Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 7

The ark of the Lord. —Kirjath-jearim, the home of the Ark for nearly fifty years, was probably selected as the resting-place for the sacred emblem because it was the nearest large city to Beth-shemesh then in the hands of the Israelites. It was neither a priestly nor a Levitical city, but it undoubtedly had preserved something of its ancient character of sanctity, even among the children of Israel. In earlier times, before the Hebrew invasion, it was a notable “high place” and a seat of Baal worship. This was also undoubtedly taken into account when it was decided to locate the Ark there. The words “in the hill” remind us that the old “high place” was still marked and, due to its sacred associations, was regarded as a fitting temporary resting-place for the sacred treasure of Israel.

Eleazar —It is most likely that this Abinadab was a Levite. The names Eleazar, Uzzah, and Ahio of the same family (2 Samuel 6:3) are Levitical names. Samuel—who, though not named in this transaction, was undoubtedly the director—would, of course, have endeavored to find a man of the tribe of Levi for the sacred trust. “This Eleazar was appointed not as a priest, but as a watchman at the grave of the Ark, by its corpse, until its future joyful resurrection.” —Hengstenberg, quoted in Lange. Here the Ark remained until King David brought it from “the house on the hill,” in the city of woods, first to the home of Obed-edom, and then to his own royal Zion (2 Samuel 6).

And it came to pass, while the ark remained in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years. —Literally, And it came to pass, from the day that the Ark rested at Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years. There is something very touching in this sad note of time. We think we read Samuel’s own words here. The tireless worker for God and His dear people found the twenty years a weary period of waiting. We must not, however, by any means suppose that Israel’s hungering after their God-Friend only began after the twenty years of sorrow were over.

It had been a stern time of trial. The great victory of Aphek and the destruction of Shiloh had laid all Israel at the feet of their Philistine enemies, and they, we know, made their supremacy bitterly felt. The restoration of the Ark in no way signified that they loosened their hold on the conquered people. This long time, when the hand of Philistia pressed so heavily on Israel, was the important period of Samuel’s life. For these twenty years, he must have labored incessantly to revive the ancient worship of the Eternal and the pure life loved by God among the people. The early dreams of his boyhood days, the hopes excited by his burning enthusiasm, were scattered to the winds.

The fatal battle of Aphek, the capture of the holy Ark, the death of his old guardian, the great high priest and judge Eli, the sack and devastation of Shiloh, the beloved sanctuary, and the terrible and continued oppression of Philistia, had opened the eyes of the young, inspired man of God. Taught by the bitter lessons of adversity, he saw that the nation could not be saved by a bold stroke from a few gallant patriots; Samuel the seer, after the crushing defeat of Aphek, recognized that all such efforts would only sink the nation into still lower depths of degradation and misery.

Other and different things were needed before the lion standard of Judah could be safely unfurled, or the war-cry of Ephraim raised on her mountains. “What methods he used, we are not told, or what his way of life was during those twenty years of waiting and work; but probably the life of the young prophet-judge was that of a fugitive, going secretly from place to place to teach and preach, hiding in the caverns in the limestone ranges of Judea, emerging from there to visit now one part of the country and now another, always in danger, but gradually stirring up not only those districts contiguous to the Philistines but all Israel to a sense of the greatness of their sins, and to the necessity of renewed trust in and a return to their old love for their God.

And so a fresh spiritual life gradually sprang up among the people, and with it came the certainty of the future restoration of their national independence.” — Dean Payne Smith.

And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. —The English Version is exceptionally fitting here. The Hebrew word rendered as “lamented after” has been variously translated and paraphrased. The Syriac translates, “they all cast themselves down after Jehovah.” Gesenius and some others would translate “were assembled together;” others, “the people of Israel quieted themselves, and in quiet devotion followed Jehovah,” but the English Version is best on all grounds. This “lamenting” or hungering after the Lord was a gradual result of Samuel’s tireless labors.

The assertion of 1 Samuel 3:19, that none of his words fell to the ground, especially belongs to this period of restless activity, when dangers and apparently insurmountable difficulties hemmed him in. Slowly, but surely, the heart of the people, roused by his loving but passionate appeals, returned to their Eternal Friend. Sick of crime and folly, they gradually began to hate their impurity and moral degradation; little by little, they began to loathe their idolatry. And when Samuel, after his twenty years of faithful, restless work among them, summoned them boldly to declare their abhorrence of the foreign Philistine gods and the way of life taught and lived by the Philistine peoples, the heart of all Israel responded with intense gladness to the summons.

Then the wise and patriotic statesman-prophet saw that the hour of deliverance and national restoration had struck. No longer did solitary hamlets and scattered families mourn after the glorious Eternal and His pure, holy worship and life; but the heart of a whole people mourned after the Lord and hungered for His presence among them once more.

The strange gods. —The strange gods are in 1 Samuel 7:4 described as Baalim. This plural form of Baal refers to the numerous images of Baal that existed, as does the plural form Ashtaroth to those of the female goddess Astarte. They were both favorite Phoenician deities, known under the familiar names of Baal, Bil, Bel, and Ashtaroth, Astarte, Istar. They represented the productive power of nature and were generally worshiped throughout the East, usually with a wild and wanton worship.

Prepare your hearts. —Indeed, it was a seemingly desperate venture to which the prophet summoned unarmed and undisciplined Israel. They were then completely at the mercy of their long-victorious enemies, who held the chief fortified places in the country with their garrisons. Samuel challenged Israel to bid defiance to the most cherished institutions of their oppressors and called on them, if they loved the Eternal, to turn aside from revering what Philistia held to be sacred and all-powerful. He knew well that what he urged upon the people would at once provoke what appeared to be a dangerous and most unequal contest.

If defeated, Israel would bring upon themselves utter misery and a ruin previously undreamed of, even in their unhappy land. Did they have the courage and faith to plunge unarmed, undisciplined, into such a perilous contest?

For twenty years, the great patriot-statesman had labored for this end. He had at last succeeded in opening the eyes of Israel to see the real cause of their misfortunes. He had made them as a nation hunger for the lost presence of the Eternal, who had loved them in past days with so great a love.

And now, after twenty long, slow years, was his work finally done? They indeed sorrowed for their national sins, but did they have the faith and courage, all unarmed as they were, to rise against the powerful enemies of purity and God?

Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth. —The answer of the people showed how well and thoroughly the prophet-statesman had done his Master’s work. Throughout the land of Israel, the graven images of the Phoenician idols were thrown down, and their impious worship was boldly dishonored everywhere. Once more, in bold defiance of the idol-worshipping Philistines, the Invisible and Eternal was acknowledged as the one God throughout the land. These acts, of course, were an open act of rebellion against that warlike people who had ruled them for so long with an iron rule.

Mizpeh. —Or, as it should be spelled, Mizpah, a common name for high places. It signifies a “watchtower,” a place from which an enemy's advance could be observed.

Now, the assembly of the tribes at Mizpeh marked a new beginning for Israel. It was the result of more than twenty years of labor undertaken by the greatest reformer and statesman the chosen people ever knew. The great gathering pertained to both religion and war. Its first object was to solemnly assure the Lord that the heart of His people, so long estranged from Him, was His once more. Its second was to implore Jehovah to again restore a repentant and sorrowful people to the land of their inheritance. What is more likely than that the prophet-statesman—who at that solemn juncture represented priest, judge, and seer to Israel—devised on that momentous day new symbolic rites, signifying Israel’s new dedication to the Eternal for the future and Israel’s repentance for the sad past?

The solemn pouring out of water before the Lord symbolized, for a people trained so carefully to discern the meaning and significance of symbols and imagery, the heart and whole inner life being poured out before the Lord; the fasting represented the repentant, humble sinner bowed down in grief before the one true God. Is it not at least probable that the strange, mysterious custom we hear of in later days—the high priest filling the golden vessel with the waters of Siloam and then silently pouring it out before the Lord—was the record of one of the holiest memories of the people—their reconciliation with their God-Friend at Mizpeh? Now, after years of estrangement, they repented and were forgiven. The fasting of Mizpeh, being a favorite practice, always much observed by the worshipers in the Temple and synagogue, needed no special record or reminder.