(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Samuel 7:3–6, “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. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only. And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. 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.”
It took twenty years from the time that the ark was returned to Israel by the Philistines before Samuel had completed his training and was ready to lead Israel as Judge and act as Priest. When Samuel was young, no one was really interested in what the Lord God had to say so He stopped speaking because He knew He was wasting His effort. However, the Lord spoke to Samuel and he faithfully reported the Lord’s word to Eli. Samuel was ready to hear what the Lord had to say when he was still a young boy but he wasn’t ready to lead Israel. He needed to learn the Law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night before he was ready to take control of Israel in their sinful state. (compare Josh 1:8–9, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.) When the Lord knew that Samuel was ready He spoke to him again and told him to take control of Israel, in the Lord’s Name. The Lord had already told Israel that they were not to worship other gods so the first step that Israel had to take was to get rid of all the foreign gods and that is what Samuel told them to do. After they had got rid of the other gods then they would be in a position to wholeheartedly follow the Lord, as He had commanded them to do. Once they were prepared to submit to the Lord then the Lord would deliver them from the Philistines. We know that through all the twenty years the Philistines had control of Israel and plundered them at will because they had won that decisive victory when Eli died, his sons were killed in battle and the ark was captured as a prize of war. It was not just enough for Israel to say the words, they had to show true faith by coming together in one place, confess their sins, fast and pray. They also poured out water to the Lord to symbolise their ceremonial cleansing as well. Samuel became the Judge at that time on the proper grounds. Israel was to follow a man who followed the Lord and demanded that all Israel do the same.
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