1 Samuel 7:5

5 Then Samuel said, "Gather all the Israelites together at Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you."

1 Samuel 7:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 7:5

And Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpeh
Not Mizpeh in Gilead, on the other side Jordan, but a city which lay on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, where the tribes met on the account of the Levite's concubine, ( Judges 20:1 ) . This order Samuel gave by messengers sent to the several tribes, or the heads of them, to meet him at this place:

and I will pray for you unto the Lord;
no doubt he prayed for them privately, that the reformation begun might be carried on, and appear to be sincere, and hearty, and general, and universal; but he was desirous that they might appear in a body, and join with him in public prayer for their spiritual and temporal welfare; that they might have true repentance for their sins, reform from them, and have remission of them, and be delivered out of the hands of their enemies.

1 Samuel 7:5 In-Context

3 Samuel told the entire nation of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD wholeheartedly, get rid of the foreign gods you have, including the statues of the goddess Astarte. Make a commitment to the LORD, and serve only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines."

4 So the Israelites got rid of the statues of Baal and Astarte and served only the LORD.

5 Then Samuel said, "Gather all the Israelites together at Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you."

6 So the Israelites gathered together at Mizpah. They drew some water, poured it out in front of the LORD, and fasted that day. They confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." So Samuel judged Israel in Mizpah.

7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the Philistine rulers came to attack Israel. The Israelites heard [about the Philistine plan] and were afraid of them.