The Bible says in verse 2 that all the people of Israel decided to turn back to the Lord.
Wow. That is a very good news.
When all the people of the entire nation turned back to God is something newsworthy.
Why? What happened before that? Why is this turning to the Lord very significant for Israel?
Because before that, Israel has turned it's back away from God.
Remember that at that time, they have sinned against God and allowed idols to enter their hearts.
And so, God used the wicked Philistines to teach them a hard lesson of their disobedience.
They were severely defeated in battle, a lot of Israelites were killed and worst of all, the ark of God has been captured.
For some time, the ark stayed under the hands of the Philistines until they were inflicted with boils and their crops destroyed by pestilence.
Finally, after seven long months of suffering, the Philistines decided to return the ark to Israel and it was such a great celebration in that nation.
But chapter six of I Samuel ended with a sad fate to the seventy men of Beth-Shemesh.
Out of curiosity, they decided to look into the ark and were killed instantly by the angel of death because of their lack of awe and reverence to God's presence.
However, this 1 Samuel chapter seven opened with the ark of God remaining in the house of one of the Israelites for twenty long years.
It was then that all Israel decided to turn back to God.
There was a great spiritual revival in that country.
You see, this is what God desires for Israel to do.
God wanted them to go back to His care and protection.
God wanted them to restore their love and fellowship back.
However, they must deal with their idols and consecrate their lives back to God.
That was the same message in the Book of Joel 2:13 (NIV) 13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. "
That word "relents" means die down or subsides.
It means that when Israel decided to repent from their sins and returns to the Lord, God's wrath is appeased.
Those calamities that He allowed in order to punish Israel will lessen and eventually die down in degree until it eventually subsides.
Because God is gracious.
He is compassionate.
He is slow to anger and abounding in love.
In the same manner, whenever we turn away from God, expect a strong hand of discipline to fall upon you.
He will have to chastise us when we go to the wrong path of life.
He will have to reproof our bad attitude that displeases Him.
He will have to castigate us for not obeying Him.
And sometimes, His discipline can be very painful and severe.
But all these are for our own good so that we can return to the Lord our God and embrace His love, His forgiveness and His mercy once again.
God wants us to always turn back to God whenever we have swayed to the wrong path.
And the result will always be good and bright.
In our study for today, we will look at the challenge given by Samuel for Israel to return to the Lord.
Then, we are going to see that once Israel decided to return to the Lord, they were confronted by a big problem ahead.
Finally, we will learn how God delivered them from their enemy because the Lord has taken their fight.
Before the end of this message, I will ask you to make a decision for Christ.
This can be the most important decision that you will ever make in your lifetime.
Please listen carefully, don't sleep on me now, turn off or mute your cell phones and don't let anything disturb your concentration.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF 1 SAMUEL
1. SAMUEL CHALLENGED ISRAEL TO TURN BACK TO GOD.
I Samuel 7:3-6 (NIV) “3 So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “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.” 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. 5 Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.” 6 When 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.” Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah."
The first thing we can learn from these verses is that Samuel stood up and gathered all Israel at Mizpah.
He told Israel that if they will return to the Lord, they must do so with all their hearts and they must get rid of all the foreign gods.
They must then commit themselves to the Lord and serve Him only.
Then, God will deliver them from their enemy.
Remember that Samuel started in this book as a boy in answer to Hannah's persistent prayer for a son.
Hannah was so happy for this answered prayer that that she decided to give her son Samuel wholeheartedly to God's service.
From then on, Samuel has been helping priest Eli in the temple duties until one day God called him by name.
God revealed to Samuel a glimpse of His plans including the fate of priest Eli's family.
Then, one day, the plan of God was fulfilled right in his eyes and he was appointed as God's prophet.
Samuel was aware of all the things that were happening around him.
He was aware of how wicked Eli's sons were during the performance of their duties but it did not corrupt him.
He was aware how Israel has turned their back from back by worshiping these foreign gods made of idols but he remained faithful.
He knew about the wrath of God and how God disciplined Israel by allowing the Philistines to defeat them in battle.
He was there when the ark of God was captured and the two sons of Eli were killed.
He was there standing with horror when he saw priest Eli fell and broke his neck due to the intensity of the bad news he received.
Samuel was aware of all these things happening around him but he knew that God has always been faithful.
That is why when he stood up and challenged Israel that if they are sincere in returning back to God, they have to do so with all their hearts.
Because God hates insincerity and dishonesty of the heart.
God hates it when people are misleading and deceptive.
God wants a person who is genuine and determined to go back to God.
That is the same thing with us.
If you want to return to the Lord you have to prove your sincerity.
Are you returning to the Lord with all your heart?
Then, it is time to burn your bridges behind and move forward because there is no turning back to the old life of sin.
There is no turning back to that life of sin, of misery, of addiction, of slavery, of sexual immorality.
It is time to return to the Lord with our whole heart and mind.
It is time to get rid of all our idols.
It is time to commit ourselves to the Lord.
It is time to serve Him for the rest of our lives.
That is what turning to the Lord is all about.
This brings us to the first life lesson.
GOD HAS PROMISED RESTORATION WHEN WE TURN TO HIM.
Job 22:23 (NIV) 31 “If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent."
That word restored means you are revived in your spiritual direction.
You are renewed in your spiritual vitality.
You are refreshed and re-established in your spiritual strength just like before.
God has promised that if we return to the Almighty wholeheartedly, we will be spiritually nourished and restored.
If we remove wickedness far from our tent, then we will be spiritually revived.
I was reading from the on-line issue of the Readers Digest about a 56 year old cancer stricken man named Greg Thomas.
He learned that the searing headaches, ear aches and jaw aches that had plagued him for the past year were due to inoperable head and neck cancer.
It had progressed so far that the doctors advised his family to prepare for his funeral.
But one day, while walking his dog, he was sat on an old church building pouring his heart out to God.
As he was praying, he kept looking at the run down century old church building and decided before leaving this earth, that he had to do something about it.
Greg decided that he had to fix the peeling paint, the leaking roof and the mangled steps and the rotting floorboards.
He approached the church leadership with a deal.
He would completely repair the building on one condition: "That I get a key on the front door so that I can go in anytime I want to worship."
He warned that it would be a slow process because he had just gone through three rounds of chemotherapy along with 40 sessions of radiation and had lost 66 pounds.
They said yes anyway and Greg started to work.
Incredibly, as Greg started to scrape the paint and replace the board, he felt himself growing stronger every day.
The more he worked in the church, the better he felt.
He didn't even need the strong prescription pain meds that the doctors had prescribed.
"My oncologist was blown away," Greg says." Whatever you're doing, keep on doing it."
As Greg continued to rehabilitate the church, medical scans revealed some startling news.
His tumors were shrinking.
Four years and 23 days after Greg's diagnosis, his doctors were able to remove his feeding tube - the ones they said he would have for
the rest of his life.
And he began to eat solid food again.
Today, Greg's tumors are gone. Look at his picture.
He is considered officially in remission and no longer needs follow-up tests.
And the church? After five years of Greg's labor and love, has been restored to its former glory too.
"While I was restoring the church, God was restoring me." Greg said.
This is the promised of restoration is all about when we wholeheartedly return to Him.
This brings us to the next life lesson.
GOD HAS PROMISED HEALING WHEN WE RETURN TO HIM. Hosea 6:1 (NIV) "Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds."
First, Samuel challenged Israel to turn back to God wholeheartedly.
2. ISRAEL WAS ATTACKED BY THE PHILISTINES.
1 Samuel 7:7-10 (NIV) "7 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. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle."
When the leaders of the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, they all gathered their forces together and decided to attack Israel.
It was an instant declaration of war.
All that Israelites did was to return to the Lord, yet, they found themselves in the middle of a battle they wanted to avoid.
It was something unthinkable.
You see, whenever you return to the Lord, you have just provoked the devil to attack you spiritually.
Because when you were under the influence of sin, you were slave of the devil.
But once you have decided to return to the Lord, you have shifted your allegiance and you are now under the army of God.
And the devil is very angry.
He will try to attack you with all the evil forces under his disposal.
And this is happened to Israel.
They have recommitted their lives to the Lord when the news of the Philistine attack came upon them.
How did they respond?
The text says that they were all afraid and overtaken with fear. That is a common human reaction to a bad news.
But this time, they had a strong spiritual leader taking a stand named Samuel.
They asked Samuel to pray for them so that God may deliver them from the hands of the Philistines.
And so, Samuel took a lamb and offered it as a burnt offering to the Lord.
He cried out to the Lord on Israel's behalf and because they have been newly restored to the Lord, the Lord answered.
But let's focus on the Philistines for a moment.
Why did they decide to suddenly attack Israel?
They were provoked to attack Israel because they heard of an illegal assembly at Mizpah.
They wanted any gathering of their slaves to be smashed so that all oppositions of their authority can be destroyed.
They thought that it would be just like before - that they could easily defeat Israel through fear and intimidation.
But they did not know that this time, God will be fighting for them.
Israel is now more prepared for battle than before because of their spiritual restoration to God.
At the same time, they now have a strong spiritual leader who believed in the power of prayer and who offered a sacrifice in their behalf.
Even if there was fear among Israel at that time, yet, they only have to watch and trust in God's mighty strength.
You see, every time we return to the Lord, we can expect more oppositions from the enemy.
When a person decided to turn back to God, I can assure you that there will be problems ahead.
Because Satan will be so angry that he will try to attack those who return to God.
But this attack is a test on how serious you are in trusting the Lord.
So, fear not. Strengthen your allegiance on God and let God fight the battle for you.
This will lead us to the next life lesson.
WHEN YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK, TAKE REFUGE IN THE LORD NOT IN HUMANS.
Psalms 118:8 (NIV) "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans."
This is what the Israelites did once they heard of the impending enemy attack - they took refuge in God alone and God helped them.
That is what we need to do always.
When people attack us or criticize us, we don't expose ourselves but we hide and take cover under God's refuge.
That is the safest place to be under God's protective custody.
Our strength is from God alone not in human strength.
WHEN YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK, REVERENTLY DRAW NEAR TO GOD BY HIS GRACE.
Psalms 5:5-7 (NIV) "The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest. But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple."
Here in these verses is the difference between the wicked and the righteous.
The Lord hates the wicked because they do wrong and they are arrogant.
But the Lord loves the righteous because they love God and they are full of reverence.
And so, when we reverently draw near to God by His grace, we receive God's special favor and protection.
So far, we learned that Samuel challenged Israel to turn back to God wholeheartedly and they did.
Secondly, we learned that after they returned to God, they experienced a surprise attack from the Philistines.
3. THE PHILISTINES WERE SUBDUED BY THE LORD.
1 Samuel 7:10-14 (NIV) But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panicthat they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar. 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,[b] saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 13 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. 14 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."
This is a fitting conclusion of the chapter.
The Philistines were subdued by the Lord by displaying his mighty power.
What did the Lord use to subdue them?
The scripture used the word "Thunder" twice in verse 10.
God used thunder to throw them into such panic that they were routed before the eyes of the Israelites.
Just thunder - no lightnings, no fire storms, no earthquakes.
According to Wikipedia, the word "thunder" is just a sound caused by lightning.
And this sound can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble depending on the distance and the nature of the lightning.
And what causes the lightning?
It is caused by an increase in air pressure and temperature.
This sudden expansion of air creates a sonic shock wave that produces the sound of thunder or big boom.
Amazing - it was just the voice of God and the enemy were completely defeated.
It was a good working together between God and the Israelites.
And all they could do is to finish the job by pursuing the Philistines and slaughtering them along the way to Beth Kar.
Hence, the Philistines were totally subdued and they stopped invading Israel's territory.
Those towns that were previously captured by the Philistines were restored back to Israel and there was peace all over the country from then on.
It all started with Israel returning to the Lord as a nation and it ended in the victory for the entire nation.
GOD WILL MOVE ABOUT IN YOUR CAMP TO PROTECT YOU. Deuteronomy 23:14 (NIV) "For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you."
GOD WILL BREAK THE POWER OF THE WICKED OVER US. Psalms 37:17-18 (NIV) "17 For the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. 18 The Blameless spend their days under the Lord's care, and their inheritance will endure forever."
That word "broken" means completely destroyed or made into pieces from a whole.
That is how the Lord upholds the righteous.
When we return to the Lord's care wholeheartedly, the devil will try to attack us but he cannot anymore harm us.
Eventually, his power over us will be completely broken and destroyed because we are under God's care.
And so, there is nothing to fear.
Because God is on our side.
END...
