HOLY WAR
Contextual information…
1. Samuel 1-2a – Elkanah has two wives, one with children the other w/o. Hannah, the wife that is barren, makes a vow to God that if He gives her a son, she will give him back to God for service. God grants her prayer and she dedicates him to God by putting him in the care of Eli the high priest.
2. Samuel 2b – Eli is high priest over Israel with his two sons Hophni and Phinehas. His two son abuse the priesthood and a “man of God” prophecies to Eli over them about their sin and coming destruction.
3. Samuel 3 – God calls Samuel and tells him of the coming judgment on Eli and the nation of Israel. Samuel becomes a prophet to Israel.
4. Samuel 4 – Israel is getting kicked around on the battlefield by the Philistines. They decide to take the ark of the Lord – their secrete weapon – onto the battlefield. Israel got all hyped up “the ground shook” from their cheering…but the still were defeated. Hophni and Phinehas were killed just like the prophecy from the man of God and Samuel and the ark of God was captured. When Eli found out, he fell back on his chair and broke his neck and died.
5. The Philistines took the ark – their trophy of the battle won – and brought to Asdod, the Gath, and then Ekron, and all three places suffered an outbreak of rats and tumors killing young and old.
6. After SEVEN months, the Philistines hashed out a plan to send the ark back to Israel and it came to Beth Shemesh, a town of priests and they placed it on large rock. Then seventy men disrespected the ark and God struck them dead. So they called on a neighboring town, Kiriath Jearim to come get it and take care of it.
(1 Samuel 7:2-6)
2It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the LORD. 3And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 4So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.
5Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you." 6When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah.
What can we learn from Samuel’s words to Israel?
It’s time for a Holy War!
There were three things to prepare for Holy War…
1. Clean House
Illustration: “Clean House” show on Style Network
Each episode begins with a short montage introducing the subjects of the makeover. Homeowners typically are "victims" of a combination of poor housekeeping ability and lifestyle situations that exacerbate the problem. Most of the homes on the show are so messy that a person could not enter and walk around freely.
The host guides family members through the process of letting go of things with the assistance of a "Yard Sale Diva.” Often, the family becomes very emotional and defensive about the junk it has harbored for decades, and the host will negotiate and make deals with family members in order to convince them to sell belongings. The excess belongings are sold at a yard sale (often while family members cry, moan, or try to take items back into the house) to raise money for the makeover.
It’s not easy getting rid of “junk” is it?
Here in Samuel chapter seven, Samuel is telling Israel to get rid of their junk.
For 20 years they had the ark, but they were still collecting junk.
For 20 years they were content at the altars without the ark – without the presence of Jehovah God.
Now, probably due to the preaching of Samuel, the people begin to mourn and seek after the Lord.
“If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods…and commit yourselves to the Lord”
- The first question would be do YOU need to return to the Lord with ALL your heart?
- “All your hearts” means everything!
- Sometimes we as Christians do the same thing as the Israelites were doing here. We have the ark – our covenant with God – tucked away out of sight, out of mind. We go through the motions of our Christian-ease without the power of HIS presence.
Paul talks to the church in Rome about the same issue in 12:1
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
(Romans 12:1)
- “all your hearts” means offering your bodies as living sacrifices!
- The second question then would be who or what is your God?
For the Israelites, they were worshipping Baal the god of thunder and rain, and Ashtoreth the goddess of fertility. They were looking to these false gods to bring them prosperity, security and better life. They lost sight of God their Creator because the ark wasn’t where it should have been. God wasn’t their “center”. They lost sight of God their deliver (from Egypt) because they were focusing on the wrong things.
- Your priorities display who or what controls your life. What ever controls you is your “god”…money, material goods, pride, position, relationships.
Is it time for you to “clean house”? Is there room for Jesus to walk in your heart? Maybe you need to have a yard sale and get rid of some junk.
2. Repent
Illustration: Church Restoration Project
There was a tradesman, a painter named Jack, who was very interested in making a dollar where he could. So he often would thin down his paint to make it go a wee bit further. As it happened, he got away with this for some time.Eventually the local church decided to do a big restoration project. Jack put in a painting bid and, because his price was so competitive, he got the job. And so he started, erecting the trestles and putting up the planks, and buying the paint and thinning it down with turpentine.
Jack was up on the scaffolding, painting away, the job nearly done, when suddenly there was a horrendous clap of thunder. The sky opened and the rain poured down, washing the thin paint from all over the church and knocking Jack off the scaffold to land on the lawn.
Jack was no fool. He knew this was a judgment from the Almighty, so he fell on his knees and cried, "Oh, God! Forgive me! What should I do?"
And from the thunder, a mighty Voice spoke, "Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!"
Repentance is more than just cleaning house…getting rid of sin.
Samuel told them to not just get rid of the sin BUT to “commit yourselves to the Lord and serve Him only.”
- Israel mourned or “lamented after Jehovah”…“one who follows after another, and lamentingly entreats till he obtains.”
Illustration: a child begging for that candy
- Repentance is more than just lamenting! It’s more than just nagging God for forgiveness or deliverance.
Repentance is
- deep sorrow for our wrong doing
- confession of sin
- turning away from (some you have to RUN from)
“they drew water and poured it out before the Lord.”
- This was a sign of them pouring out their souls to the Lord.
- It’s also symbolic of their empting of their sin and their desire to be cleansed
It’s one thing to be sorrowful because we’ve been caught in our mistakes, or to be grieved because of our circumstances due to the consequences of our sin. It’s another thing altogether to pour ourselves out before the Lord in humility and confess our sins in repentance.
The seed of repentance may be planted in our grief but it bears fruit in confession and the turning from that sin in order to pursue a deeper intimacy with God.
True repentance is seen in our commitment and follow-through.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
(Romans 12:2)
Do you need to pour out your soul to Lord today? Repentance isn’t just about a cleansing but a committing to turn and serve.
Maybe you’re here today and you need to quit conforming and start transforming.
3. Victory @ Mizpah
A - Location is everything! Mizpah was a high point, the look-out of Benjamin; literally meaning watch-tower.
- Things look different when you see them from Higher perspective. (Tenney)
Remember chapter 4 where the battle with the Philistines began? They brought out the ark and “Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook” (4:5).
7When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8They 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." 9Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel’s behalf, and the LORD answered him.
10While 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. 11The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car.
12Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us." 13So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again.
Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. 14The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to her, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. (2 Sam 7:7-14)
B - Our shouts at Ebenezer will never compare to God’s thunder at Mizpah!
- Samuel prepared them for HOLY WAR!
- He got them to see things from God Eye View!
- He led them into revival through repentance, confession, fasting and prayer!
Maybe you need to assemble at Mizpah this morning. Maybe you need that victory over an enemy you just can’t seem to overcome.
Isaiah 49:8-13
Restoration of Israel
8 This is what the LORD says:
"In the time of my favor I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9 to say to the captives, ’Come out,’
and to those in darkness, ’Be free!’
"They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
and lead them beside springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways will be raised up.
12 See, they will come from afar—
some from the north, some from the west,
some from the region of Aswan. [a] "
13 Shout for joy, O heavens;
rejoice, O earth;
burst into song, O mountains!
For the LORD comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
ALTAR - Bow head – Close eyes
One of the great lessons we learn from Samuel is the significance of what people can accomplish is directly related to their relationship to God.
- Is it time for you to “clean house”? Is there room for Jesus to walk in your heart? Maybe you need to have a yard sale and get rid of some junk.
- Do you need to pour out your soul to Lord today? Repentance isn’t just about a cleansing but a committing to turn and serve.
Maybe you’re here today and you need to quit conforming and start transforming.
- Maybe you need to see things from a Higher perspective in the light of God’s love around an altar. Maybe you need to hear God’s thunder today to spur you on to victory!
