GLOOM & DOOM (3)

0. Introduction

a) It wasn't easy being a prophet. Most of the messages they had to give were very unpleasant to hear. They preached of repentance, judgment, impending destruction, sin, and in general, how displeased God was over the behavior of his people. Prophets were not the most popular people in town (unless they were false prophets and said what the people wanted to hear). But popularity was not the bottom line for true prophets of God - it was obedience to God and faithfully proclaiming his word. Samuel is a good example of a faithful prophet.

b) God has words for us to proclaim as well. And although his messages are loaded with "good news," there is also "bad news" to give. May we, like true prophets, faithfully deliver all God's words, regardless of their popularity or lack of it.

1. Message: "The nation must turn from idol worship" (Text: 1 Samuel 7:1-14)

2. What is the text all about?

a) Samuel urged the Israelites to get rid of their foreign gods. Idols today are much more subtle than gods of wood and stone, but they are just as dangerous. Whatever holds first place in our lives or controls us is our god. Money, success, material goods, pride, or anything else can be an idol if it takes the place of God in our lives. The Lord alone is worthy of our service and worship, and we must let nothing rival him. If we have "foreign gods," we need to ask God to help us dethrone them, making the true God our first priority.

b) Baal was believed to be the son of El, chief deity of the Canaanites. Baal was regarded as the god of thunder and rain, thus he controlled vegetation and agriculture. Ashtoreth was a goddess of love and war (she was called Ishtar in Babylon and Astarte or Aphrodite in Greece). She represented fertility. The Canaanites beleived that by the sexual union of Baal and Ashtoreth, the earth would be magically rejuvenated and made fertile.

c) Mizpah held special significance for the Israelite nation. It was there that the Israelites had gathered to mobilize against the tribe of Benjamin. Samuel was appointed to be leader, and Saul, Israel's first king, was identified and presented to the people.

d) Pouring water on the ground "before the Lord" was a sign of repenting from sin, turning from idols, and determining to obey God alone.

e) Samuel became the last in the long line of Israel's judges (leaders), a line that began when Israel first conquered the Promised Land. A judge was both a political and a religious leader. God was Israel's true leader, while the judge was to be God's spokesman to the people and administrator of justice throughout the land. While some of Israel's judges relied more on their own judgment than on God's, Samuel's obedience and dedication to God made him once of the greatest judges in Israel's history.

f) The Israelites had great difficulty with the Philistines, but God rescued them. In response, the people set up a stone as a memorial of God's great help and deliverance. During tough times, we may need to remember the crucial turning points in our past to help us through the present. Memorials can help us remember God's past victories and gain confidence and strength for the present.

g) In Joshua's time, the Amorites were a powerful tribe scattered throughout the hill country on both sides of the Jordan with a heavy concentration occupying the east side of the Jordan River opposite the Dead Sea. In the context of this verse (1 Samuel 7:14), however, Amorites is another general name for all the inhabitants of Canaan who were not Israelites.

@1. ¹⁴ Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. (1 Samuel 7:14 NKJV)