And Samuel took a sucking-lamb, and offered it as a whole burnt-offering to Jehovah; and Samuel cried to Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answered him.
Israel had gathered at Mizpah, poured out water, fasted and confessed. Then the Philistines marched. Their answer was not a weapon but a lamb and a cry. Why did that move God?
The people had already humbled themselves and confessed. Yet that is not what God acted on.
Samuel responds to their cry at once. The one through whom God had re-established relations with His people as prophet now turns to God on behalf of the people as priest. Having the mind of God, he takes a lamb and "offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD." He approaches God on the ground of sacrifice. Separation from evil, preparation of heart, repentance however deep, confession of sin however real — all of it is necessary and right. But none of it forms the righteous ground on which God can bless His people. The solid and unchanging ground of all God's actings in grace must always be Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. Samuel's "nursing lamb" speaks of an innocent victim. The "whole burnt offering" speaks of the sacrifice that meets the glory of God. On the ground of the burnt offering "Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel," and on the ground of sacrifice "the LORD answered him."
The age of the animal matters. So does what the people had already done.
The poured-out water had already testified to their sense of utter weakness. The fast showed how they humbled themselves. The nursing lamb spoke to the Lord of the Christ who was to come. He alone is the One in and through Whom men are delivered and blessed. This is the only place that expressly mentions such a lamb offered to the Lord in sacrifice. Its moral fitness at this moment is very clear. It pictured Christ as the One who was obedient and devoted to God from His youth. He offered Himself as a sweet savour on behalf of men who had nothing but wilfulness and disobedience to show.
The offering was not divided; all of it went up. Writers tie this to the purpose the law gave the burnt offering.
The nursing lamb is a beautiful picture of Christ, the innocent, tender Lamb of God. God heard Samuel, not merely for his piety, but because of the sacrifice he offered. It was a burnt offering — Christ, wholly acceptable to God. The burnt offering, when not specifically prescribed, was brought for a man's acceptance. The expression "of his own voluntary will" in Leviticus 1:3 is better translated, "He shall offer it for his acceptance." Samuel offers it on behalf of "all Israel." Such a lamb suited their state. God did not despise their feebleness of faith, but graciously and tenderly stoops to their level.
Samuel was not a priest, yet he offered the sacrifice himself.
They gathered at Mizpah, poured out water before the Lord as a token of repentance, and confessed their sins. When the Philistines came to attack them, they begged Samuel to cry to the Lord for them. He offered a nursing lamb as a burnt offering. In this way he recognised the ground of the relationship between the people and God… The days of Samuel were exceptional. He was not a priest, yet he offered sacrifices, and he had an altar without either the tabernacle or the ark. He was the man of faith in those days, being owned by God as the upholder of His people.
The order matters. The sacrifice comes before the prayer.
Samuel, nearest to God and therefore knowing His mind, does not merely intercede… He knew well that the one way of approach, the only ground of merit, was sacrifice. He was not the priest himself, yet here he stands in the priest's place. He offers the burnt offering to God, and on that ground he can add his prayers. This lamb speaks to us of that "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" — here not as the sin offering, but as the burnt offering. It is Christ in His devotedness to God unto death… whose death could be a Substitute for the disobedience and sin of His people.
One writer turns the whole scene into a rule for prayer.
God has treasures of mercy. Prayer is the key that opens these treasures. In prayer, be sure to carry Christ in your arms, for all the mercy comes through Christ. "Samuel took a nursing lamb."
- Ground, not feeling. Repentance, fasting and confession were all real. But God acted on the sacrifice.
- Ground offered. The nursing lamb spoke of Christ, devoted to God from His youth. Scripture mentions such a victim only here.
- Ground accepted. Burnt whole, it was the offering "for his acceptance." God stooped to a faith too weak to bring anything greater.
- Ground stood on. Samuel was no priest. He offered the sacrifice first, and only then added his prayers.
- Ground answered. The LORD answered him. Prayer opens God's treasures when it comes carrying Christ.
And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines advanced to battle against Israel. And Jehovah thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were routed before Israel.
Israel had gathered before God in weakness and repentance when the Philistines came up to fight. The verse turns on one question. Why does God step into a battle for a beaten people, and why at that exact moment?
The Philistines came on while the offering was still burning. One writer sets what Samuel leaned on beside what his people could actually do:
Samuel's reliance is not on spear or shield. He takes one nursing lamb and offers it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. This is his plea, and so he cries to God for the people; and the Lord answers. The offering does not stand for the people's newly promised obedience, as most commentators say — what poor ground of confidence that would be in such a crisis! It stands for Christ, the One utterly devoted to God from His birth, the "Lamb," seen in the perfect youth of glorious manhood. What a blessed Substitute for the slow and stained obedience of our best efforts! While Samuel offers, the Philistines draw near. Who can turn this crowd of weak and frightened people into warriors? So the Lord Himself will be seen all the more.
The offering behind the thunder was a young lamb still at its mother's side — a choice that matched both the people's condition and the character of Christ.
The nursing lamb is a beautiful picture of Christ, the innocent, tender Lamb of God. God heard Samuel, not merely for his godliness — as He heard Christ when He was here on earth — but because of the sacrifice he offered. It was a burnt offering — Christ, wholly acceptable to God... A nursing lamb suited their state. God did not despise their weak faith; in grace and tenderness He stoops to their level.
Another writer draws out what the lamb's age said about Christ, and about the men it was offered for:
This is the only clear mention of a nursing lamb offered to the Lord in sacrifice. How well it fits this moment is plain to see. It pictured Christ as the One who was obedient and devoted to God from His youth. He offered Himself as a pleasing aroma to God for men who had nothing to show but self-will and disobedience.
Israel's grasp of the truth was weak. But their weakness did not set the size of what God did next.
However weak their understanding, the sacrifice itself went wholly to the Lord — it carried the worth of the burnt offering. So the Lord answered Samuel's prayer according to His estimate of the whole burnt offering. That answer still took full account of the low condition of the people. The power of the Lord is now shown as He thundered upon the Philistines. (Compare 1 Sam. 2:9-10.) Christ was crucified in weakness, but He lives by the power of God. His sufferings are the key to every time God steps in for His people.
One writer gives the meaning thunder carries wherever Scripture uses it:
Thunder is God's voice in judgment, the expression of His authority in it (1 Sam. 7:10; Ps. 18:13; Job 26:14).
Israel did fight that day. But they only stepped in after the Lord had settled the outcome.
God heard His prophet from "the secret place of thunder," and gave an overwhelming victory to His people. Israel had only to stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord. When they enter the fight, it is only to chase an enemy already beaten. Then, in safety and peace, they enjoy the fruits of victory... Israel's superstitious dependence on the ark for safety is gone now. The faith of the man of God rests in the sacrifice offered to the Lord. That sacrifice wins acceptance for His people and rescue from their enemies.
One writer notes who else is watching when God's people gather in weakness:
The Philistines did not know that the Lord was with those humbled, repentant people. But He was — as He always will be with the upright in heart. He showed Himself strong for them. He thundered against their enemies and set Israel free. It does not please the devil when God's people gather before Him in their weakness. He would rather watch them put on a great show of strength they do not have. But the lowly place is the place of power.
- Lamb first. The victory begins at an altar, not a battle line. Samuel's plea is a sacrifice, and the Lord answers while it still burns.
- Lamb suited. A nursing lamb met Israel where they were; God stooped to their weak faith instead of despising it.
- Lamb measured. God sized His answer by the burnt offering, not by the people's poor condition.
- Lamb answered. The thunder was God's voice in judgment — His authority speaking against the enemy Israel could not face.
- Lamb followed. Israel only chased an enemy already beaten; the lowly place, then and now, is the place of power.