“So they gathered together at Mitzpah, drew water and poured it out before Adonai, fasted that day, and said there, ‘We have sinned against Adonai.’ Sh’mu’el began serving as judge over the people of Israel at Mitzpah.”-1 Samuel 7:6
The ceremony described in verse 6 of 1st Samuel 7 has been something that has confused scholars for hundreds of years.
We’re told the people poured water on the ground before the Lord as a demonstration of their contrite heart.
And then they fasted and made a public confession of their sins.
Now the big question that arises is was this some kind of special ceremony cooked up by Samuel?
Or was it something else?
We do know that pouring water on the ground was symbolic of emptying one’s guilt before the Lord.
In other words, it was a form of repentance.
Another question that arises is why did Samuel summon all the people to come to Mizpah?
To ask folks to leave their homes, fields and flocks and travel several days for a gathering was unusual to say the least.
So how do typical scholars interpret this?
Well, the next couple of verses talk about how the Philistines came to do battle.
So the usual take is that Samuel had summoned the fighting men of Israel to prepare for war against the Philistines…
And the reason for the religious ceremony was to properly seek the Lord’s will before actually going into battle.
Yeah, that kinda makes sense I guess…
But I think it reeks of Torah ignorance…
I gotta better answer that I got from one of the best Hebrew Bible experts on the planet.
So let me share what I think is the superior interpretation by asking you this question:
“Ever Heard Of The
Seven God-ordained
Biblical Feasts Homies?!”
You know, the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of the Harvest, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.
Out of these 7 feasts, 3 were actually pilgrimage festivals…
Meaning the people had to travel from their homes to ONE specific location to observe them…
And one of these fall feasts had a water libation ceremony as its centerpiece.
It was SUKKOT or the Feast of Tabernacles…
And wouldn’t you know it…
There was another fall feast called YOM KIPPUR consisting of guess what?
A period of prayer, fasting and confession!
The three fall feasts of Yom Kippur, Yom Teruah and Sukkot were all observed over a 15-day period.
So compare everything I just explained with the description of what was going down at Mizpah.
We’re told there was a water libation ceremony…
And then fasting, prayer and confession.
Hmm…
I’m wondering…
And I’m just spitballing here..
But could it possibly be…
That the Israelites were actually observing the 3 fall feasts in one form or another?
Well, golly gee I think I just might be onto something here homies.
But why the location Mitzpah?
The answer is because there was no other suitable location.
Shiloh had long ago been abandoned…
And according to the Torah, there isn’t any established place that Israel has to go in order to make a pilgrimage for the feasts.
So Mitzpah was the next best choice.
In fact, it had long been recognized as the place to go to for religious observances.
Hundreds of years earlier in Judges chapters 20 and 21, we’re told of a holy gathering that took place at the same location.
Then, in 1st Samuel 10, Israel held another holy convocation there.
Finally, centuries later in 1st Maccabees 3, we’ll encounter yet another record of Israel holding special religious observances there.
So it seems like Mitzpah has always held a special religious significance for Israel.
Onwards.
When the Philistines caught wind that the Israelites had gathered at Mitzpah, they knew this was a grand opportunity they couldn’t pass up.
Also, notice verse 8:
“The people of Israel said to Sh’mu’el,
‘Don’t stop crying out to Adonai our God for us,
to save us from the power of the P’lishtim.'”
This certainly doesn’t sound like a bunch of aggressive Israelite warriors who had gathered to match their testosterone-fueled wits against the Philistines now, does it?
The truth is the Israelites at Mitzpah were shaking and quaking in their boots when the Philistines showed up.
This is just more evidence that the Israelites came to Mitzpah to worship and not fight.
But if that’s the case, why did the Philistines decide to launch an attack on Israel in the first place.
Especially if they weren’t doing anything threatening…
I mean what could be more harmless than observing some Biblical feasts.
Well, the truth is the Philistines viewed Israel’s festival celebrations as a threat to their authority.
And that leads us nicely into our takeaway for today…
Here’s the lesson:
Just as it was for the Philistines…
The world views our faith and our desire to live a life holy unto God as a threat to their way of life…
That’s why the world hates us…
That’s why Hitler wanted to eradicate the Jews from this world…
And that’s why the Philistines got concerned once the Israelites started to get serious about worshipping their God.
However, this shouldn’t surprise us…
Because Yeshua warned us the world will always want to attack our sincere attempts to be obedient to the Lord.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“If the world hates you,
understand that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world,
the world would have loved its own.
But because you do
not belong to the world —
on the contrary,
I have picked you out of the world
— therefore the world hates you.”
-John 15:18-19
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