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1 Samuel 7

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1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came, and brought·​·up the ark of Jehovah, and brought it to the house of Abinadab in Gibeah, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of Jehovah.

2 And it was, from the day that the ark sat in Kiriath-jearim, that the days were·​·multiplied, and they were twenty years; and all the house of Israel wailed after Jehovah.

3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, saying, If with all your heart you return to Jehovah, remove the foreign gods from your midst, and the Ashtaroth, and prepare your heart to Jehovah, and serve Him alone, then He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.

4 And the sons of Israel removed the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served Jehovah alone.

5 And Samuel said, Bring·​·together all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you unto Jehovah.

6 And they came·​·together toward Mizpah, and drew water, and spilled it before Jehovah, and fasted in that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.

7 And the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had come·​·together to Mizpah, and the satraps of the Philistines went·​·up against Israel. And the sons of Israel heard it, and they feared before the Philistines.

8 And the sons of Israel said to Samuel, Be· not ·silent from crying to Jehovah our God from us, and He will save us from the hand of the Philistines.

9 And Samuel took one young· suckling ·lamb*, and offered· it ·up for a burnt·​·offering, wholly to Jehovah; and Samuel cried unto Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answered him.

10 And it was, that Samuel was offering·​·up the burnt·​·offering, and the Philistines approached to battle with Israel, that Jehovah thundered with a great voice on that day against the Philistines, and routed them; and they were stricken before Israel.

11 And the men of Israel went·​·out from Mizpah and they pursued the Philistines, and they smote them until under Beth-car.

12 And Samuel took one stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, and said, Hitherto has Jehovah helped us.

13 And the Philistines were humbled, and they came not again into the border of Israel; and the hand of Jehovah was upon the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron even·​·to Gath; and the borders thereof did Israel rescue out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorite.

15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

16 And he went from year to year, and went·​·around from Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all these places.

17 And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto Jehovah.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Philistines

  

The Philistines play a large role in the Bible as one of the longest-standing and most bitter rivals of the people of Israel, clashing with them in repeated wars. The Philistines were a remnant of the Ancient Church, or church of Noah, but had turned the deep wisdom of that church into a worship that focused solely on knowledge of religious ideas and the details of ritual, with no concept of putting religious ideas to work in living a good life. People would be esteemed for their knowledge, no matter how evil they might be in their lives. This was a particularly attractive trap for the people of Israel, who lived in a state of obedience to a long list of spiritually meaningful rules. It was easy for them to forget about the “obedience” part and focus instead on the “rules” part, which made them akin to the Philistines. This is also a threat to us in our own lives. We need to remember that simply knowing a lot and believing the right things will not make us good people -- we have to use that knowledge to treat other people in a loving, caring way.

In 1 Samuel 5,6, this signifies people in faith separated from charity. (Divine Providence 326[12])

In Jeremiah 47:2, 3, this represents people who hold false ideas, and reason about spiritual things from them. (Arcana Coelestia 705) Philistia signifies this religion. (Arcana Coelestia 727)