Lesson #07

• Samuel was about 25 years old at this point.
• Samson had just killed 3,000 Philistines in Dagon’s temple when God gave him the strength to move the supporting pillars of the temple causing it to collapse.
• After the ark of the covenant was RETURN ed to the Israelites, it was taken to the house of Abinadab.
• In that location, Eleazar was consecrated (set apart) to take care of the ark.
• He was not a priest, and he was not descended from the tribe of Levi from which the priests had to be able to trace their lineage.
• As we have already seen in the book of 1Samuel, the people had fallen away from the Word of God and from the way God expected that things would be done.
• The ark remained in the house of Abinadab for 20 years until David brought it to Jerusalem in 2Sam 6:2-3.
• During this 20 year period of time, a revival was in progress.
• What are the characteristics of a revival that we see here in ISam 7?
• =1= An abundance of prayer. (2)
• The word, lament, means = bemoan, wail, to cry aloud in assembly.
• =2= An attitude of repentance in the heart is necessary. (3)
• =3= An outward working of repentance in one’s actions. (4)
• =4= A dedication of the heart to the will of God. (6)
• There is a symbolism of water poured out before the Lord which means = A life poured out in dedication to God.
• =5= Fasting (6)
• =6= An atoning sacrifice. (9)
• We do not sacrifice animals today, so what is the New Testament counterpart for the atoning animal sacrifice?
• The shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross is the sacrifice that is sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world.
• Therefore, when we consider that the blood of Jesus Christ is applied to our hearts personally, it is the same as taking advantage of Christ’s sacrifice.
• Read Heb 10:10, 14, 18
• The pagan gods, Baalim and Ashtaroth (4)
• Baal or Baalim:
• The god Baal was the supreme male god of the Phoenicians. He became the popular pagan god of the Canaanites. Baal was the father of the god, Dagon.
• Baal was a male fertility god who ruled the skies from which he fertilized and watered the land to produce harvests.
• Idols of Baal existed in various forms depending on geographical location. It was not uncommon to find a roadside idol dedicated to Baal. Therefore, there were hundreds of them in the promised land. That is the reason the plural word, Baalim, is used for the god Baal.
• Ashtaroth or Ashtareth
• Ashtaroth was the female mother goddess of love and fertility among the Canaanites. She was the companion of the god Baal.
• The worship of this goddess consisted of extreme immoral sexual practices as part of worship including temple prostitution.
• Testing comes after revival.
• God will test to see how serious the people are about their new dedication to the Lord.
• Before they finished sacrificing to the Lord, the Philistines began to attack.
• However, the fear of the Philistines did not deter Samuel from completing the sacrifice to God.
• Fear is the opposite of faith. It is a mental little bell that immediately tells you that your faith is lacking in some way. Where faith rules, fear departs, and victory is the result.
• A Spiritual Principle:

Spiritual victory comes before you can have victory in every other area of your life.

• As a result of Samuel perseverance and dedication, that led the revival to its completion, the Philistines were finally defeated. (Jos 1:8)
• The burnt offering:
• The burnt offering is one of the offerings established by God in the book of Leviticus.
• It is a a sacrifice that speaks of the person of Jesus Christ who is the perfect substitute for man’s sins.
• God made a great sound of thunder in the camp of the Israelites that caused fear and confusion in the Philistines.
• We have already seen that fear is the opposite of faith, but we also see that fear produces weakness and confusion.
• Only where there is faith and unity is victory possible.
• The unity among the Israelites surprised the Philistines.
• The Israelites were so encouraged, strengthened, and unified that they pursued the Philistines to Bethcar.
• The name, Bethcar, means = house of the lamb.
• The enemy of man’s soul, Satan, will eventually be brought under the subjection of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
• Read Mat 16:18-21
• Spiritually speaking, the Israelites took the battle to the gates of hell.
• The memorial stone, “Ebenezer”:
• The Israelites gave the name, Ebenezer, to the place where they gained the victory.
• What does the name, Ebenezer, mean?
• Ebenezer means = stone of help.
• The significance of this word is profound in that through the Bible, Jesus Christ is the rock or stone (1Cor 10:4), and in the context of Mat 16:18-21.where Jesus says that He will build His church on Himself as the Rock and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
• Jesus Christ is our stone of help, our rock of defense. It is on Him that we put our faith for victory.
• The Israelites first lost the battle and the ark to the Philistines because of their lack of faith which resulted from their neglect of the Word of God.
• Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. (Rom 10:17)

• Read 1Sam 7:12-17
• Notice that the Bible says there was victory over the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
• There was even peace with the Amorites.
• The name Amorite was a general name for the original inhabitants of Canaan. (Jos 7:1-7)
• This passage demonstrates to us the magnificent influence of a righteous person that brings a lasting victory and peace with the neighbors of Israel.
• Samuel was a circuit judge among the Israelites.
• This meant that he continually circulated among the people throughout the countryside, so that the people were continually influenced by his righteous faith.

HOMEWORK
1 SAMUEL 8
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of 1Sam 7
• Examine your own life in light of a need for revival.
• Follow the same general principles discussed in chapter 7 for revival.
• Renew your relationship with the Lord.
• Record your progress here.

• Preparation for 1Sam 8
• Read 1Sam 8:1-22
• Why did the people want a king?

• Was this a legitimate reason for wanting a king?

• Decide if having a king was God’s will or man’s will?

• Since God is sovereign who raises up and puts down leaders, is it not God’s fault that they had bad judges?

• What will be the consequences of having a king? (1Sam 8:10-18)

• Memory Verse: Phi 2:10-11