1 Samuel 7:10

1 Samuel 7:10 says, And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.  While Samuel was offering a burnt offering to God, the Philistines were drawing near to battle the Israelites.  We are told God thundered a great thunder, and the Philistines were discomfited, or made to feel uneasy by the thunder, and they were defeated by the Israelites.  There is nothing about the Israelites being made superior physically or becoming better armed, but God used the thunder to lead to Israel's victory.   We need to learn to put our faith in God above all else.  Verse eleven adds, And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.  The men of Israel pursued the Philistines all the way to Bethcar.  God gave the people of Israel the victory once they repented and returned to Him.  We cannot expect to be victorious over the world today if we are being disobedient to God, but if we feel that we are being defeated, we need to simply look to Him in obedience.  Verse twelve states, Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.  Samuel made a memorial to God between Mizpeh and Shen, to commeriate God's giving the people of Israel the victory over the Philistines.  This was where the Israelites had been defeated by the Philistines twenty years earlier.  The longer it takes us to repent and ask God's forgiveness if we as followers of Christ have gone astray, the longer it will be before God restores us to a place of victory in the world today.  Of course, we will always have the everlasting victory, but that does not mean that if we fail to put our faith in God in all situations that we cannot be temporarily defeated.  Verse thirteen adds, So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.  As long as Samuel lived, the Philistines never came to battle the people of Israel again, because the hand of God was against them.  We need to be like Samuel today, standing with God and calling on others to do so as well.  Verse fourteen continues, And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.  All the land that the Philistines had taken from Israel was returned, and Israel was at peace with the Amorites, or those people who remained in the Promised Land.  We live with people of all beliefs and backgrounds today, but we should do our best to live at peace with them, without compromising our faith.  We are to be a light of the gospel to them, and this is easier to do if we are not looking to be at war with them.  Verse fifteen declares, And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.  Verse sixteen adds, And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.  Samuel was a Judge of Israel for the rest of His life, and he was actively involved in doing so. He did not just sit and wait for the people to come to him, but He traveled throughout Israel.  I believe that we today cannot just wait for people to come to us to hear the Gospel, but we must take it to them by any means possible. Verse seventeen continues, And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD.  Samuel's residence was in Ramah, so he would return there after traveling the circuit.  He also built an altar to God there.  We need a place to call home that we can return to after we have been out in the world sharing the Gospel, and there should be an altar to God there, spiritually if not physically.