Saul’s servant referred to Samuel as a “man of God.” He said concerning him, “He is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass” (1Sa 9:6).1 We will see in the various circumstances in the life of Samuel that this testimony is a true evaluation of this unique man of faith.
Samuel exhorted the people of Israel to return to the Lord with all their hearts, and to put away the strange gods from among them. He gathered the people together to Mizpeh, to pray unto the Lord for them (7:3-5). It is interesting to note that the first mention of the word “Mizpeh” (Mizpah) is found on that occasion when Jacob and Laban piled a heap of stones and made a covenant between them. Jacob called the heap of stones “Mizpah,” meaning “witness” (Gen 31:48-49).
The Scriptures record that the people drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted and said, “We have sinned against the Lord” (1Sa 7:6). This is the first time we read in the Word of God of water being poured out. It is significant because, on that occasion, it was a confession of departure from the Lord.
If we are honest with ourselves and before the Lord, we would have to confess that there have been times of departure in our lives as well. We, as the people of God today, need to have a “Mizpeh” experience and pour out water, as it were, and in true repentance acknowledge our departure from the Lord.
Joab sent a wise woman of Tekoa with a message to king David regarding David’s banishment of his son Absalom. She said to David, “For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him” (2Sa 14:14). This reference to pouring out water speaks to us of dependence upon the Lord. So, we too must learn of our own weakness and total dependence upon Him for every circumstance.
When David was in the cave of Adullam, he longed for a drink of the water from the well at Bethlehem, and three of his mighty men risked their lives for David. They broke through the garrison of the Philistines, drew water from the well and brought it to David. David would not drink it, but poured it out before the Lord in an act of devotion, thankful for those who risked their lives for him. Should not we, then, for whom the Lord Jesus gave His life, pour out our lives in devotion to Him?
It is written prophetically in the Psalms concerning the suffering of our Lord Jesus on the cross on account of our sin that He cried, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels” (Psa 22:14). His sacrificial, atoning death on the cross was in dedication to the will of His God, in providing the means of forgiveness of sins through the shedding of His own precious blood.
When the Philistines heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpeh, they came up to war against them. The people of Israel asked Samuel to pray to the Lord for help against the Philistines. Samuel took a sucking lamb, picture of the Lord Jesus, and offered it in sacrifice to the Lord.
The Lord answered and delivered His people from the Philistines. Samuel took a stone and set it up and called it “Ebenezer,” which means, “a stone of help.” Samuel said, “Hitherto [up until this moment] hath the LORD helped us” (1Sa 7:7-12). How true in our case as well. Looking back over the experiences of life until this present moment, we would have to acknowledge the Lord’s help in our every circumstance.
Samuel gave instructions from the Lord to King Saul to destroy the Amalekites, because they had ambushed the people of Israel as they came out of Egypt. Saul and the people of Israel disobeyed the commandment of the Lord and kept the best of the sheep and cattle for themselves, pretending to reserve them for sacrifices to the Lord.
Samuel reprimanded Saul for his disobedience and reminded him that obeying the Lord is more important than sacrificing to the Lord. He said, “Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (15:22).
The Lord, through the prophet Jeremiah, reminded the people of Israel of the priority of obeying the Lord over sacrificing to the Lord: “I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you” (Jer 7:22-23).
In the life of believers, obedience to the Word of God is absolutely essential in maintaining a testimony before the world and in maintaining fellowship and communion with God. In the Word of God we are exhorted to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called (Eph 4:1), to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing (Col 1:10), and to walk worthy of God, who has called us to share in His kingdom and in His glory (1Th 2:12).
Samuel assured the people of Israel of God’s faithfulness to them. He exhorted them to follow the Lord and encouraged them with the promise of the Lord not to forsake them. Samuel said, “It hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.” Samuel appealed to the people to reverence the Lord and to serve Him in truth with all their heart. He urged them to consider the great things the Lord had done for them (1Sa 12:21-24).
The apostle Paul appeals to us as believers, based on the love of Christ and what He has done for us, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2Co 5:14-15).
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.
