Week three: There Goes the Judge 1st Samuel 7

Every fall at ECU some young man [I've never seen a young woman do this] stands in the central lawn of campus and preaches hell,  fire, and damnation. His audience is whomever might be walking by that part of campus. The time is usually the busiest time of day when classes change or students are enroute to the dining hall. A few people  always stop for a few minutes. Some listen quietly but soon resume their walking. Others will snicker. A few will even heckle and make fun of the "preacher". The theme of the preaching will vary. It is often about end times and the judgment of God. Sometimes, it about living a decadent life-style as a student on a college campus. One theme is recurring, every year with every preacher--- he invites the audience to repent...he might call them sinners, or maybe not, but he always invites them to repent. The word "repent" means to turn around; to go in the opposite direction. The context might be walking, running, moving the entire body, but it always means to make a 180 degree turn. And the preacher has it right, when in wrong, turn in the opposite direction. This week's lesson is about repentance and what it meant to the Israelites and what it means for people in Greenville.

Last week, we had left the Ark in the hands of a good Israrelite man who kept it in the home of Abinidab for many years (1 Sam 7:1). We don't hear any more about this famous artifact of God until later in 2nd Samuel. During those years when the people had no physical representation of God, they began to drift. They had a good leader in Samuel but they were so insecure they fussed and complained to God that they wanted a King like "all the other nations." This is a shame, for the Israelites had a good many excellent leaders known as judges. The list includes, Othniel, (Judg 3:7-11) Ehud, (Judg 3:12-20 and Deborah (Judg 4:1-23). Read these passages to see how far away the people had really strayed.

Adult Samuel--Priest and Prophet

Samuel was a good leader and judge. Read 1 Samuel chapter 7 to learn more about Samuel as leader and priest of the Israelites. We know he was a leader because he guided the people to remember Yahweh and to honor Him as their God. We know Samuel was a priest because he offered sacrifices and interceded in prayer for the people (1 Sam 7:9). Samuel told the people they should repent. He said, " If you are returning to the Lord (repenting or turning around) with all your heart, then put away foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the Lord, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines (1Sam 7:3). Samuel cried out to the Lord and He answered with a thunderous and mighty voice. There are other passages in the Bible that describe God's voice like thunder.

It must be terrifying to actually hear these sounds. See 1 Sam 2:10; 2 Sam 22:14; Psalm 18:18; Psalm 81:7.

The Lord heard Samuel's prayer and caused the Philistines to be so confused, they went into a senseless panic and were promptly defeated. This is where Samuel erects a stone in remembrance, called the stone of Ebenezer. It was after this great victory that the people fell into stupidity again and became frightened and insecure. They didn't remember how God provided but instead looked to what other nations had...a king of their own. Do we do the same thing today? Do we recognize our foolishness, feel convicted and turn from those things we idolize, only to take up old habits of insecurity and doubt? I think the lessons of Samuel are there to help us remember, to trust and not lose faith. To look to God to provide and not at how others around us cope with 21st century problems.

As Tony Cartledge says in his book Sessions with Samuel, repentance or transformation of our lives, " cannot be in principle alone; it must be put into practice. As demonstration of their return to Yahweh, the Israelites were to put away their false gods. This may have involved the physical removal out of their homes...but it also means they were to serve the Lord their God only." It was only after Samuel was sure the people had truly repented before he called a public assembly to address the conditional promise he had made to Yahweh on their behalf (1Sam 7:9). If they turned to Yahweh with their whole hearts, God would deliver them out of the hands of the Philistines.

Here are some reflections questions to think about:

1. Think of times of conviction when you felt sorry for your sins. Can you distinguish between true sorrow over the sin as an offense to God, or sorry for the discomfort, pain, or trouble the sin brought you?

2. Psalms 57:7 and 108:1 use the same verb found in 1 Sam 7:3 to speak of one's heart being fixed on God alone. The translation means to fix on as to set your eye through the scope of a firearm--fixed on the target. What does it mean to you to have your heart fixed on God? What does this look like?

3. What contemporary Philistines [or philistine behavior] threatens your walk with God?