Introduction
Our good friend Samuel, the prophet, is back! He had disappeared for two whole chapters while the Lord prepared Israel for his leadership and for revival. Now they are ready for him and God is ready to revive his people. He is going to revive his people by opening their eyes to see his mercy. And it is on the basis of his mercy that his people respond.
I. Starting with the End: A Transition, 7:15-17.
A. He judged Israel even after Saul became king, 15.
B. Even his rule was localized to the territory of Benjamin – evident by his circuit, 16.
C. He made his ancestral home the seat for his "government," 17.
D. These verses work as a transition between the time of the judges in Israel to the first king – a king like the nations.
II. Preparing for God's Mercy, 7:2-6.
A. Repentance is always present when people are ready to receive God's mercy, 2-3.
B. The call to repentance is a means by which God brings change to his people, 4.
C. Prayer is also present when the people of God are ready to receive his mercy, 5-6.
D. And the Lord rewards their repentance and prayer with an attack by the Philistines.
E. In and through the attack, the people of God experience God's mercy.
III. Experiencing God's Mercy, 7:7-11.
A. Any time the church is serious about the Lord, the Philistines will attack.
B. You may be asking, "How can an attack by their mortal enemies be an experience in God's mercy?"
C. In prayer, they experience the mercy of God, 9-11.
IV. Remembering God's Mercy, 7:12-14.
A. After the battle of Ebenezer, Israel experienced relative peace for the years to come, 13-14.
B. Samuel didn't want Israel to forget the mercy of the Lord, so he sets up a monument, 12.
C. At this point one might say, "I can see how the Lord was merciful to them in this immediate context, but to say that he has always helped them to that point is not true. How about chpt. 4? Or, the years in the wilderness? Or, 400 years of slavery in Egypt? How are those things the help of God?"
D. When we believe in what the Bible says concerning God's love for us, every single day is an Ebenezer day.
E. All these Ebenezers, all this evidence of God's mercy, will empower us to rejoice in the Lord even in the midst of the most horrific afflictions in this life.
Conclusion – Mercy = God's loving kindness = his steadfast love.http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-mercy-of-god-1-sam-7.html
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