(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Samuel 7:13–17, “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. 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. And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. 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.”
During the period of the Judges, Israel always began a period with a new judge by inflicting a large defeat on the enemies who had been oppressing them. The Philistines were the oppressors during the period after Eli’s period of leadership and they were convincing defeated by the Lord’s miraculous intervention. Never the less, Samuel was credited with this great victory because it followed his prayer. As long as Samuel was the Judge, Israel had the upper hand over the enemies and Israel was able to take control of their proper inheritance that had been lost to the Philistines during the bad years. “The Amorites” was a generic name used to describe the Canaanites since the Lord promised the Land to Abraham after the iniquity of the Amorites was complete. Israel was able to live without any interference from their enemies during the time that Samuel was in charge. Samuel had heard, understood and obeyed the Lord’s commands and was the best man to lead Israel at that time. Not only was Samuel well trained, he was a wise man as well and regularly visited the tribes on a yearly circuit to make sure that the people were well taught and they understood what was required of them. Samuel was also a priest so he built an altar near his home and made sure that the proper ceremonial and sacrificial requirements were regularly met.
No comments:
Post a Comment