1 Samuel 7:13 - Meaning and Application

Here we have a brief account of the other good services Samuel did for Israel. He had first turned them from their idols and brought them back to their God, so they were now ready to receive more help through his ministry. He wrote this account himself, and so he keeps it short. Scripture also shows that in Samuel’s days, the people kept the Passover with more devotion than usual, even though the ark was far away and Shiloh was in ruins (2 Chronicles 35:18).

Samuel did many other helpful things for Israel, but here we are told four in particular.

First, he helped secure the public peace. “In his days the Philistines came no more into the coast of Israel” (1 Samuel 7:13). They made no more raids or attacks, because they saw that God was now fighting for Israel and was against them. That fear held them back and restrained their anger. Samuel protected and delivered Israel, not by sword like Gideon, or by strength like Samson, but through prayer to God and by leading the people in reform. Religion and godliness are the best defense a nation can have.

Second, he helped recover the public rights of Israel (1 Samuel 7:14). Because of Samuel’s influence, Israel had courage to ask for the towns the Philistines had wrongly taken and kept for a long time. The Philistines did not dare oppose one who had such favor with heaven, so they gave them back. Some think this even included Ekron and Gath, two major cities, though later the Philistines took them again. Others think it was only the smaller towns between them that had been forced out of Philistine hands. In this way, Israel’s reform and true religion helped them gain ground over their enemies and improve their affairs. It is also said that there was peace between Israel and the Amorites, that is, the remaining Canaanites. This does not mean Israel made a treaty with them, only that they were quiet and not as harmful as they had sometimes been. When a person’s ways please the Lord, he can even make his enemies live at peace with him and trouble him less (Proverbs 16:7).

Third, Samuel administered public justice (1 Samuel 7:15, 1 Samuel 7:16). As a prophet, he taught the people their duty and corrected them for their sins, and that is also called judging (Ezekiel 20:4; Ezekiel 22:2). Moses judged Israel when he made them know God’s statutes and laws (Exodus 18:16), and Samuel did the same to the end, even after Saul became king. That is why he could say later, when Saul was made king, “I will not cease to teach you the good and right way” (1 Samuel 12:23). As a magistrate, he heard appeals from lower courts and gave decisions. He tried cases, questioned prisoners, and either cleared or condemned them according to the law. He did this all his life, until old age made him step back and leave the work to Saul. Even after that, he still exercised authority when people came to him. He even judged Agag and Saul himself. In his best years, he traveled through the land for the people’s convenience, at least in the part most under his influence. He held court at Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, all in Benjamin’s territory. But his regular home was Ramah, his father’s city, and there he judged Israel. People came to him there from all around with their complaints (1 Samuel 7:17).

Fourth, he kept up public worship. At Ramah, where he lived, he built an altar to the Lord. He did not do this in contempt of the altar at Nob, Gibeon, or wherever the tabernacle was. Rather, since God’s judgment had laid Shiloh waste and no other single place had yet been chosen for offerings (Deuteronomy 12:11), he understood that the law binding them to one place was for the moment suspended. So, under God’s direction as a prophet, he followed the example of the patriarchs and built an altar where he lived. This served both his own household and the people nearby who came there. Great men should use their wealth, power, and influence to support religion in the places where they live.