1. Samuel's spiritual leadership 7:2-4

Twenty years after the Philistines had taken the ark Samuel led the people in national repentance.⁸³The Philistine oppression resulted in the Israelites turning to Yahweh for help (v. 2). Samuel told the people what they needed to do to secure God's blessing and victory over their enemy. They needed to repent (cf. Deut. 6:13; 13:4; Matt. 4:10). The people did so, and the hope of deliverance revived. Baal and Ashtoreth were the chief male and female deities of the Canaanite pantheon.⁸⁴