This week I have been studying the book of Samuel. I preached a few weeks ago on Samuel 3 and God waking him up in the night. As I was reading Samuel 7 I noticed a place referenced, “Samuel was the leader of Israel at Mizpah.” Mizpah is also the place where the Philistines are going to attack when God intervenes with loud thunder that threw the Philistines into panic. I did some research on Mizpah, here is some interesting findings.
Mizpah is mentioned for the first time Biblically in Genesis 31 when Jacob and Laban agree at Gilead to a godsent peace. They built a monument of stone and named it Mizpah saying, “The Lord watch between me and you when we are absent one from another.” A website I visited mentioned that Mizpah matured into the universal symbol of affection, trust, and human values. Mizpah bears many messages: I am thinking of you, Take good care, Forgive me, I like you a lot, all will turn out well, do not give in, there is hope, you mean so much to me, you are a wonderful person, you are so special, etc.
Maybe we could use a little more “Mizpah” in our world today.
