FROM THE TIME of the death of Eli forward until Samuel became judge over Israel there is no specific calendar of events that give a reliable datable timeline. Samuel was still a boy, perhaps eleven to seventeen years old, when Eli died at ninety-eight. As Samuel’s story opens, a critical piece of information is made clear: the ark of the covenant has already been stored at the house of Abinadab under the watchcare of Eleazar for twenty years. Some amount of time passed before that occurred, with the ark in captivity to the Philistines. There, it became a bitter curse to the Philistines, as a result of which they sent it back to Beth-Shemesh, its former place of residence, on a new cart with gold offerings. “But God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned, and the men of Beth Shemesh asked, ‘Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?’” (1 Sam. 6:19-20)
It was at this point the ark was moved to a place of ‘safe storage.’ The Glory had returned to Israel, but no one knew how to appropriately care for it – it was taken because they had forgotten how to obey the LORD. “So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord.” (1 Sam. 7:1) And it is at this point that scripture clearly infers that Samuel is the judge of Israel at a pivotal time. “And 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.’” (1 Sam.7:3)
Samuel is probably nearing forty years of age at this time. Even as a boy, he was marked as a prophet: “The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.” (1 Sam. 3:19-20) Now, he is clearly leading Israel, and it is at this moment in time that he sets Israel on a course of peace and prosperity that will last the entire time that he is judge over Israel.
Throughout both the period of the judges, which lasted about four hundred years, and the following period of monarchy, which lasted four hundred fifty-seven years from Saul to Zedekiah, Israel always suffered from syncretism, or the worship of many gods. This began under the first judge, Joshua, who failed to rout all of the previous inhabitants of the Promised Land, along with their many gods, and lasted throughout Israel’s history in the land until the great diaspora under Roman rule after the time of Jesus. This issue had plummeted to a severe low under Eli, Samuel’s immediate predecessor. And what a low it was. The Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of the God of Israel’s great power, had been captured and kept by their arch-enemy, the hated Philistines. But now, under Samuel, the fate of the nation changes.
“Samuel said, ‘Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the Lord for you.’ 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.’ And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah.” (1 Sam. 7:5-6) God’s restored favor is immediately shown. The Philistines gather to attack the Israelites, but they are conquered by the power of the Lord. “Then 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.” (1 Sam. 7:9)
As the Philistines subsequently draw near to wage war, “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 pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car.” (1 Sam. 7:10b-11) Samuel is firmly established as judge over Israel due to this victory in answer to his prayer. After this, “Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. Samuel continued as judge over Israel all the days of his life.” (1 Sam. 7:13b, 14b-15)
Samuel was last judge of Israel, and the pivotal figure as Israel moved from being a theocracy led by the Lord to being led by an earthly king. “So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him. ‘Give us a king to lead us.’ And the Lord told him: ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” (1 Sam. 8:4-7) There were bitter lessons that followed. These should be marked, just as Samuel had marked the return of the ark: “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far has the Lord helped us.’” (1 Sam. 7:12) The following period of the kings should also be marked, and never forgotten, as the sad case of the Israelites and the ultimate failure of the monarchy clearly show.
What should Christ-followers learn from these lessons in Israel’s ancient history? Perhaps this: The God of the O.T. set Abraham as Israel’s father, Moses as their deliverer, the judges and the kings to lead them, the prophets to speak into their lives, and yet none of this was enough to keep them from failing. The God of the N.T. sent Jesus to die for our sins, and the Holy Spirit to walk alongside us in our daily life, and we have the words of the Apostles to remind us of this. They say, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) And, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Also, “For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?” (Heb. 2:2-3)
Clarifying the message of salvation becomes a matter of individual responsibility, but the good news is that it does not depend upon the strength of our own character or will. It depends, instead, upon fully receiving and making our own that which has been freely granted us in the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Peter’s advice both instructs and comforts us: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Pet. 1:3-4)
Father, we thank you for the lessons of history. Remind us, Lord, of what a great gift our bibles are to us to guide our lives through the confusion of our days. And we thank you, Father, for Jesus, the greatest gift of all.
Q. Should I vote for a leader, or submit to the King?
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