1 Samuel 7:7-17

The Philistines heard the Israelites were meeting at Mizpah, so the Philistine kings came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard they were coming, they were afraid. They said to Samuel, “Don’t stop praying to the LORD our God for us! Ask him to save us from the Philistines!” Then Samuel took a baby lamb and offered it to the LORD as a whole burnt offering. He called to the LORD for Israel’s sake, and the LORD answered him. While Samuel was burning the offering, the Philistines came near to attack Israel. But the LORD thundered against them with loud thunder. They were so frightened they became confused. So the Israelites defeated the Philistines in battle. The men of Israel ran out of Mizpah and chased the Philistines almost to Beth Car, killing the Philistines along the way. After this happened Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named the stone Ebenezer, saying, “The LORD has helped us to this point.” So the Philistines were defeated and did not enter the Israelites’ land again. The LORD was against the Philistines all Samuel’s life. Earlier the Philistines had taken towns from the Israelites, but the Israelites won them back, from Ekron to Gath. They also took back from the Philistines the lands near these towns. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. Samuel continued as judge of Israel all his life. Every year he went from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah and judged the Israelites in all these towns. But Samuel always went back to Ramah, where his home was. There he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD.

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