And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
The enemy is out of the land. Scripture now sums up Samuel's whole life in a single line. Two questions follow. What makes a man serve God without a break to his last day? And why does God work through one man, when Israel still had a tabernacle and priests?
A single line covers a whole life. One writer traces it from before Samuel's birth to the prophets who came after him.
We now see the government of Samuel after the enemy has been thrust out of the land. What a beautiful life it is! It began, we may say, in the heart of his mother before his birth — a man dedicated to God and His service. As a child he heard His voice and obeyed it. As he grew, he became more and more the fitting instrument, the messenger for God. He was the first of the prophets, one of that long line of spiritual and faithful witnesses. Through all the years of Israel's darkness and turning away from God, and even through captivity, they witnessed for Him and sought to bring back a people who had drifted from Him... But what a privilege to be a Samuel in dark days like these! May we not covet it for ourselves in our measure and station?
Israel had already had its great day of judgment at Mizpah. One writer warns us not to treat such a day as the end of the matter.
We have seen the special scene of judgment at Mizpah, but this was to continue, a thing that we often lose sight of. There must be more than one act of self-judgment. Our whole lives are to come under the light of God's truth. We are to apply the practical Word to our ways.
Something is missing from this picture. The tent of worship still stood in the land, and priests still served in it.
Here we see the utter collapse of the old order in Israel. The tabernacle was in the land. No doubt some successor of Eli, with his fellow priests from Aaron's family, carried out priestly duties there. But the passage before us ignores all of it... But where was the priest, whose moral responsibilities are so plainly shown in Leviticus 10:8-11; Malachi 2:7? The record leaves him out as though he did not exist.
So what held the nation together in a time like that?
The cities of Israel were restored. There was peace between Israel and the Amorites. Samuel judged Israel at Ramah and built an altar there. All this is an exceptional and extraordinary position for Israel. They depended entirely on Samuel. He himself lived as a patriarch, as though there were no tabernacle. Through his own relationship with God, by faith, he becomes the support and upholder of the people, who in fact had no other.
He did not work from one place. He travelled a fixed round — Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpeh — and always came home to Ramah.
Samuel lived in Ramah, which means "heights." There, "above the restless world that wars below," he built an altar for himself, where he enjoyed holy communion with the LORD.
Another writer turns that round into a pattern for us.
Samuel may visit Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh. But of Ramah we read that his home was there, that he judged Israel there, and that he built an altar there to the LORD. It is good, too, if we make this circuit and then return to the height of our calling. Suppose we accept our portion as a heavenly people, outside this present evil world, and live in spirit and affection in another world. Then indeed we shall find our dwelling there.
One writer sets the end of Samuel's service beside its beginning.
We have seen Samuel as prophet, priest, intercessor, and judge: precious qualities in this man of God. His activity for the Lord and His people does not slacken... Even at Ramah, where his house was, his one concern was the well-being of the Lord's people. The Word adds: "And he built there an altar to the LORD" (v. 17). The first expression of his service had been to worship before the Lord (1 Sam. 1:28); the worshipper's altar is the last expression of his service. Don't these two acts form a fitting frame for this life of faith?
- Dedicated — his mother's heart gave him to God before his birth, and he served to his last day. The verse measures a life, not a term of office.
- Continuous — one great day of self-judgment at Mizpah was not enough. The whole life comes under the light of God's truth.
- Personal — the record passes over the tabernacle and its priests. The nation leaned on one man's faith.
- Travelling — his round ended at Ramah, the heights, where he built his altar. Make that circuit, and come home to the height of your calling.
- Framed — worship opened his service and an altar closed it. That is the frame of a life of faith.
And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places.
Samuel judged Israel on the road. Year after year he walked the same circuit of three towns — and commentators find meaning both in those three names and in what this verse leaves out.
Israel had already had one great day of judgment at Mizpah. This verse adds repetition: the same work, year after year.
We have seen the special scene of judgment at Mizpah, but this was to continue — something we often lose sight of. There must not be just one act of self-judgment; our whole lives are to come under the light of God's truth. We are to apply the practical Word to our ways.
The circuit starts at Bethel. Its name and its story with Jacob, Abraham's grandson, both matter:
First, Samuel went to Bethel, meaning the house of God. Here it was that God revealed Himself in sovereign grace to Jacob, the wanderer. There God revealed His settled purpose to bless Jacob. There too God promises to keep Jacob in all his wanderings and to bring him back to the place of blessing. God will be true to His own word, as He says to Jacob, "I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
Others stress why this stop had to come first of all:
Bethel is "the house of God"; all judgment must begin there. There is no power for judgment until we are in His holy presence.
The next stop takes its name from what happened there:
Second, Samuel went from Bethel to Gilgal. This we know was the place of circumcision. The name means "rolling away." At Gilgal, when Israel was circumcised, the reproach of Egypt rolled away from them. If at Bethel we have learned what God is for us in sovereign grace and faithfulness, at Gilgal we recognise that God cannot approve the flesh in His people.
What does that cutting away mean in practice?
Circumcision is carried out in practice with the sharp knife of divine truth. We remember afresh the sentence of death, and what the cross means for self. This is the place of real power. Here we lay aside the uniform of the world and shake off its yoke. We are now God's free men, ready to do battle for all that He has given us in our good inheritance.
The third stop guards what the second one won:
Next comes Mizpah, "the watchtower." We need it to watch against the tricks of the enemy, and to guard against the drifting away we are so prone to. The very fact that we have been at Gilgal means there is a danger of our getting away from it, or losing its holy lesson. Many a saint has fallen because he forgot this obvious lesson and failed to meet the divine Judge at Mizpah. Let us watch and be sober.
The three towns are not the end of the road. Samuel's home lay beyond them:
Lastly, Samuel returned to Ramah. This name means "height." The man of God lives above this world, on the heights. For the Christian, his blessings are spiritual, in heavenly places. Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah are only stages on the road to the heights at Ramah. The sure purpose of God, the judgment of the flesh, and watchfulness against the enemy will prepare us for heavenly ground.
Samuel's service opened and closed the same way:
The first expression of his service was worship before the Lord (1 Sam. 1:28). The worshipper's altar is the last expression of his service.
One writer points out who is missing from this picture:
Here we see the utter collapse of the old order in Israel. The tabernacle was still in the land. No doubt some successor of Eli, with his fellow priests from Aaron's family, carried out priestly duties there. But this passage ignores all of it completely.
Others have found the same circuit pattern in the New Testament:
To judge Israel, Samuel travelled an annual circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah to Ramah. The Lord Jesus also went in a circuit, teaching (Mark 6:6), and the Apostle Paul preached in a circuit (Rom. 15:18–19). From these examples we learn two things. Those with pastoral care must keep revisiting the same places. And it is especially necessary to have regular, structured teaching on certain Bible topics.
- Circuit, not crisis. Mizpah's day of judgment was real. But Samuel kept coming back, because one act of self-judgment is never enough.
- Bethel first. Judgment starts in God's presence, where grace has already promised to keep the wanderer and bring him home.
- Gilgal next. The sharp knife of truth cuts away what God will not approve, and the shame of slavery rolls off — the result is freedom, not loss.
- Mizpah after. The watchtower exists because yesterday's lesson can slip away. Having been at Gilgal is exactly why you must watch.
- Ramah last. The road through those three towns ends on the heights, at a home and an altar — the life that began in worship ends in worship.
And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house, and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar to Jehovah.
This verse closes the account of Samuel's public work with one quiet detail: every circuit ended back at Ramah, where he had built an altar. Why does Scripture record where he lived, and why did a man who was not a priest build an altar of his own?
Samuel's year moved in a loop: three towns on circuit, then back to Ramah, where he also judged Israel. One writer links the two — what he did in public grew out of what he kept up at home.
Samuel had now established his title to judge Israel. By depending on God he had drawn on God's resources, and now he takes his place as judge of a delivered people. He went in circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh. Do not forget Mizpeh, for there he had proved his commission. Samuel lived at Ramah, and at home he cultivated what he proved abroad, for "he built there an altar to the LORD."
Each stop on the circuit carried a history. Bethel means "house of God", the spot where God promised the fleeing Jacob He would bring him back. Gilgal was where Israel was circumcised and "the reproach of Egypt" was rolled away. Mizpeh means watchtower. One commentator treats the three as a path with a destination.
Lastly, Samuel's return was to Ramah. The meaning of this name is "height." The man of God lives above this world on the heights. For the Christian, his blessings are spiritual, in heavenly places. The home of his affections is above. Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh are only stages on the road to the heights at Ramah. The sure purpose of God, the judgment of the flesh, and watchfulness against the enemy will prepare us for heavenly ground.
The altar at Ramah raises a question. Israel had a tabernacle. One writer points out what this verse leaves out.
The old order in Israel had completely collapsed, and we see it clearly here. The tabernacle was still in the land. No doubt some successor of Eli, along with his fellow priests, carried out the priestly duties there. But this passage ignores all of it.
Commentators call this an exception, not a pattern to copy. One writer spells out how far outside the normal order Samuel stood.
The days of Samuel were exceptional. He was not a priest, yet he offered sacrifices. He had this altar without either the tabernacle or the ark. He was the man of faith in those days, and God Himself acknowledged him as the upholder of His people.
Darby puts the weight where the passage puts it. Israel had nothing else to lean on.
Samuel judged Israel at Ramah and built an altar there. All this is an exceptional and extraordinary position for Israel. They depended entirely on Samuel. He himself lived like a patriarch, as though there were no tabernacle at all. Through his own relationship with God, by faith, he becomes the support and upholder of the people, who in fact had no other.
The altar at Ramah belonged to Samuel's private life, not to his public work. One writer presses that point on anyone who serves God.
Before moving on, notice that at Ramah, Samuel's home, "he built there an altar to the LORD." Many servants today seem swallowed up by their work. Samuel was not. He did not neglect personal fellowship with God and worship. Service has its important place. But unless it grows out of communion with God, it soon becomes an activity of the flesh — restless, easily annoyed, too elated by success, or discouraged when success is lacking. May every servant of Christ have his "altar" connected with his work and service to God and His people.
Rossier notes what filled Samuel's time at home, then sets this altar beside the very start of his life.
Even at Ramah, where he lived, he was concerned only with the well-being of the Lord's people. The first expression of his service had been to worship before the Lord (1 Sam. 1:28); the worshipper's altar is the last expression of his service. Is this life of faith not fittingly framed by these two acts?
- Return. Samuel's travels always ended at one place; home was where he grew what he later spent in public.
- Route. Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpeh are stages on the road: God's purpose, the judgment of the flesh, watchfulness. Ramah, "height", is the destination.
- Rarity. Samuel was no priest, yet he sacrificed at his own altar. The tabernacle and its priests stood ignored. These days were exceptional, not a pattern to copy.
- Reliance. Israel had nothing to lean on but one man's faith. God Himself acknowledged Samuel as the upholder of His people.
- Rhythm. Worship opened his life and worship closed it. Service not born of that communion turns into restless effort.