12 And Samuel taketh a stone, and setteth `it' between Mizpeh and Shen, and calleth its name Eben-Ezer, saying, `Hitherto hath Jehovah helped us.'
even the twelve stones hath Joshua raised up out of the midst of the Jordan, the place of the standing of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant, and they are there unto this day.
And Jacob setteth up a standing pillar in the place where He hath spoken with him, a standing pillar of stone, and he poureth on it an oblation, and he poureth on it oil;
And Jacob taketh a stone, and lifteth it up `for' a standing pillar; and Jacob saith to his brethren, `Gather stones,' and they take stones, and make a heap; and they eat there on the heap; and Laban calleth it Jegar-Sahadutha; and Jacob hath called it Galeed. And Laban saith, `This heap `is' witness between me and thee to-day;' therefore hath he called its name Galeed; Mizpah also, for he said, `Jehovah doth watch between me and thee, for we are hidden one from another; if thou afflict my daughters, or take wives beside my daughters -- there is no man with us -- see, God `is' witness between me and thee.' And Laban saith to Jacob, `Lo, this heap, and lo, the standing pillar which I have cast between me and thee; this heap `is' witness, and the standing pillar `is' witness, that I do not pass over this heap unto thee, and that thou dost not pass over this heap and this standing pillar unto me -- for evil;
And the Philistines have taken the ark of God, and bring it in from Eben-Ezer to Ashdod,
`Having obtained, therefore, help from God, till this day, I have stood witnessing both to small and to great, saying nothing besides the things that both the prophets and Moses spake of as about to come,
who out of so great a death did deliver us, and doth deliver, in whom we have hoped that even yet He will deliver;
and Abraham calleth the name of that place `Jehovah-Jireh,' because it is said this day in the mount, `Jehovah doth provide.'
And Jacob riseth early in the morning, and taketh the stone which he hath made his pillows, and maketh it a standing pillar, and poureth oil upon its top, and he calleth the name of that place Bethel, `house of God,' and yet, Luz `is' the name of the city at the first.
and Moses buildeth an altar, and calleth its name Jehovah-Nissi,
And Joshua writeth these words in the Book of the Law of God, and taketh a great stone, and raiseth it up there under the oak which `is' in the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua saith unto all the people, `Lo, this stone is against us for a witness, for it hath heard all the sayings of Jehovah which He hath spoken with us, and it hath been against you for a witness, lest ye lie against your God.'
By Thee I have been supported from the womb, From my mother's bowels Thou dost cut me out, In Thee `is' my praise continually.
In that day there is an altar to Jehovah In the midst of the land of Egypt, And a standing pillar near its border to Jehovah,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Samuel 7
Commentary on 1 Samuel 7 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 7
In this chapter we have,
1Sa 7:1-2
Here we must attend the ark to Kirjath-jearim, and then leave it there, to hear not a word more of it except once (ch. 14:18), till David fetched it thence, about forty years after, 1 Chr. 13:6.
1Sa 7:3-6
We may well wonder where Samuel was and what he was doing all this while, for we have not had him so much as named till now, since ch. 4:1, not as if he were unconcerned, but his labours among his people are not mentioned till there appears the fruit of them. When he perceived that they began to lament after the Lord he struck while the iron was hot, and two things he endeavoured to do for them, as a faithful servant of God and a faithful friend to the Israel of God:-
1Sa 7:7-12
Here,
1Sa 7:13-17
We have here a short account of the further good services that Samuel did to Israel. Having parted them from their idols, and brought them home to their God, he had put them into a capacity of receiving further benefits by his ministry. Having prevailed in that, he becomes, in other instances, a great blessing to them; yet, writing it himself, he is brief in the relation. We are not told here, but it appears (2 Chr. 35:18) that in the days of Samuel the prophet the people of Israel kept the ordinance of the passover with more than ordinary devotion, notwithstanding the distance of the ark and the desolations of Shiloh. Many good offices, no doubt, he did for Israel, but here we are only told how instrumental he was,