How to rightly submit to God – 1st Samuel 4:1b-7:17, Part 5

After the first three chapters of 1st Samuel focusing on Samuel’s birth and childhood, we’ve now read through more chapters, 4 through 6, with no mention of Samuel. Where is Samuel through all the craziness of the Ark of the Covenant’s capture? The narrative doesn’t tell us, so we can safely guess that during those seven months, Samuel continued ministry at the tabernacle in Shiloh.

In 1 Samuel 7, starting in the middle of verse 2, however, the narrative returns to the story of Samuel. Here is 1st Samuel, chapter 7, verses 2 through 7,

“Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. 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.’ So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. Then Samuel said, ‘Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.’ When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah.

Finally, the people return to God, following his way of holiness.

When the Philistines learn about Israel gathering at Mizpah, they see an opportunity.  Maybe Philistia can finally wipe out Israel in one fell swoop.  Israel learns about the Philistine advance, and they are afraid.  But something has changed. They have repented of their sins.  They have turned their hearts to God.

Now having repented, notice how differently they respond compared to their arrogant approach in chapter 4.  In chapter 4 they took matters into their own hands, believing that if they whipped out the Ark of the Covenant, God was obligated to defeat the Philistines. 

Now in chapter 7, verse 8, they have a very different response: “They said to Samuel, ‘Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.’ Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.”

They submit themselves to the Lord.  They cry out to him.  They see God not as obligated to help them, but they see God as he is, holy.  Because the people are humble, submitting themselves to God as they should be, Samuel cries out to God for help and God answers. 

In the rest of the chapter we learn that God gives Israel a great victory.  First, God thunders, sending the Philistine military into a panic, leaving the Israelite army an easy mop-up job.  Samuel sets up a stone of remembrance, calling it “Ebenezer,” a “stone of help,” because God helped them. 

The narrative in chapter 7 concludes by scanning through the next few decades, and we learn that throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the Lord was against the Philistines, Israel gained territory, and they had peace with other neighboring nations.  Samuel continued his ministry for many years, a circuit riding preaching, serving the Lord as prophet and judge of the people of Israel.

As we conclude this week’s series of posts on 1st Samuel 4:1b-7:17, let’s take a moment to reflect on what we have learned.

In the story of the Ark of the Covenant’s capture, we learn to submit ourselves before God, because he is holy.  Instead of taking matters into our own hands, instead of thinking that we can use him for our purposes, we turn away from any arrogance, and we inquire of him.   We seek his ways, we seek to live according to his heart. 

So what does it mean to submit ourselves to God?  It means we have humble hearts, seeing ourselves in relationship with God and loved by God.  That humble heart posture brings us to trust in God, even in the midst of pain.  Even in the midst of difficult circumstances.  Trusting him that he is for us, even when life doesn’t seem to be going how we hope.

Submitting ourselves to God is choosing to look to him and his ways for our next steps.  Submitting to God is asking God to evaluate our thoughts, attitudes and actions. We go to him in listening prayer, in reading and studying the Bible, in conversation with others, with open hearts and minds.

Submitting ourselves to God avoids an attitude of checking the spiritual religious boxes, as if they are a guarantee of blessing.  Israel thought the Ark was a weapon they could use as they saw fit.  We can do this too.  We can do our daily devotions, go to church, put money in the offering basket, sing the songs, and believe that God is duty bound to bless us. 

Submitting ourselves to God means we are in relationship with him, and healthy relationships don’t involve forcing or manipulating the other.  Instead, we say, as Jesus taught, “Lord, apart from you I can do nothing. I want to abide in you, remain in you, be led by you.”

Photo by Naassom Azevedo on Unsplash