1 Samuel 7:3 Komentář

In this chapter we have, I. The eclipsing of the glory of the ark, by its privacy in Kirjath-jearim for many years (Sa1 7:1, Sa1 7:2). II. The appearing of the glory of Samuel in his public services for the good of Israel, to whom he was raised up to be a judge, and he was the last that bore that character. This chapter gives us all the account we have of him when he was in the prime of his time; for what we had before was in his childhood (ch. 2 and 3); what we have of him after was in his old age (Sa1 8:1). We have him here active, 1. In the reformation of Israel from their idolatry (Sa1 7:3, Sa1 7:4). 2. In the reviving of religion among them (Sa1 7:5, Sa1 7:6). 3. In praying for them against the invading Philistines (Sa1 7:7-9), over whom God, in answer to his prayer, gave them a glorious victory (Sa1 7:10, Sa1 7:11). 4. In erecting a thankful memorial of that victory (Sa1 7:12). 5. In the improvement of that victory (Sa1 7:13, Sa1 7:14). 6. In the administration of justice (Sa1 7:15-17). And these were the things for which God was preparing the designing him, in the early vouchsafements of his grace to him.

We may well wonder where Samuel was and what he was doing all this while, for we have not had him so much as named till now, since Sa1 4:1, not as if he were unconcerned, but his labours among his people are not mentioned till there appears the fruit of them. When he perceived that they began to lament after the Lord he struck while the iron was hot, and two things he endeavoured to do for them, as a faithful servant of God and a faithful friend to the Israel of God: - I. He endeavoured to separate between them and their idols, for there reformation must begin. He spoke to all the house of Israel (Sa1 7:3), going, as it should seem, from place to place, an itinerant preacher (for we find not that they were gathered together till Sa1 7:5), and wherever he came this was his exhortation, "If you do indeed return to the Lord, as you seem inclined to do, by your lamentations for your departure from him and his from you, then know, 1. That you must renounce and abandon your idols, put away the strange gods, for your God will admit no rival; put them away from you, each one from himself, nay, and put them from among you, do what you can, in your places, to rid them out of the country. Put away Baalim, the strange gods, and Ashtaroth, the strange goddesses," for such also they had. Or Ashtaroth is particularly named because it was the best-beloved idol, and that which they were most wedded to. Note, True repentance strikes at the darling sin, and will with a peculiar zeal and resolution put away that, the sin which most easily besets us. 2. "That you must make a solemn business of returning to God, and do it with a serious consideration and a stedfast resolution, for both are included in preparing the heart, directing, disposing, establishing, the heart unto the Lord. 3. That you must be wholly for God, for him and no other, serve him only, else you do not serve him at all so as to please him. 4. That this is the only way and a sure way to prosperity and deliverance. Take this course, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines; for it was because you forsook him and served other gods that he delivered you into their hands." This was the purport of Samuel's preaching, and it had a wonderfully good effect (Sa1 7:4): They put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, not only quitted the worship of them, but destroyed their images, demolished their altars, and quite abandoned them. What have we to do any more with idols? Hos 14:8; Isa 30:22. II. He endeavoured to engage them for ever to God and his service. Now that he had them in a good mind he did all he could to keep them in it. 1. He summons all Israel, at least by their elders, as their representatives, to meet him at Mizpeh (Sa1 7:5), and there he promises to pray for them. And it was worth while for them to come from the remotest part of the country to join with Samuel in seeking God's favour. Note, Ministers should pray for those to whom they preach, that God by his grace would make the preaching effectual. And, when we come together in religious assemblies, we must remember that it is as much our business there to join in public prayers as it is to hear a sermon. He would pray for them that, by the grace of God, they might be parted from their idols, and that then, by the providence of God, they might be delivered from the Philistines. Ministers would profit their people more if they did but pray more for them. 2. They obey his summons, and not only come to the meeting, but conform to the intentions of it, and appear there very well disposed, Sa1 7:6. (1.) They drew water and poured it out before the Lord, signifying, [1.] Their humiliation and contrition for sin, owning themselves as water spilt upon the ground, which cannot be gathered up again (Sa2 14:14), so mean, so miserable, before God, Psa 22:14. The Chaldee reads it, They poured out their hearts in repentance before the Lord. They wept rivers of tears, and sorrowed after a godly sort, for it was before the Lord and with an eye to him. [2.] Their earnest prayers and supplications to God for mercy. The soul is, in prayer, poured out before God, Psa 62:8. [3.] Their universal reformation; they thus expressed their willingness to part with all their sins, and to retain no more of the relish or savour of them than the vessel does of the water that is poured out of it. They were free and full in their confession, and fixed in their resolution to cast away from them all their transgressions. Israel is now baptized from their idols, so Dr. Lightfoot. [4.] Some think it signifies their joy in the hope of God's mercy, which Samuel had assured them of. This ceremony was used with that signification at the feast of tabernacles, Joh 7:37, Joh 7:38, and see Isa 12:3. Taking it in this sense, it must be read, They drew water after they had fasted. In the close of their humiliation they thus expressed their hope of pardon and reconciliation. (2.) They fasted, abstained from food, afflicted their souls, so expressing repentance and exciting devotion. (3.) They made a public confession: We have sinned against the Lord, so giving glory to God and taking shame to themselves. And, if we thus confess our sins, we shall find our God faithful and just to forgive us our sins. 3. Samuel judged them at that time in Mizpeh, that is, he assured them, in God's name, of the pardon of their sins, upon their repentance, and that God was reconciled to them. It was a judgment of absolution. Or he received informations against those that did not leave their idols, and proceeded against them according to law. Those that would not judge themselves he judged. Or now he settled courts of justice among them, and appointed the terms and circuits which he observed afterwards, Sa1 7:16. Now he set those wheels a-going; and, whereas he began to act as a magistrate, to prevent their relapsing into those sins which now they seemed to have renounced.

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 7 This chapter gives an account of the ark being brought to Kirjathjearim, where it continued twenty years, Sa1 7:1 of the exhortation of Samuel to the people of Israel to reform from idolatry, and which had its desired effect, Sa1 7:3 of Samuel's praying for the people, and offering sacrifices for them, and of the success thereof, victory over their enemies, Sa1 7:5, and of his administration of justice to them, and constancy in it, Sa1 7:15.

And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel,.... When they assembled at one of their three yearly feasts, or as he went from place to place, exhorting them to repentance and reformation; and perceiving they began to be awakened to a sense of their sins, and seemed desirous of returning to God, and restoring his worship: saying, if ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts; truly and sincerely; for he might fear there was hypocrisy and dissimulation at least in some of them: then put away the strange gods; as all but the true God are; or the gods of another people, as the Philistines, Canaanites, &c. Baalim seem chiefly intended, as appears from the following verse: and Ashtaroth from among you; female deities, such as with other nations went by the name of Juno, Venus, &c. so the Arabic version,"the idols of the women ye secretly worship.''Aquila renders it, "the images of Astarte"; so they call Venus as Procopius Gazaeus observes, from "aster", a star; but the word signifies flocks of sheep, and these deities are supposed by some to be in the form of them; but be they what they may, they were to be put away out of their houses, and out of their hearts: and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only; that is, direct your hearts to him while in his service; let it proceed from the heart, and let it be done to him only, and not to another with him; or to him in and by another, as may be pretended, and commonly is by idolaters: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines; under whose dominion they had been for many years; for though their power over them was weakened by Samson, yet they were not completely delivered by him; so all the time of Eli they were not wholly free from them; and especially since their last defeat by them; when the ark was taken, they had been under oppression by them; now Samuel promises them deliverance from it, in case they relinquish their idols, and served the Lord solely and heartily.

6. But since, with God as our guide, we have followed the ark on its journey all the way to the place of its exaltation, let us see with what zeal the preacher keeps watch over the correction of those subject to him. For it continues: 'And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel: If you return to the Lord with your whole heart, remove the foreign gods from your midst.' Now what does Sacred Scripture customarily call foreign gods, if not demons, which dwell in handmade idols? We have said that in Samuel the new preachers of holy Church are signified. Rightly, therefore, he commanded the whole house of Israel to remove the foreign gods from their midst: because among the Gentiles coming to the faith, the order of preachers demanded not only the truth of right progress, but also the condemnation of ancient superstition. For it would profit them nothing to honor the truth by professing it, or by rendering obedience to it, unless they had first abandoned what is false as worthy of detestation. Whoever even now is placed within holy Church through faith, yet is rebellious against God through wicked conduct, must be admonished to remove the foreign gods from his midst. For even if he detests handmade idols, he is nevertheless subjected to the commands of demons through depraved action. But he casts the foreign gods away from his midst who is so converted to God that he never venerates unclean spirits through evil works. 7. A zeal for a more cautious life can also be indicated through these words of exhortation. For what is in our midst, if not our heart? Yet there are some who are defiled by the weakness of their heart and the habit of depraved thought, even while engaged in the works of the world. They indeed do good things unceasingly, yet they never cease to think wicked thoughts. Since as many demons rest in their hearts as there are impure desires, they are urgently admonished to remove the foreign gods from their midst: so that they may offer to almighty God not only the uprightness of their work, but also the glory of interior purity. Hence it is fittingly added: 'And prepare your hearts for the Lord.' For he prepares his heart for the Lord who not only separates his mind from impure thought, but also illuminates it with the splendors of holy thoughts and virtues: so that, as if the idols had been cast away and crushed, he may make himself a temple of God; since he raises up a seat for divine grace in the very place where he did not permit wicked spirits to remain through the depraved desires subject to them. Rightly, therefore, he first admonishes the Israelites to remove the foreign gods from their midst, and then to prepare their hearts for God, because the proper order of beginning one's religion is that each person should first reject what is wicked, and then draw near to almighty God with the zeal of good intention. Finally, it is necessary that he who has already offered to God the resolve of a good will and the cleanness of a pure heart should set forth in the uprightness of good work what he has inwardly determined by living well. Therefore it is also added: 'And serve God alone.' 8. For he alone serves the Lord who does not mix wicked things with good works. For he who so does good that he does not abandon evil by no means serves God alone, because he shows obedience to the evil spirit whose will he does not fear to carry out. Whence it comes about that even while doing good he does not serve God, because He who is believed to have created the whole man does not deign to share him in common with the adversary. For hence it is that Truth itself declares through itself, saying: 'No one can serve two masters' (Matt. 6:24). Hence Paul, inquiring, says: 'What participation has righteousness with iniquity, or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever, or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?' (2 Cor. 6:14–15). Therefore we are commanded to serve the Lord alone, so that we who have already begun, by God's inspiration, to do good works for the purpose of obtaining the remission of our sins, may mix no wicked things with those same good works. For we are then loosed from the bond of our sins when the good things which we expend for their absolution are not mixed with evil. For the preacher, speaking to devoted penitents, says: 'If you return to the Lord with your whole heart, put away the foreign gods from your midst, and serve God alone.' As if to say: Then you will be able to be loosed from sins when you do not defile the good things of heart and deed, which you expend before God for your absolution, by other sins coming upon them. Wherefore, also making a promise in return, he says: 'And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.' 9. Who else are designated by the Philistines in this passage but malignant spirits? They indeed, while intoxicated in an instant by the cup of their own pride, fell from the state of glory by swelling up. What then is the hand of the Philistines, if not that power of demons by which they lead souls dead in sin to eternal torments? From that hand of the Philistines, He alone had been free who said: "The prince of this world comes, and has nothing in me" (John 14:30). Hence Paul says: "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Hence he says again: "We also were children of wrath, even as the rest" (Eph. 2:3). O how great a gift is that promise by which it is said: "He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." For He alone stood free from this hand, who committed no sin. From it, assuredly, we are all delivered contrary to our own merit. Whence Paul also says: "Justified freely by His grace, through the redemption of His righteousness, on account of the redemption of preceding offenses, in the forbearance of God, for the demonstration of His justice in this time, that He Himself might be just, and the justifier of the one who is of the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 3:24–26). Hence he likewise says: "By grace you have been saved" (Eph. 2:8). It is as if he were saying: He will deliver you from the power of malignant spirits, so that, as though cruel enemies have been put to flight from the road, when the death of the flesh intervenes, you may more securely reach those eternal joys which you desire. Great things, therefore, did He promise who, by commanding great things, taught, so that the greatness of the gift might incite to the strength of labor. For it is a great thing to serve the Lord alone, namely to do good unceasingly, and not to mix wicked deeds with good actions. But oh, how supremely great it is, in the passage of this life, not to encounter the power of bloodthirsty spirits, to see no terrors on the way, to find no opposing obstacles, to escape eternal punishments, to feel the protection of our Deliverer, to lose the momentary light of this world, but suddenly to find the ineffable brightness of eternity. Let them hear, therefore, let them hear, those who desire to be delivered from the hand of the Philistines: "Prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him alone"—so that here each one may strive to gather for himself that by which there they may not fall into the hands of such great enemies, and may pass securely to life, they who, among the treasures of their salvation which they accumulate here by living well, carry with them no works of death.

If with all your heart you return to the Lord, etc. Here it is shown figuratively how the Lord teaching in Judea, performing miracles, suffering and rising, ascending into heaven and sending the grace of the Holy Spirit, made not only the Jews but also the Gentiles partakers of His mercy. Therefore, Samuel, having taken the priesthood after the death of Eli, addresses the whole house of Israel to remove foreign gods from among them.

And prepare your hearts for the Lord, etc. The Lord, author of a new priesthood, which is according to the order of Melchizedek, appearing in the flesh, teaches the whole house of Israel, that is, the Church of those desiring to see God, to remove from themselves the traditions of the Pharisees; and not only the works, which the law also taught, but also to prepare their hearts themselves to serve the Lord alone, saying: You have heard that it was said to the ancients: But I say to you (Matthew V.) Thus they can be freed from all enemies in the life to come.

The men of Kirjah-jearim bring the ark from Beth-shemesh, and consecrate Eleazar, the son of Abinadab, to keep it; and there it continued twenty years, Sa1 7:1, Sa1 7:2. Samuel reproves and exhorts the people, and gathers them together at Mizpeh, where they fast and pray, and confess their sins, Sa1 7:3-6. The Philistines go up against them; the Israelites cry unto the Lord for help; Samuel offers sacrifices; and the Lord confounds the Philistines with thunder; Israel discomfits and pursues them to Beth-car, Sa1 7:7-11. Samuel erects a stone for a memorial, and calls it Eben-ezer, Sa1 7:12. The Philistines are totally subdued, and Israel recovers all its lost cities, Sa1 7:13, Sa1 7:14. Samuel acts as an itinerant judge in Israel, Sa1 7:15-17.

And Samuel spake - We have heard nothing of this judge since he served in the tabernacle. He was now grown up, and established for a prophet in the land of Israel. If ye do return - From your backsliding and idolatry. With all your hearts - For outward services and professions will avail nothing. Put away the strange gods - Destroy their images, altars, and groves: they are strange; you do not know them as helpers, saviours, or defenders. Prepare your hearts - Let your hearts be straight and steady. And serve him only - Have no other religious service but his, and obey his laws. He will deliver you - Vain are your own exertions; he will deliver you in such a way as to show that the excellence of the power is of himself alone.

THE ARK AT KIRJATH-JEARIM. (Sa1 7:1-2) the men of Kirjath-jearim--"the city of woods," also Kirjath-baal (Jos 15:60; Jos 18:14; Ch1 13:5-6). It was the nearest town to Beth-shemesh and stood on a hill. This was the reason of the message (Sa1 6:21), and why this was chosen for the convenience of people turning their faces to the ark (Kg1 8:29-35; Psa 28:2; Dan 6:10). brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill--Why it was not transported at once to Shiloh where the tabernacle and sacred vessels were remaining, is difficult to conjecture. sanctified . . . his son--He was not a Levite, and was therefore only set apart or appointed to be keeper of the place.

THE ISRAELITES, THROUGH SAMUEL'S INFLUENCE, SOLEMNLY REPENT AT MIZPEH. (Sa1 7:3-6) Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel--A great national reformation was effected through the influence of Samuel. Disgusted with their foreign servitude, and panting for the restoration of liberty and independence, they were open to salutary impressions; and convinced of their errors, they renounced idolatry. The re-establishment of the faith of their fathers was inaugurated at a great public meeting, held at Mizpeh in Judah, and hallowed by the observance of impressive religious solemnities. The drawing water, and pouring it out before the Lord, seems to have been a symbolical act by which, in the people's name, Samuel testified their sense of national corruption, their need of that moral purification of which water is the emblem, and their sincere desire to pour out their hearts in repentance before God.

The inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim complied with this request, and brought the ark into the house of Abinadab upon the height, and sanctified Abinadab's son Eleazar to be the keeper of the ark. Kirjath-jearim, the present Kuryet el Enab (see at Jos 9:17), was neither a priestly nor a Levitical city. The reason why the ark was taken there, is to be sought for, therefore, in the situation of the town, i.e., in the fact that Kirjath-jearim was the nearest large town on the road from Bethshemesh to Shiloh. We have no definite information, however, as to the reason why it was not taken on to Shiloh, to be placed in the tabernacle, but was allowed to remain in the house of Abinadab at Kirjath-jearim, where a keeper was expressly appointed to take charge of it; so that we can only confine ourselves to conjectures. Ewald's opinion (Gesch. ii. 540), that the Philistines had conquered Shiloh after the victory described in 1 Samuel 4, and had destroyed the ancient sanctuary there, i.e., the tabernacle, is at variance with the accounts given in Sa1 21:6; Kg1 3:4; Ch2 1:3, respecting the continuance of worship in the tabernacle at Nob and Gibeon. There is much more to be said in support of the conjecture, that the carrying away of the ark by the Philistines was regarded as a judgment upon the sanctuary, which had been desecrated by the reckless conduct of the sons of Eli, and consequently, that even when the ark itself was recovered, they would not take it back without an express declaration of the will of God, but were satisfied, as a temporary arrangement, to leave the ark in Kirjath-jearim, which was farther removed from the cities of the Philistines. And there it remained, because no declaration of the divine will followed respecting its removal into the tabernacle, and the tabernacle itself had to be removed from Shiloh to Nob, and eventually to Gibeon, until David had effected the conquest of the citadel of Zion, and chosen Jerusalem as his capital, when it was removed from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6). It is not stated that Abinadab was a Levites; but this is very probable, because otherwise they would hardly have consecrated his son to be the keeper of the ark, but would have chosen a Levite for the office.