. But I do think it's nice to progress through this as sort of a Bible study type format.

As we're going to come to see today, the story of Samuel is one of divine calling, of faithful service, and steadfast leadership in turbulent times. And it's actually Samuel's leadership that I want to highlight with several points as we go through the message today. Because I think it is very instructive for us.

So let's begin in the book of 1 Samuel with the birth of Samuel, chapter 1 and verse 1. 1 Samuel chapter 1 and verse 1. It says, It says, So it leads off by stepping us into the genealogy of Samuel. And sometimes we read genealogies and we think, well, you know, what does it really matter? What's interesting here is it shows that his father, it calls him from the mountains of Ephraim, an Ephraimite. But it's important to understand that he was not an Ephraimite by birth, and Samuel's lineage was not Ephraimite. Actually, if you go to 1 Chronicles chapter 6, we won't turn there, but 1 Chronicles 6, verse 33 through 38, there's a more extensive chronology of the lineage coming down to Samuel, and he was actually of the tribe of Levi. But what you remember about the Levites is they had no specific inheritance in the land in that way, and they were God's servants among the people dispersed out through the tribes. So this is the case of Samuel's father and those that came down the line before him. They were of the mountains of Ephraim, but this is more of identification of their residents rather than their ancestral tribe. Again, of the tribe of Levi, and it's important because we'll see Samuel throughout his life actually conducting things related to the priesthood. Verse 2, it says, and Elkanah had two wives. The name of one was Hannah, the name of the other was Penaena. Penaena had children, but Hannah had no children. It says, this man went up yearly to worship and sacrifice the Lord of Host in Shiloh, and also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, the priests of the Lord, were there. Shiloh was the central place of worship at this time. You'll recall, again, this is before King David, before the time of Jerusalem being established as the place of the central focus of worship. It was here in Shiloh, the place where the tabernacle was residing, the place where the Ark of the Covenant was residing.

There's some conjecture over what feast brought them to Shiloh, as the annual sacrifice, as it's called, and some would point to the Feast of Tabernacles, others would point to Passover. Whichever it was, it was clearly tied to one of the three pilgrimage feasts, in which they would come up and assemble as by the call of the book of the law.

It says his wives were with him. Verse 4 says, And whenever the time for Elkanah to make an offering came, he would give portions to Pinninah his wife, and to all his sons and daughters. He says, But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb.

It says, And her rival, which was the other wife, also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. So we see something happening here, which is actually going to serve as an opportunity for God to fulfill his purpose, not just in the life of this woman, but in the nation of Israel itself. But there was a challenge here that Hannah is living through. Hannah has no children, which would have been a very difficult, a very demoralizing position for a woman to be in in those days. Understand, in ancient Israel, their descendants were everything, and inheritance was everything. And a woman's value in that culture was often measured by her ability to have children, and even more specifically, sons for certain points of inheritance.

The fact that Hannah's rival tormented her only added to her deep sorrow, to her sense of worthlessness. And it's a very sad situation, I would say, that highlights, again, the issues and the problems that come up with polygamy, multiple wives. You know, God never condoned that in his word. And I would say, by the fruit of something, you come to see the evidence of, is it good or not?

And so many times, there was conflict between the spouses, there was, you know, the wives, there was conflict between the children that came from different wives. But again, this is something we do see from time to time in the Bible, and Hannah is dealing with a very difficult situation. So verse 7, so it was year by year when she went to the house of the Lord that she provoked her, the rival provoked Hannah.

Therefore she wept and did not eat. Then, Elkanah, her husband said to her, Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons? Well, no. It may be not a matter of better, it's a matter of different, okay? The spouse's role is different than the children's, and Hannah's heart ached for this fulfillment. I mean, he's trying to console her, but verse 9, so Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting in the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord.

And Hannah was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember me, and not forget your maidservant, but give your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head. Here Hannah's vow shows that she's actually offering, if God will provide her a son, to dedicate him as a Nazarite, as a man wholly set apart from his birth and service to God. This wasn't just a casual, hey, if I can get a child, I'll teach him of you, I'll point him to you.

No, this was actually a recognition of, I am barren, and the only way that this child will come will be by your blessing. And if he comes, I will take and direct him wholly, dedicated to you, back to the one who is the source of the blessing to begin with. It's a rather deep and, I would say, faith-filled prayer. Verse 12 says, Verse 13, When Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard, therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

Apparently, at that time, a majority of prayers were given out loud, even when you came to the sanctuary and prayed. What comes to my mind is when Christ gave the prayer about the Pharisee and the tax collector. You know, they stood and prayed openly, and it would seem vocally in the parable that he gave. That was not uncommon. So for this woman to actually see her, and she's praying with depth and emotion of her heart, crying out to God, and her lips are moving, and Eli can see the emotion but hear no words.

She says, you know, she must be drunk. Verse 14, Eli said to her, I poured out my soul before the Lord. It's in this expression of I just poured everything that was in my being out before him in my full emotion of this. Verse 16, And she said, So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. Again, Hannah had taken what was heavy on her heart, but she poured it out to God, turned it over to him, and recognized this is the source from which the answer would come, if indeed it is his will for it to come.

So once she made the petition, it would appear that her heart was settled with that, and she went her way. Verse 19, There's various thoughts on the translation, but essentially it means God has heard, or heard of God, or asked God and he heard and he responded. It carries that context, that I poured this out to him, and he gave me this child, and that is his name. God has heard.

Verse 21, According to the culture and the practices of those days, even though it doesn't give an exact age, it seems likely Samuel was three to four years old, somewhere in that time frame when he was weaned. Children were often weaned at a later age for various reasons.

But at the time of his weaning, then he would be brought up and presented before Eli and the tabernacle for the Lord's service.

So it appears three to four years old was probably the age of Samuel when he was weaned and taken up. Verse 24 So Hannah here, I mean, you try to put yourself into that place and you think, what a difficult thing to turn your child over at such a young age, but understand the joy of the miracle, what God has provided.

And the knowledge that in God's service, the one who gave this child to begin with, is where Samuel would come up. And as we'll see later on as we move on, God, who is faithful and blessed her for this, also provided her with additional children.

Chapter two begins with a prayer of thanksgiving from Hannah, glorifying God for his might and for his blessing and faithfulness.

Interestingly, when you read through that prayer, we're not going to take the time today, but please go back and do so. When you read through that prayer, it reads more like a victory in battle kind of a prayer. And at first I thought, this is kind of unusual, you know, in this prayer, but maybe consider what she went through, what she had endured from her arrival. And here now she has emerged in that sense victorious by the blessing of God.

And the prayer contains concepts such as, you know, the mighty and the strong have been brought low and the weak has been exalted.

And certainly in many ways this was an expression of the circumstance that she went through, and God's blessing prevailed in the end.

Now, first Samuel chapter two, verse 11, we continue on the account. It says, then, Elkanah went to his house at Ramah, but the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

So Samuel's early childhood years were spent serving God there alongside the priest under his supervision there at the tabernacle of God. He wasn't slaughtering beef and offering the sacrifices such as was the priest's role, but maybe we would call him the apprentice to the priest. And there were many duties, many things around there that he did. One occasion, we'll read a little later, says he opened the doors of the tabernacle, which we seem to indicate, you know, in the morning, he opens the doors and opened the gates around the tabernacle. He did various duties there to support what was going on in the worship of God at the tabernacle. And again, through his Levitical lineage, this is not something that would have been out of place for an apprentice and various priestly duties at his age.

So Samuel's days were dedicated in focused service to the one who had given him life in the first place. Okay, and that was God. So this brings me to my first leadership lesson I'd like for us to consider. And again, this is, we're looking at leaders in Israel, but this applies to all of us who are leaders in this world of God's way of life. So I think these are important points for all of us to ponder. Point number one is that Godly leadership begins with devotion, not promotion. Godly leadership begins with devotion, not promotion. Samuel's story began with a mother who dedicated him before he ever took his first breath. You know, he didn't grow up chasing positions, chasing after places of advancement to be able to even get to serve at the tabernacle. No, his life was dedicated in service to God from the beginning. And he was going about each day in that service. It wasn't what he was pursuing. It's who he was. And frankly, who he was born to be in this service. And he was set apart for God's purposes. So the story shows that Godly leadership grows out of being devoted to God first, not out of elevating self. Again, in this world we sometimes see, and frankly, in the church at times, if we're not careful, we can sometimes see if somebody is seeking for promotion or elevation or status, but understand a servant of God. That leadership begins with devotion in a heart of servitude from the beginning. Likewise for you and I, our physical and spiritual lives are gifts from God, too. And I hope we recognize that. There is a purpose for our creation. That's to be children in the family of God for eternity. Our life is a miracle. It is a gift from God. And our spiritual life, our calling, is also the next step in that miracle and that gift from God. So when we recognize, as Samuel would have, that we are here by the blessing and grace of God, then why wouldn't our response be then, in turn, a life of service to the one who has given us our life to begin with and has set us on this path to begin with? This is a natural, hopefully, response of the people of God. It's not a service for status or recognition. It's about giving back to the one who has given us everything. A spirit of devotion. That is what Hannah had for Samuel. It is what Samuel grew up knowing. And it's what positioned him to become one of Israel's most faithful leaders. He was dedicated to God from the start, and the rest of his qualities grew out of that heart of service. Carrying on in verse 18, again, 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 18, says, But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod. Again, so this is priestly service, although he's not yet a priest. He is a child coming up in this mentoring. But he wore this linen ephod. Moreover, his mother used to make him a little robe and bring it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. You know, she takes him when he's so young. And now I can just imagine, if you would, the anticipation of now going up to the sacrifice before it was torment, right? Her rival who egged at her and tormented her, not having a child. And now she looked forward to that yearly trip up to Shiloh to sacrifice to God, to see her son who's dedicated in God's service. And as I imagine, you know, I look around the congregation and our children, year by year, leap up in height, right? So she's making a robe. It says a little robe, but every year it became a little bigger and a little bigger as she came up to see her son and to worship God.

Verse 20, and Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, The Lord give you descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the Lord. Then they would go to their own home. Verse 21, And the Lord visited Hannah so that she conceived, and she bore three sons and two daughters. So Samuel had five siblings, it would seem. Meanwhile, the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

It's a very touching story, a story of one that was dedicated to God's service, one who was faithful in that service. And in chapter 2, it actually stands as a stark contrast to Eli's sons. Okay, that's another part of chapter 2. Eli's sons, Hophni and Phineas, they were incredibly wicked. They stood in service at the tabernacle, served God's people, but they were incredibly wicked. It's a sobering example of what corrupt leadership looks like. I'm not going to read through all of their example, but let's just say they ignored the commandments of God.

They were greedy and took opportunity from their position to take the best of the sacrifices that came in that were meant to be dedicated to God. It says they committed sexual immorality with the women, women who stood at the door of the tabernacle. So people are coming to worship God, and these priests are in a position where they're actually lording it over the people, and they're taking advantage of the people. And the issue is not just their sin and how they look in the eyes of God.

It's actually very dangerous because they caused the people of God to sin because of their position. So God doesn't take this lightly, and corrupt leadership is something He doesn't take lightly. Eventually things became so bad that the people began to despise the Lord's offerings and even hid coming to Shiloh because of them. The fact is, okay, we're coming to that time of year again to go up and sacrifice before God. Oh no! These men are there. This corruption is there. This is not. These who were to point people to God and to aid in their spiritual relationship with God are actually in the position of being a stumbling block to that relationship.

A really, really tragic story. And yet what I want to highlight is, right in the midst of all of this, is Samuel. From a young child growing up and seemingly likely growing up in the same household, right, under Eli's supervision as his two other sons who are clearly older but corrupted.

Verse 26, then back to Samuel, it says, The child Samuel grew in stature and in favor both with the Lord and men. So as the other sons of Eli are falling out of favor with the Lord and men, Samuel is growing in that stature. Young Samuel stayed on course despite what others and leadership positions around him were doing. He wasn't someone great at this time. Again, he was a boy, a youth. You know, I don't know exactly the passage of time, but he is still young.

But he is wholly dedicated to serving God honorably. And this reveals yet another leadership principle for us to understand. Point number two, faithfulness in the small things equips you for the great. Samuel was faithful in these little tasks that he was given to do around the temple. But faithfulness in the small things equips you for the great. Jesus put it another way in Luke 16, verse 10. He said, He was faithful in what is least is faithful also in much.

And I want us to consider our spiritual calling in all of this, brethren, because we walk through life day by day in service to God, living according to His call, according to the standard of His word. These are not small things, but you know, by comparison to the glory that will be revealed in us in the kingdom to come, by comparison, they are small. And this is our proving ground, and God is watching. And those who are faithful in what might seem to be least, they have that character that will be faithful when they are given much.

And that's what God is watching, and that is the kind of person that Samuel was. Through his growing up years, he served quietly at the tabernacle, not in big matters, but as an example, stood out as big because of his faithfulness in everything that he put his hand to. He was honorable in all his doings, and this prepared him for even greater service that was yet to come. He grew in stature before God and man. You think, well, that's the kid working in the back room that no one sees, but he was faithful and God sees.

And he was, in this time and place, surrounded by the people he was surrounded by, being prepared for a great service on God's behalf in the nation of Israel. Sadly, that wasn't the story of Eli's sons. Eli actually now got pulled into something that was regrettable as well because of his sons, because he did not reign his sons in, he did not remove them from their position, he did not set the standard that should have been set, and he allowed these things to continue. There actually came a prophecy against him.

God sent a prophet to pronounce a severe judgment. Eli's household would lose its priestly line through death, and their influence in Israel would come to an end. Okay, this is all contained in chapter 2, and it is a very, very sad story, actually pertaining to a high priest and a judge in Israel. And Samuel's watching, and Samuel's learning, and God's preparing him to help recover the nation from the damage that this is doing. When we come to chapter 3, and let's pick it up in verse 1, we see an event that dramatically changes Samuel's life, or we could say advances it, at least. First Samuel chapter 3 and verse 1 says, Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was rare in those days, there was no widespread revelation. You know, there's times throughout Israel's history where God simply seemed to be almost silent, that the messages didn't come, the prophets didn't come. And oftentimes when you look at it, it was because, not because God was necessarily so distant, but the people had distanced themselves from God in their sin and in their behavior. And sometimes a message of warning came, but not so much the kinds of revelations that would have inspired them as a nation. Those things were rare. Verse 2, carrying on, it came to pass at that time that while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God was out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the Lord called to Samuel.

And Samuel answered, Here I am. So he ran to Eli and he said, Here I am, for you called me. And we know the story. Eli said, Well, I didn't call you. You know, you're hearing things. Go back to bed. Go to sleep. Lie down again. He says, And he went and he lay down. Verse 6, And the Lord called yet again. Samuel. So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. And he answered, I did not call you, my son. Lie down again. Verse 7, Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.

He knew about God. He had been working in God's service at the tabernacle, but the direct type of relationship that God was going to establish with him had not yet occurred. Verse 8, And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose, went to Eli, said, Here I am, for you did call me. And you know, sometimes I'm sitting in my office and I'm working, and we have animals outside that winny and make noises.

We have other noises. Sometimes somebody's watching TV or we're playing a video game, or we have Amazon coming and going. I hear noises, and I think, Was that somebody hollering for help? Well, no, it was a horse making the noises that horses make. But I sit there and go, I better go check on Darla. She's outside working because now I'm fretting. I can't even get over. Does she call for help? And I go out and, you know, she's fine. But, you know, I just kind of imagine Samuel here hearing this voice. Eli's like, I didn't call you.

Go back. But this third time when he approaches with it, it says, verse 8, Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. Okay, this is God calling you. Eli said to Samuel, go lie down and it shall be, if he calls you, that you must say, speak, Lord, for your servant hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. It says, Now the Lord came and stood. And to me, this was interesting. I've never processed it like this, but it says actually, literally, the Lord came and stood and called, as at the other times.

It's like now it's close, it's direct, and it's like there's not going to be any misunderstanding. Lord came and stood and called as at other times. Samuel, Samuel, and Samuel answered, speak for your servant hears. Speak for your servant hears. That's a good answer if God ever calls on you. Speak for your servant hears. And this leads me to point number three, which is, Godly leadership involves a willingness to hear the voice of God.

Godly leadership involves a willingness to hear the voice of God. The voice of God can come in different forms. I would say it is extremely rare, right, to have the voice of God come in this way. But we sing about it. God speaks to us. But His great power we're led. He speaks to us through His word. He speaks to us by His Spirit. Perhaps there could be an occasion when God would speak. The answer is, speak, Lord, your servant hears. You must have a willingness to hear the voice of God, to read the words of God, to internalize all that He has said.

Before Samuel ever commanded armies or counseled kings, he first learned how to listen. That quiet night, as a boy, when the voice of God called to him and he responded, became a defining moment in the life of Samuel. From then on, he continued seeking God's counsel. And you know, it showed up throughout all his actions through the entirety of his life. And from this moment forward, it was a dramatic relationship in his life. It shows us that real leadership begins with a teachable heart, one that is open to God's direction.

You know, God's servants cannot lead his people well if you're not willing to listen to him first. Seek instruction and follow it. Again, it's maybe not a vocal voice that booms to you. But Psalm 32, verse 8 reinforces this point. God says, I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go.

I will guide you with my eye. So it's not like God is literally just sort of standing there going, hey, that way, that way. But through a relationship of prayer, through his spirit, through studying his word, God instructs us and he guides us. And we have to be willing to calm ourselves and hear the still small voice, and indeed respond to his words. It starts with a willingness to hear God and follow his instruction. Speak for your servant hears. You and I need to be willing to listen. Now, the prophetic message which came to Samuel actually was a bit of a difficult message.

You have this child who God is now speaking to and a prophecy is delivered, and it's the warning. It's the warning to Eli. It's the repeat of what will happen to his family that is given to Samuel that he now has to take, of the removal of the priesthood of this man and his family. That's a hard thing to receive as a young man or a child. Verse 15, again, still 1 Samuel chapter 3 verse 15. So Samuel lay down until morning and opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and he said, And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.

And Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son, and he answered, here I am. And he said, What is the word of the Lord, which he spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide from me anything of the things which he has said to you. And Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And Eli said, It is the Lord. Let him do so what seems good to him. Verse 19, So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground.

That's a very interesting phrase. God let none of his words fall to the ground. And then, whenever Samuel said something, maybe when he prophesied that something was going to come to pass, it came to pass. God backed it up. And it also meant that when Samuel, as he moved into more of his prophetic work, and ultimately into being judged, as he declared things of God and about God and for God, God saw that none of his words fell to the ground.

That his credibility stood. That Samuel's word was like the word of God, in the eyes of the people. Again, a very amazing relationship, then, that began here. Verse 20, it says, Verse 21, So Samuel is growing. He's growing. He's now moved into this position of being a prophet. He was actually a prophet before he was a judge. And God is using him in this way to declare various words of instructions, a very powerful voice in Israel.

The one who had been dedicated to God from birth is now the one God was using to move forward his purpose in this place. Now, chapters 4 through 6 of 1 Samuel will describe one of the lowest points in Israel's history. And we're not going to spend really a lot of time there. I'd like to encourage you to actually sit down and read straight through chapter 1 through chapter 7. Again, this is the context of what we're covering today.

But chapters 4 through 6 describe some of the lowest points in Israel's history. Chapter 4, there's a battle which takes place. The Philistines attacked the nation of Israel. And as you'll recall from our study in the Judges, the Philistines were a perennial problem. They just kept popping up and popping up and poking at Israel. And here we have this great battle. And indeed, as we go into the kings, we'll see the Philistines as well. God actually allowed them to be used to carry out some purposes in Israel. But here, battle erupts. And instead of seeking God and trying to force His favor through...

Let me rewind that again. Instead of seeking God for His favor, they tried to force His favor. Somebody, probably the sons of Eli, it would seem, had this wonderful idea, not, of, hey, we got Shiloh, we got the tabernacle, we've got the Ark of the Covenant. If we take the Ark of the Covenant into battle, we will be invincible.

It's like the concept that Judah had before the Babylonian overrun of Jerusalem. The temple is here. Where are the people of God? Nothing will happen to this place. So they take the Ark of the Covenant into battle, and it is a dramatic defeat. 30,000 Israelite men were killed in the battle. Hophni and Phineas, the sons of Eli, are killed. The Ark of the Covenant is captured, and it's taken away by the Philistines back into their land.

And to make matters worse, as the report then comes to Eli, because he's sitting outside the gate, sitting on the seat anxiously waiting for news, and it says he was heavy and he was old, and he was blind, nearly it seems. The news comes to him of the death of his son and the capture of the Ark of the Covenant, and upon hearing of the Ark, he's just, you know, stunned, he falls backwards out of his seat and breaks his neck, and he dies.

And the Bible says that Eli was 98 years old when he died. He had judged Israel for 40 years. This was the fulfillment of the prophecy against his family due to what he allowed to take place, especially in the leadership of his sons. So it's a very sad story in many ways, but understand the thread right alongside that is Samuel now coming up in God's service to be used to turn things around for the nation of Israel. This was a low point, as you can imagine, in their history, and not only was it a loss in battle, by and large the nation had lost their proper faith in God.

They had gone after the other gods, and they had polluted a relationship that should have been their stability in the land. Chapters 5 and 6 show that wherever the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant, trouble followed. Remember, they bring it into the temple of Dagon, their god, and set it up, and come back the next day, and Dagon has fallen over flat on his face, and they think, wow, that's a weird coincidence, and set him back up in his temple and head out, and again the Ark of the Covenant's in there, and they come back the next day.

He's toppled over again. His head is busted off, his limbs, you know, arms seem to be busted off, it says his torso was there, and suddenly they get the idea, wow, we need to move this thing along. So it's kind of like hot potato with the Ark. They send it down the road to another place, plagues break out, rats break out, tumors as it says. Kind of interesting, there's conjecture over this word tumors, exactly what it is, and it talks about things in the hidden parts, and some translations point to hemorrhoids.

I don't know, but, you know, is breaking out here, is breaking out there? When they end up sending the Ark back, they send the golden rats with it, and they send the golden tumors, as my new King James says, but there again, just to make a light pun, they weren't going to stand for it any longer, and they sent the Ark back to Israel. And that was a miraculous event as well. You recall, they built this cart, wooden cart, that they put the Ark on, put these golden symbols of the rats and the tumors in. They took two milk cows with nursing calves, and stalled up the calves and hooked the milk cows up to, you know, if this is of God and he wants it to go back to Israel, these cows would normally, by nature, bolt back to their calves that are locked in the stall.

At least that's what the horses do. They'll about break a fence down when you're weaning their babies. So you load them on here, and they take off, not back to the barn, but back to Israel with the Ark of God. And so God, in his timing and way, brings this Ark back. They needed to offload this, and it comes into a portion of Israel where now they're celebrating its return. They take the wooden cart, break it up, build a fire, slaughter the oxen, the cows there, and make a sacrifice to God. And then somebody gets the bright idea, well, let's just take a peek inside the Ark.

Israel. Open the Ark, peek inside, and the result is those men die, and many others in that region die. And God is teaching his people a lesson that my presence must be reverenced in your midst. Now God is a holy God, and his presence is here. And you don't just wander up to God's presence in any old way, and you don't take the Ark of the Covenant and pop the lid open to see what's going on inside. And here, again, all of this is coming into a lesson of, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt. I must be reverenced and honored and glorified in your midst. It's a very hard lesson that the people had to learn through all of this. Chapter 7 shifts the focus back to Samuel, who is now grown up. He's a judge of Israel. 20 years has passed, 20 years and 7 months since this great battle where the Philistines killed 30,000 and took the Ark. But it didn't stop there. The incursions by the Philistines continued, and Israel was losing cities, losing cities. And in fact, it doesn't exactly describe it as such in 1 Samuel, but the indication is they came all the way up even to Shiloh and destroyed what was the central focus of the worship of God in that place over the course of this 20 years. So let's pick it up now in 1 Samuel 7, verse 3. 1 Samuel 7, verse 3. Samuel's a grown man. He's God's prophet, and he is the judge in Israel. 1 Samuel 7, verse 3. It says, 1 Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, 2 If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the asterisks from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve him only, and he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. It's that cycle of sin leading to that servitude and oppression leading to the point of crying out to God and the deliverance that comes. Just like back in the book of Judges, except Samuel is now standing as that judge of deliverance. Verse 4 says, 1 So the people, the children of Israel, put away the bales and the asterisks, and served the Lord only. 2 Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Misfath, and I will pray to the Lord for you. 3 So they gathered together to Misfath, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. 4 And they fasted that day, and they said there, We have sinned against the Lord. 5 And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Misfath. Samuel judged the children of Israel there. And it leads me to point number 4, which is Godly leadership always points people to a reconciled relationship with God.

Those are His servants. Those are His leaders. Those are hopefully all of us in this world. The Godly leadership always points people to a reconciled relationship with God. After years of spiritual wandering, Samuel caused the nation to put away their idols and return wholeheartedly to God. He leads Israel in the pouring out of water, which might seem a little odd, but think of when Hannah was in giving her prayer to God, she was pouring out her heart to God, her fullness of what she was.

And in the context here, it's like Israel pouring out their heart in repentance to God, which is symbolized through that process. So Samuel led them in that. He led them in fasting, in prayer. And like his predecessors from the book of Judges, Samuel rallied the people in a state of repentance.

And restoration with God again. Again, that cycle of coming through, but now they're swinging back up to restoration and salvation. Again, the deliverance that God would provide. Again, a Godly leader will always point people back to a proper relationship with God. Verse 7 says, Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mispath, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel.

And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 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. And Samuel took a suckling lamb, and he offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord.

And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. I think of the song that we sing in our hymnal that says, Samuel also called upon his name. God did hear and answered them. Okay, so he's crying out to God on behalf of the people, and as true to form, God let none of his words fall to the ground. Indeed, God would respond. And what you notice is that when the Philistines drew near to attack, Samuel didn't grab a sword and say, Come on, the victory is ours.

Samuel grabbed a lamb, and he offered a sacrifice to God. And he cried out to the one who he knew was a source of deliverance. Israel had been stomped as they went up against the Philistines apart from God. There was no question who their deliverance would come from. They had to do their part, but Samuel directed them to looking to the one who would be the source of their victory.

And that brings us to point number five. Godly leadership recognizes the victory always comes from God. Godly leadership recognizes that the victory always comes from God. Zechariah chapter 4 verse 6 says, Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord. There was the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel and another time and place, but it applies across the board.

It's not by... I mean, look at the Church of God today. We are a small, insignificant group of people. And yet what we see is purpose for us is indeed great and large, something that would never come by the power of our own hand. But we do have to play a part. But recognizing it is by the power of God that His blessing comes.

So Samuel cried out in this way, and God responded. Verse 10, Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. You know, I can't... I wasn't there. I can only imagine what that had been like, but a thundering so great to throw that army into disarray and allow God's people...

I'll sit in my office and I hear, occasionally we have a good thunderstorm. Rarely. Ask Mr. Neff. Texas gets much better thunderstorms. But every now and then you get a thunder that shakes the windows and kind of vibrates the place. I imagine God thundering confusion into that army with such an audible noise that shook the earth. And it was his clear intervention on behalf of his people. And it says it so confused the Philistines that they were overcome before Israel.

Verse 11, And the men of Israel went out at Mispathe and pursued the Philistines and drove them back as far as below Bethkar. And Samuel took a stone, set it up between Mispathe and Sheim, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the Lord has helped us. So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come any more into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Echron to Gath. And Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also, there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. Again, this is after 20 years of oppression from the Philistines, and they had taken cities and territories that were given to Israel in this process. They'd been that perennial problem, but Israel was delivered because of the power of Samuel's prayer, and God's response and deliverance, which followed.

Verse 15, concluding the chapter, it says, "...and Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mispath, and judged Israel in all those places. But he always returned to Rehma, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord." Brethren, this is a story of a faithful man of God, a man who from his birth was dedicated to God and gave his life in service to him.

He grew up in that service and ultimately fulfilled a role that brought deliverance and peace to God's people. It's much like an account that we would read in the book of Judges, an episode from the Judges, because indeed this is a continuation of that time. But what we need to understand is that this is actually the last glimpse of that old order, because a clamoring for a king had already begun. When we begin our study into the book of Kings, we'll start out at chapter 8 and move forward, where Israel is demanding a king.

So this isn't the end of what we'll see of Samuel, but I did want to kind of package in here and bracket off onto the side of the Judges, his service as he came forward here. He continued to serve as a judge, as a priest, as a prophet, and indeed much of his service continued alongside the first two kings of Israel.

So we'll be seeing more of Samuel, but this story is one of divine calling. It's one of faithful service. It's a story of steadfast leadership and turbulent times. Throughout his life, Samuel modeled a leadership style that listened to God. He yielded himself to the voice of God and didn't do his own thing. He did what God instructed. He was a man who served people with humility and stood firm in conviction, even in the face of rejection.

At some point, the nation says, Samuel, you're not enough. God is not enough. We want a king. And again, we'll walk through that process as we move forward in the study series. But Samuel was the last judge of Israel. And his example was truly that of a servant leader of God.