They should have known better. They should have learned from past experiences. The Philistines should have understood that one victorious battle did not a won war make. They hadn’t learned that lesson. Not from the historical accounts of the plagues on Egypt and the miraculous rescue of the Israelites. Not when they entered their temple and found Dagon in pieces on the floor before the ark of God. Not even from their own experiences with tumors and death as they held the ark captive. They had taken away nothing from these experiences. Instead they assumed that because they had defeated Israel and held them in subjection, they would always be triumphant. They wouldn’t. Far from it.
Arrogant from their victory at Aphek and the capture of the ark of God, the Philistines oppressed the Israelites in every possible way. Not once were they permitted to forget they were subject to their enemies. For some Israelites, it smacked strongly of the time their ancestors spent in Egypt. Their Temple was dismantled. There was no set time for worshiping their God. Even though the ark had been returned to them, their wandering hearts weren’t in the place to reap the rewards of God’s power. They had been drawn aside by foreign gods, pagan practices. If they had been hoping the false gods would somehow offer a rescue the true God had yet to enact, they were headed for disappointment. Staring down the tube of time, they must surely have wondered if it would ever end. (I Samuel 4-5)
Twenty years passed before it did. Twenty years of straying. Twenty years of hardship, oppression, frustration. Twenty years of Samuel working, hoping, praying for God’s people to turn back to Him. Twenty years to comprehend that their only hope, their only help, their only possible means of escaping their current circumstances was to lay aside their idols and turn back to God. Relinquish control of their lives to Him. Become His kingdom on earth, the people in which His will could continually be done. (I Samuel 6:1-2)
Recognizing that the moment he’d been relentlessly bombarding Heaven for had finally arrived, Samuel gathered the people together and laid it out for them. This couldn’t be some partial turning. It couldn’t be half-hearted. There could be no wishy-washy efforts. They had to be all in. They had to return with their whole hearts. The idols they had collected must be eradicated. Their allegiance must solely be to God alone, their gaze on Him, their ears tuned to His voice, their hearts obedient to His every command. Always.
Exhausted from twenty years of effort to find their own way out of their mess, the people agreed. Readily. They removed the pagan gods and goddesses. Quit their ritualistic worship of idols. Cleaned up their lives. Settled their hearts on God. And headed out to meet Samuel at Mizpah. Much to the dismay of the Philistines.
Unfortunately, human memories are incredibly short. It didn’t take a lifetime for the Philistines to forget the power of Israel’s God. The fear and tumors and death that had ravaged their land at the capture of His ark were long forgotten. Negative memories wiped clean, they raced down to once again beat them into submission. It never crossed their minds that they might lose. Based on previous battles, they fully believed they could win. Their confidence couldn’t be higher. They were in for an enormous surprise.
The Israelites they had so handily defeated in the past were nowhere to be found. No longer were they led by priests who had spurned God and failed to keep His commands. They weren’t up against people who had left God’s laws and followed idols. No. These people were different. Changed. They had returned to the Lord with their entire hearts. They were God’s people, God’s kingdom on earth, the place His will would be done. And it wasn’t God’s will for the Philistines to vanquish the Israelites again. He absolutely wasn’t going to have His people destroyed. Not that day. Not any day.
From Mizpah, their cries had come up to Him. He’d heard their repentance. He’d seen the changes. He’d watched them demolish the idols and false gods they had collected. He saw their fear as the enemy perched on their borders, waiting to strike. And He heard their prayers. Their cries to be delivered from the evil literally waiting on their doorsteps. And God acted. The Biblical account literally reads, “and the Lord answered…” (I Samuel 7:9)
Not because they were doing so well on their own. Not because they deserved it. Not because He didn’t want to look incapable. No. God answered because the people had chosen to go back and allow Him to rule in their midst. They chose Him over all other gods, over everything that turned their heads. They chose to be His people. People of obedience. People who surrendered to His will. All day. Every day. They were His people, His kingdom, and God positively wasn’t about to surrender His authority, His kingdom, His people to evil. So He didn’t. (I Samuel 7:3-9)
As the Philistines crept in close, swords raised, spears at the ready, God moved. From the heavens a mighty sound thundered. There was no explanation. No one knew what it was. Terrified and disoriented by the disconcerting sound, the Philistines became confused. A feeling with which the men of Israel were not afflicted. They were not confused. They knew exactly what had happened. They knew Who was behind it. They knew why it happened. They knew that when people choose to wholly be God’s kingdom on earth, the place His will is done, choose obedience to Him over all the attractions of the world, and call on Him to deliver them from temptation and evil, God answers. Enormously. Extravagantly. Expeditiously. (Psalm 91:15)
Racing out on the heels of the confused and running Philistines, the men of Israel chased them down and went to work. In the very place the Philistines had defeated them twenty years prior, they returned the favor. It was a resounding victory. Why? Because when you live the words Jesus taught us to pray, when you mean them with your entire heart, when you truly become the kingdom of God on earth, His magnificent power will go to work on your behalf to steer you away from temptation, to deliver you from evil. Because God is always working to preserve His kingdom. On earth. In you. (I Samuel 7:10-11)
See, there’s nothing you can do in your own power. Nothing worth doing, anyway. You can’t save yourself. You can’t fight your own battles. You can’t dispel the gloom of evil or chase away temptation. You can’t make informed choices about your life because you can’t see the future and know what will work best. On your own, you are impotent. But when you choose to be God’s kingdom on earth, to surrender to His will in every way, then you become the recipient of His power. Wonder-working, miracle-doing, life-changing power. The only way to tap into that power is to be His kingdom on earth. (Psalm 46:1-3; Exodus 15:2; Deuteronomy 31:6; Habakkuk 3:19; Isaiah 40:29)
Perhaps you have noticed that we have spent the past few weeks journeying through the words of The Lord’s Prayer. We could have spent much longer. As we arrive at the final lines of the prayer, we find the words, “Thine is the kingdom. Thine is the power. Thine is the glory. Forever and ever.” It is the same truth the Israelites learned. It’s all God’s. We are His people, His sheep, His kingdom. It is only through His power that we succeed at anything. We dare not forget it. And the glory must always be His. Now and forever. A fact Samuel was prepared to indelibly etch on the minds of every Israelite man, woman, and child present. (Matthew 6:13 KJV)
As the men jubilantly flowed back into town, Samuel set up a stone between Mizpah and Shen. Not just any stone. An Ebenezer. A stone of help. A stone of remembrance. A place they could look back on, visit, take their children to see and recount the events of God’s leadership, guidance, and victory. They could there remind themselves how surrender and obedience pay off. In times when they were tempted to follow the siren call of the world and chase after idols, they could look at that Ebenezer stone, remember all God had done for them, and encourage themselves to continue being His kingdom on earth, continue surrendering to His will, continue trusting Him for strength, courage, grace, and deliverance. And they could give Him glory for all He had done. Every battle He fought. Every victory He brought. Every ounce of protection or added layer of strength. They knew those things all came to His kingdom alone, through His power alone and the glory must be given to God alone. (I Samuel 7:12; I Chronicles 29:11; Isaiah 42:8; Jude 1:24-25)
We all have a similar story. A time, or times, in our lives when we can unarguably trace the hand of God. Looking back over the past you can remember moments when the enemy had all the cards stacked against you, yet God delivered you from the clutches of temptation, the detriment of evil. So look back, even if you aren’t going that way. Raise your Ebenezer. Get it up there. Designate a stone of remembrance. Write a journal entry. Stitch a sampler. Just do something! Something to help you remember that your hope is in the Lord. Your strength comes from Him. You can do nothing on your own, and praise God, you don’t have to! God will fight your battles. Don’t forget it. You are His kingdom. His power is working in and through you. So give Him the glory. Out loud. Tell your story. Talk about it with your children and grandchildren. Let your friends know. Whisper it to the lady at the supermarket. Shout it to the congregation at church. Raise your Ebenezer and encourage others to do the same. Be His kingdom. Run by His power. Giving Him the glory. Now and forever. Amen. (Job 5:19; Psalm 91:14; I Chronicles 16:12, 23-25; Luke 8:39; Psalm 78:4; Philippians 4:13; Ephesians 3:20-21)
What a powerful message! Thank you once again!!!