LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for September 21: Trusting in the Lord alone

• 1 Samuel 7

Whom do we trust? When we start peeling back the layers of our beliefs and commitments, we might discover we place our trust in a lot of things, some of which are more worthy of that reliance than others.

For example, in order to get through the challenges of life, people might rely largely or solely on other people. Of course, trust always involves some element of risk, and we must be willing to be vulnerable before we can enter into meaningful relationships with others; but sooner or later, people disappoint us.

Others might rely heavily on their financial resources, but a bad economy has a way of turning a 401(k) into a 201(k). A rugged individualist might trust in his own abilities and strengths, but illness or injury might take those personal assets away. 

Ultimately, we find God alone is the one in whom we ought to place our utmost confidence. The events described in 1 Samuel 7 challenge us to ask, and honestly answer, the question: “Whom do you trust?”

The historical context for the events of chapter 7 begins three chapters earlier with an account of the Israelites’ ruinous defeat in battle by the Philistines. Thirty thousand Israelite soldiers were killed in a single day (4:10), and the high priest Eli’s two sons also perished.

The Philistines captured the sacred Ark of the Covenant, and when news of the loss of the ark was carried to the Eli, in shock he fell backward off his chair and broke his neck and died (4:12-18). God’s prophecies against the house of Eli (see 2:27-34, 3:11-14) had come to deadly fulfillment.

The Ark of the Covenant finally was returned to Israel, following a plague which God sent on the Philistines (chapters 5-6). The ark ultimately was taken by the Israelites to the town of Kireath Jearim. 

One might think all was well once again in Israel; the sacred ark—the symbol of God’s presence—was back where it belonged. But were things truly well? Obviously not, as a full 20 years went by during which Israel’s spiritual circumstances appear to remain unchanged (7:1-2). Do not pass by the opening verses of chapter 7 too quickly, because those few words communicate a great deal to us.

A few years ago, I heard a radio news item regarding pop music icon Michael Jackson, who at the time was about to go to trial on well-publicized charges that need not be repeated here. The newscaster stated that in preparation for his first appearance before the jury, Jackson was—and I am quoting precisely here—“having his hair and his make-up professionally done.” I thought at the time, “Here is a guy who just doesn’t get it.”

When we come to the events of 1 Samuel 7, God’s judgment had fallen on Israel: They had been devastated by the Philistine army, and the ark of God’s covenant had been taken from them. But now the ark was safely returned, signifying the possibility of a new spiritual start for the nation if only they would turn fully back to God … but 20 more years went by before they acknowledged what the real problem was, and dealt with that problem honestly.

They just didn’t get it.

But finally the nation awoke to the depth of their need, and “all the people mourned and sought after the Lord” (7:2). Samuel challenged the Israelites to demonstrate the sincerity of their sorrow by abandoning the sins which had brought them to this place: “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths (female false gods) and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only …” (7:3).

Israel’s deep problem had been an issue of misplaced trust: They had given themselves in worship, devotion and faith to the false gods of the Canaanites. They had not utterly abandoned their worship of the true God, but had combined their worship of Yahweh with the worship of idols. Like the Athenians of Acts 17, they believed spiritual safety could be found in allegiance to a plurality of deities.

There are a number of problems with the practice of idolatry. The first and most obvious issue is the clear command of God: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). The Lord alone is God, and he is not willing to share his rightful place in our lives with anyone or anything else. But there also is a pragmatic problem inherent in the worship of multiple gods: What one deity requires of his worshippers might be at cross purposes with what is required by another of his “gods.”

The point is this: Some people might look at Christianity as merely a nice addition to their already well-stocked supply of ideas, attitudes and opinions, and that their relationship with Jesus can peacefully co-exist with those pre-existing mental and emotional trappings. We all need to consider seriously whether some of our cherished beliefs and established attitudes are fundamentally incompatible with the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus wants not merely to be a supplement to us, but to transform us.

In response to Samuel’s challenge, the Israelites repented and recommitted themselves to total trust in and obedience to God (7:4). Samuel then convened a solemn assembly at the town of Mizpah, where the Israelites publicly affirmed their repentance by drawing water and pouring it out before the Lord—a symbol of their godly sorrow, in that they were sacrificing the valuable (and possibly scarce) commodity of fresh water—and fasted and confessed their sins (7:6).

When their Philistine enemies learned the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, they likely interpreted that meeting as preparation for war. In response, the Philistines gathered their army and marched on Mizpah. Recalling their utter defeat at the hands of this enemy two decades before, the Israelites panicked (7:8). They pled with Samuel to intercede with God for them, and the prophet offered a burnt offering and “cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him” (7:9). God confounded the Philistine armies and threw them into such chaos that Israel easily was able to defeat them and drive them far from Mizpah.

The Philistines had believed the gathering at Mizpah was a council of war; and in a sense it was, but not of the sort the Philistines feared. The real battle was being fought in the spiritual sphere of Israel’s life.

Robert Bergen, in the New American Commentary, states it well: “The movement of Israel’s heart, not Yahweh’s ark, brought about true freedom from Israel’s oppressors.”

Samuel erected a stone monument to memorialize God’s powerful acts on Israel’s behalf, and to remind the people to remain focused on God as the legitimate object of their trust. He called that stone “Ebenezer” (“Stone of Help”), citing God’s gracious help which had brought them safely through this desperate and dangerous time (7:12).

The 18th-century hymnist Robert Robinson drew inspiration from that verse in his hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” the second stanza of which says: 

“Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by Thy help I’ve come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.”

We as well need to create reference points in our own lives which keep turning our minds back to God’s gracious care for us, and which help keep us focused on God as the only never-failing object of our trust.

There is an apocryphal story about that hymn, which says the composer in his later years backslid into rebellion against God. When confronted with the lyrics he had penned years before, he supposedly said, “I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then."

If that story is indeed true, how ironic that Robinson would foreshadow his own drifting away from obedient fellowship with God with these words from the final stanza: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love … .”

Such is the result when we place our ultimate trust in things other than the Lord God.