Useful Bible Studies > 1 Samuel Commentary > chapter 7
During ancient battles, even the strongest soldiers were very afraid of storms. A storm would ruin the best plans for a battle, and it could make even the most powerful army weak.
During the storm, lightning would surprise the soldiers. Then thunder (the noise that follows lightning) would make them afraid. The rain would turn the hard ground into mud; and nobody can move quickly in mud. Also, it would be difficult to see what the rest of the army was doing.
No person can control a storm, so people have often considered storms to be a special action of God (see Psalm 29:3-9 and Job chapter 37). Of course, not every storm is from God. However, it is evidence of God’s greatness that he can control the storm (Psalm 104:3; Mark 4:35-41).
The storm in 1 Samuel 7:10 was God’s work. God used that storm to save his people, that is, the people from Israel. When they gathered to pray to him at Mizpah, the army from Philistia tried to attack them.
The men from Israel were much too weak to defend themselves. They did not even have a proper army and they had not prepared for a battle. However, they had decided that they would serve the real God as their only God. They were trusting him alone to save them from their enemies.
God did not disappoint them. When the army from Philistia approached to begin the fight, a storm began. The soldiers from Philistia felt great terror when they heard the loud thunder. They tried to run away. Because they were running away, they could not defend themselves. The men from Israel chased after them and attacked them.
So, Israel won the battle. Really, however, it was God who won the battle on Israel’s behalf.
Next part: About the name: EBENEZER (1 Samuel 7:12)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.