1Sa 7:12 | KingComments | STEP | The enemy attacks when the offering is brought. At the same time, for this very reason, God intervenes and acts for the benefit of His people, who do not have to do anything themselves. The enemy does not know God’s thoughts about His Son. God appears in majesty when, in the picture of the burnt offering, the glory of the Lord Jesus is presented to Him and He sees His people in His Son. The people may be quiet and see the salvation of the LORD, just as with the passage through the Red Sea ( ). The LORD acts with a mighty thunder for His people, an action of which Hannah prophesied ( ). His voice confuses the enemy. The victory is that of the LORD. He is to be honored for this, and not to the people. The people may receive the results of the work God has done for them. “Beth-car” means “house of the lamb”. As far as below that place the enemy is struck down. It shows in the picture that victory extends as far as the power of the sacrifice of the lamb goes. In practical terms, this means that the enemy will be kept more and more at a distance if we learn to know Christ, from Whom this lamb speaks, better and better. There the peace of the house is found for which the lamb laid the foundation. In that house the lamb is the basis and in that house the lamb is central. “Ebenezer” means “stone of help”. With this name Samuel indicates that they have experienced God’s help with every step they have taken in God’s way. This stone becomes a remembrance of the help of the LORD. The setting of the stone is like the testimony Paul gives for Agrippa: “So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day” ( ). This may also be our testimony every time we realize that with God’s help, we have again overcome difficulties on the way of faith. The place where first the ark was captured by the Philistines and they defeated Israel ( ), is now the place of testimony for the LORD because He defeated the Philistines for them. The Philistines might think that a man in prayer is the same as a people who superstitiously bring the ark into the army. But Samuel is not Hophni and Pinehas. The faith of the man of God in the offering represents the people to God in the value of that offering. It is not an outward sign, but inner faith. With this God connects Himself and by virtue of this He delivers His people from their enemies. There is probably no victory by Israel as special as this one. The LORD had humiliated them, nearly exterminated them. All trust in their own strength was gone. And now, through a wonderful intercession of Samuel, He exalts them, and humiliates the proud oppressors in the dust. God brings peoples and individuals to the extreme humiliation to show them His grace and mercy. He does so by a sudden deliverance from their destruction when all human help has clearly failed. As long as Samuel is in power, the hand of the LORD is against the enemy. In picture this shows us that if we submit to God’s Word, the Lord will fight for us against the enemy, so that he will have no chance to harm us. And not only that. We also receive back certain spiritual blessings that we have lost through our unfaithfulness. This is what we see here in Israel. Israel is getting back lost territory. That they make peace with the Amorites, however, is not a matter of faith. They have returned to God, but their works are unfortunately not perfect. An excuse that times have changed does not apply if God has determined a matter to be wrong ( ).

‏ 1 Samuel 7:12

The Philistines Subdued

The enemy attacks when the offering is brought. At the same time, for this very reason, God intervenes and acts for the benefit of His people, who do not have to do anything themselves. The enemy does not know God’s thoughts about His Son. God appears in majesty when, in the picture of the burnt offering, the glory of the Lord Jesus is presented to Him and He sees His people in His Son.

The people may be quiet and see the salvation of the LORD, just as with the passage through the Red Sea (Exo 14:13-14). The LORD acts with a mighty thunder for His people, an action of which Hannah prophesied (1Sam 2:10). His voice confuses the enemy. The victory is that of the LORD. He is to be honored for this, and not to the people.

The people may receive the results of the work God has done for them. “Beth-car” means “house of the lamb”. As far as below that place the enemy is struck down. It shows in the picture that victory extends as far as the power of the sacrifice of the lamb goes. In practical terms, this means that the enemy will be kept more and more at a distance if we learn to know Christ, from Whom this lamb speaks, better and better. There the peace of the house is found for which the lamb laid the foundation. In that house the lamb is the basis and in that house the lamb is central.

“Ebenezer” means “stone of help”. With this name Samuel indicates that they have experienced God’s help with every step they have taken in God’s way. This stone becomes a remembrance of the help of the LORD. The setting of the stone is like the testimony Paul gives for Agrippa: “So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day” (Acts 26:22). This may also be our testimony every time we realize that with God’s help, we have again overcome difficulties on the way of faith.

The place where first the ark was captured by the Philistines and they defeated Israel (1Sam 5:1), is now the place of testimony for the LORD because He defeated the Philistines for them. The Philistines might think that a man in prayer is the same as a people who superstitiously bring the ark into the army. But Samuel is not Hophni and Pinehas. The faith of the man of God in the offering represents the people to God in the value of that offering. It is not an outward sign, but inner faith. With this God connects Himself and by virtue of this He delivers His people from their enemies.

There is probably no victory by Israel as special as this one. The LORD had humiliated them, nearly exterminated them. All trust in their own strength was gone. And now, through a wonderful intercession of Samuel, He exalts them, and humiliates the proud oppressors in the dust. God brings peoples and individuals to the extreme humiliation to show them His grace and mercy. He does so by a sudden deliverance from their destruction when all human help has clearly failed.

As long as Samuel is in power, the hand of the LORD is against the enemy. In picture this shows us that if we submit to God’s Word, the Lord will fight for us against the enemy, so that he will have no chance to harm us. And not only that. We also receive back certain spiritual blessings that we have lost through our unfaithfulness. This is what we see here in Israel. Israel is getting back lost territory.

That they make peace with the Amorites, however, is not a matter of faith. They have returned to God, but their works are unfortunately not perfect. An excuse that times have changed does not apply if God has determined a matter to be wrong (Deu 7:1-2).