JESUS today YOU will SAVE me.
Eat This Book
Read Proverbs Chapter 25
1 Samuel 7
1 And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.
2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord.
6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
7 And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him.
10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.
11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.
12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lordhelped us.
13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
16 And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.
17 And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the Lord.
The POFW Daily Bible Reading 
Put down your idols, repent, and turn back to JESUS he is the only way . Don’t worship any other gods
Good morning , thank you Jesus for today. He is able , he is mighty – first the kingdom
When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching. “Don’t stop pleading with the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines!” they begged Samuel. So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him. Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way. Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the Lord ’s powerful hand was raised against the Philistines. The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.
1 Samuel 7:7-14 NLT
Irepent
Ipray
Ipraise
Iworship
Iseek
Igo
Igive
Ireap
Injesusname
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
When God is with us , who can be against us!!!! It’s time to clean house! Remove everything and anything that could take your precious time, and give ALL YOUR ATTENTION TO JESUS!!! Not because everything is cancelled but because you want to. Once it becomes a habit yu wont be able to begin a day without Him ever again. Having JESUS on your side it’s ALL YOU WILL EVER NEED. Not always will everything go “your way” but everything will work for your good. It may like k negative but just wait JESUS is just moving things around for your best. That’s what He did for Israel and that’s what He will do for you. Therefore, if you lost your job no worries He got this, you got sick no worries He got this, Jesus paid for the price in Calvary , and thanks to Him you can lay all your burdens and feel light as a feather. Coming back to Jesus is that simple, stop, cry out His Name JESUS, and just have a talk to the ONLY WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIGHT!! God Bless y’all, stay encourage, love your neighbor, and pray daily! In Jesus Name Amen 🙏🏻
Verse 3 MSG “Then Samuel addressed the house of Israel: “If you are truly serious about coming back to God, clean house. Get rid of the foreign gods and fertility goddesses, ground yourselves firmly in God, worship him and him alone, and he’ll save you from Philistine oppression.” In the times we are living in, this question will be coming to many, “Do we have things that we need to get rid of that are keeping us from serving the Lord as we should be?”
Psalm 51:7-15 MSG
Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I’ll let loose with your praise.
10. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.
11. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car.
12. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.
Eben-ezer:
Strong’s Definition From H68 and H5828:
Stone of the help
Where do I go
When there’s nobody else to turn to
Who do I talk to
When nobody wants to listen
Who do I lean on
When there’s no foundation stable
I go to the rock
I know He’s able
I go to the rock
I go to the rock
Of my salvation
I go to the stone
That the builders rejected
I run to the mountain
And the mountain stands by me
When the Earth all around
Is sinking sand
On Christ, the solid rock I stand
When I need a shelter
When I need a friend
I go to the rock
– Dottie Rambo
1Samuel 7:7-8 ] Now when the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel.
And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
[8] And the Israelites said to Samuel. Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hans of the Philistines.
Continued to fast and pray and living for God.
[ Prov 15:7 ] Amp] The lips of the wise disperse knowledge [ sifting it as chaff from the gain]; not so the mind and hearts of the self- confident and foolish.
[ Prov 15:8] The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination , hateful and exceedingly offensive to the Lord, But the prayers of the upright is His delight!
Pray without ceasing ! Amen.
8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines
God has placed leadership in our lives to lead us to victory. A Minister’s job is to serve the people but in doing so that means you people must follow and trust the minister. Which means doing things they may or may not agree with. Submission, by definition, is following you do whatever there isn’t agreement. The Israelites found victory because they submitted to Samuel… They put away idols and turn back to their God. The best thing is saint can do is to pray for the ministry and the decisions that they make, that God will protect them and guide them.
God tries numerous ways to get us to repent and follow him. In these perilous times we should obey. The Lord our God is the only way!
Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the rest of his life. Each year he traveled around, setting up his court first at Bethel, then at Gilgal, and then at Mizpah. He judged the people of Israel at each of these places. Then he would return to his home at Ramah, and he would hear cases there, too. And Samuel built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.
1 Samuel 7:15-17 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1sa.7.15-17.NLT
instead of worrying about what we’re going to get out of working for the kingdom of God and what kind of positions we can hold I’ve noticed that as we serve there are so many needs in the world we live in and God will create an open up positions when which we fit perfectly. No one was there to lead Israel. Samuel was the only one qualified until God opened up that door for him and he led where he was needed. All for the Glory of God and with a heart to bring God’s people back to Him.
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
It is very important to have an intercessor for you and your family. It is very important to have a man of God that when he speaks, we have to heed his voice not begrudgingly but with humility to obey the voice of God. So many times in this generation when you hear people want to be saved, baptized, and filled with the spirit of God, but they always return back to their ways before they were baptized and filled. So many people want the luxuries and blessings of God but do not want the man of God to be the mouthpiece.
I am so thankful for the men of Hod that have been apart of my life and my ministry. Never take for granted the greatest tool God has given man and that is the gift of a pastor. If we can not submit our selves to a pastor, then how can we really submit ourselves to God. That is all in living Jesus to be able to give Jesus.
I’m thankful for our earth.!!!
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord.
6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord.
iLove Jesus
12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lordhelped us.
13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
Everything rises and falls on leadership. We see here through the scriptures, when Israel had a good leader they prospered. The reason is that a good leader knows how to please God. A good leader follows God’s ways and plans and when a leader does that, God blesses them and everyone under them.
1Samuel 7
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.”
Now is the time to put away things that have creeped on to our lives. No just tangible distractions but anything that would be displeasing to do God. God’s promises are so precious. We must cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in our life. Israel always was running back to the ways of idolatry. Thankfully they had a man of s God Samuel who kept admonishing them how to return to God. We must stay close to God and listen to the man of God that is leading us. We must stay unified for the Kingdom of God.
Hebrews 12:1
12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
8“Don’t stop pleading with the LORD our God to save us from the Philistines!” they begged Samuel.
When you are desperate, you want all the help you can get. I can just imagine the people yelling at Samuel, “don’t stop praying to God”. Having a sense of defeat they were all praying with Samuel, cause they had fear. As we go thru this pandemic, don’t allow fear to set in, and give you a sense of defeat. Stay positive, think victory and we’ll all be fine when its over with.
For we have victory with God, and continue to praise God, and we’ll all be celebrating soon.
Exodus 32:18 But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat. I hear the sound of a celebration.”
1 Samuel 7:12 (MSG), “Samuel took a single rock and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it “Ebener” (Rock of help), saying, This marks the place where God helped us.”
So thankful that GOD is our Rock!
PS. 18:31, “For who is God save the LORD? who is a ROCK save our God?
PS. 18:2, “The LORD is my ROCK, and my fortress, and my deliver; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
PS. 31:2-3, “2) Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong ROCK, for an house of defence to save me. 3) For thou art my ROCK and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.
PS. 62:2, “He only is my ROCK and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
PS. 71:3, “Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou has given commandment to save me: for thou art my ROCK and my fortress.
PS. 94:22, “But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the ROCK of my refuge.
GOD is our ROCK of help, our fortress, our deliver, our strength, our buckler, our salvation, our high tower, our defence, our refuge, etc, etc, etc………..
4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
I was reminded of a song we sing “We believe there’s only one God one Lord one faith, We believe there’s only one name one way to be saved, It’s through the mighty name of Jesus”.
We sing we believe there is only one way, and read throughout the bible there is only one way, so let’s go and share there is only one way to be saved, and it’s through the mighty name of Jesus!
LIVE – GIVE JESUS
THE FRUIT OF REPENTANCE
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
There is a great pull in the Spirit right now. GOD is drawing people to himself, pulling humanity away from pride, lust and desires of the flesh. Much like the pull that Israel felt to reconnect or return to GOD. But do we know how?
PUT AWAY idolatry = Repentance
Put Away (Hebrew) 5493 (Strongs) sur (verb)
behead, bring, call back, decline, depart, eschew, get you, go aside
The 2 English words make 1 Hebrew word which is a verb or action word to mean behead or get away from.
The prophet makes the point very clear that if we desire to return to GOD this is the action that must be taken. The is ONE GOD and therefore we must serve ONE GOD. JESUS is the only GOD and our readiness to serve in HIS Kingdom only is our key to VICTORY and when we behead or leave behind this is THE FRUIT OF REPENTANCE.
As we continue to pray for our Nation, lets examine our own lives and see if there is any idols that need to be left behind or beheaded.
iRepent
iPraise
iPray
iWork
iLive
iGive
iReap
iGo
iBlessYouInTheNameOfTheLordJESUS
8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him.
10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.
11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.
12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lordhelped us.
13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
The Israelities found themselves in a place with no power over the enemy and knew the only way to restore that power was for them to restore their relationship with the Lord. Trouble does that – it causes us to evaluate ourselves, our lives, our relationships. Hopefully we are all evaluating our priorities in this time where the only thing we are permitted to is work and participate in online church services.
I’m trusting in the Lord that when this turns around, God is going to return blessings to those who have truly repented for placing so many things before their relationship with Him and place Him as King of their heart.
14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites
2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
That’s a long time without the Lord,I can’t even make One Minute Without the Lord.
7:12 after this happened Samuel took a stone, and set it up between Mizpa and Shen. He named the stone Ebenezer
[stone of help] saying:
“ The Lord has helped us to this point[ this far].
——-
Praise God!!! “ All glory given unto Him”
For this morning, I say these words:
Give thanks unto the Lord, for his mercy endures FOREVER”.
🙌🙌🙌🙌👍👍
God is good, all the time, all the time God is good.
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
The Israelite’s are so far out of their covering with God that the Philistines and neighboring countries are afflicting them with oppression. They had turned away from God and worshiped false gods of other nations. The trouble with magic and paganism is that it will cost something. In serving God we have everything to gain and he doesn’t charge us for it. He gives freely.
Samuel is trying to convince the people to stop worshiping those false gods and rid their land of their idol worship. If they turn back to God then He will welcome them back with open arms and protect them against their enemies. If they don’t then God will allow the Philistines to continue to reek havoc and destroy their land and people.
“Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth (pagan goddesses) from among you and direct your hearts to the LORD and serve Him only; and He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.””
1 Samuel 7:3 AMP
“So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD; and Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel and the LORD answered him. As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines approached for the battle against Israel. Then the LORD thundered with a great voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated and fled before Israel.”
1 Samuel 7:9-10 AMP
When we submit ourselves fully to god he will have our back. We see that when Samuel offered up a sacrifice that God had his back. God wants to have our back but he wants us to truly be submitted into him. Can’t serve two masters! Pour out your best into god on today.
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
It says the children of Israel “put away. . .” They did not destroy them but rather put their idols away. I think this would be part of the problems that face the children of Israel time and time again. Constantly falling back into their sin. Rather than destroying the god, turning away from the sin, instead they put it away. You cannot fully turn away and heal if the idol is sitting in the back closet. We have to fully turn away, get rid of it, and don’t look back. If not it will be a constant issue and battle.
In this chapter God got mad at the Philistines because they stole the ark of the Lord.
4Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
It’s time to put away the false gods. False gods cannot heal, save or deliver. False gods are not able to talk to you. The God that rules eternal is able to do all that and then some. When your focus is on him, he will show you what you must do in order to fulfill his plan.
God got mad at the philistines
I learned that the children of Israel put away Baalim
And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord.
We should not be begrudging when we hear the word of the Lord, instead we should rejoice.
1 Samuel 7:3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying if ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of Philistines.
7:4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
7:11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh and pursued the Philistines, and smote them until they came under Bethcar.
7:13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
Samuel loved the Lord and helped to direct the Israelite’s to do right toward God. Because of this God had blessed them.
I Samuel 7:3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel,saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
Job 11:13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
Repent!
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
If we are willIng to put down the worldly things and idols that keep our focus away from god and turn our eyes and hearts unto him then we will find the true source of love and joy and a truth that passes all understanding, And in the end all god wants from us is our love and attention and we should always be willing to serve him no matter the distractions that come our way.
1 Samuel 7:15-17
“Y juzgó Samuel a Israel todo el tiempo que vivió. Y todos los años iba y daba vuelta a Bet-el, a Gilgal y a Mizpa, y juzgaba a Israel en todos estos lugares. Después volvía a Ramá, porque allí estaba su casa, y allí juzgaba a Israel; y edificó allí un altar a Jehová”
*” Y juzgó Samuel a Israel todo el tiempo que vivió” Samuel fue usado por Dios todos sus días. Algunos jueces terminaron sus ministerios antes de tiempo o en desgracia, pero Samuel terminó bien.
* “Y todos los años iba y daba vuelta… y juzgaba a Israel en todos estos lugares”
Samuel trabajó duro en su servicio a Jehová. Cada año, Samuel trabajaba duro para ir a todo Israel a ayudar a solucionar conflictos y promover justicia.
* “Después volvía a Ramá… y edificó allí un altar a Jehová”
Samuel permaneció fiel a Jehová. Un altar era un lugar de sacrificio y adoración, y Samuel tenía una relación constante con Jehová en sacrificio y adoración.Por eso Termino Bien Su Vida .
9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him.
10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.
It is very important to have a man of God in your life that will go before the Lord on your behalf.
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
we must prepare our hearts unto the Lord, if we want to serve him only. We must be ready to get Idolatry out of our heart. And direct our hearts to him while we serve Him; Everything we do, we need to, let it proceed from the heart, and let it be done for Him only, and not to somebody else, but to Him. When we offer it to someone elser is called Idolatry. Let us keep away from Idolatry.
“Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.” After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. They fasted on that day, and they confessed there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” So Samuel led the people of Israel at Mizpah.”
1 Samuel 7:5-6 NET
This showed the spiritual need Israel felt at the time. They expressed their repentance both by putting away the bad and by pursuing the good.
Thank you Jesus!!!
“From the time that the Chest came to rest in Kiriath Jearim, a long time passed—twenty years it was—and throughout Israel there was a widespread, fearful movement toward GOD. Then Samuel addressed the house of Israel: “If you are truly serious about coming back to GOD, clean house. Get rid of the foreign gods and fertility goddesses, ground yourselves firmly in GOD, worship him and him alone, and he’ll save you from Philistine oppression.””
1 Samuel 7:2-3 MSG
The Israelites had put other gods before the one true living God and because of that, a great mourning had come over the city. And the man of Gods response was a call to sincere repentance.
In the world we are living in now, there is great fear filling our nation. And our response as the church, should be a call to repentance. Leading others out of darkness into His marvelous light!
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord.
6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
They took out the false Gods in their life and started serving the one and only God there is. They started praying to him confessing their sins to the Lord and fasted the whole day. Are you willing to put your all for the Lord, ask for forgiveness of your sins and keep your promises.
“The Philistines learned their lesson and stayed home—no more border crossings. GOD was hard on the Philistines all through Samuel’s lifetime. All the cities from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored. Israel also freed the surrounding countryside from Philistine control. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.”
1 Samuel 7:13-14 MSG
https://www.bible.com/97/1sa.7.13-14.msg
Your adversary don’t stand a chance. All it takes is a little faith and the words of your mouth to get your breakthrough, to get your break-fourthly get your breakout. And all you gotta do is bind the adversary and rebuke him and God takes care of it. I think it would be appropriate to build an altar like Samuel and thank God and Peaise him for what he’s able and what he’s already done in each our lives.
“Samuel spoke to the whole community of Israel. He said, “Do you really want to return to the Lord with all your hearts? If you do, get rid of your strange gods. Get rid of your statues of goddesses that are named after Ashtoreth. Commit yourselves to the Lord. Serve him only. Then he will save you from the powerful hand of the Philistines.” So the people of Israel put away their statues of gods that were named after Baal. They put away their statues of goddesses named after Ashtoreth. They served the Lord only.”
1 Samuel 7:3-4 NIRV
We don’t often see actual statues or idols in our lives. A lot of times what we deal with now are idols of selfwill and carnality. They are unseen but yet they glare at us right in the face.
4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.
1 Samuel 7:4 NIV
https://1samuel.bible/1-samuel-7-4
It is time to put away any false gods, and any idols we have! We need to get rid of those distractions that’s are in the way of us from putting God first! He is the only God, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lord’s, the doctors if all doctors!! He is the one and only God!
LIVE GIVE JESUS!!
True repentance
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
God is just waiting on someone to truly repent so that he can bless them. Hard heads are waiting on God to do something and he’s waiting on them to do something. You can’t agree to disagree with God. He is always right.
8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him.
As spiritual leaders we must cry to Lord for our city, our lost, and our weak. We must offer ourselves over to save others and guild them to deliverance.
“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben–ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”
1 Samuel 7:12 KJV
Ebenezer = “stone of help”
memorial stone erected by Samuel to mark where God helped Israel to defeat the Philistines – north of Jerusalem
It was a monument to show his miracle! We need to revisit the miracles that God has done for us. This will help build our faith and when we testify, it will build the faith of those around us. Let’s not forget Ebenezer!
“Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.)”
1 Samuel 7:5-6 NLT
I will pray to the LORD for you:
Samuel already called the nation to repentance, and they made a start at it. Samuel knew God’s work in them could only be completed through prayer.
With everything that is going on this days God is calling people to repent and turn away from sin.
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
With all your hearts and serve Him only. Not part time. Not when it’s convenient. God expects us to have a full time commitment to Him!