Date: 04-07-2021

Title: Raising An Ebenezer

(S) cripture:
    1 Samuel 7:1-14 (NLT2) So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the LORD. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it. 2 The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all. During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the LORD had abandoned them. 3 Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the LORD, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the LORD; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the LORD. 5 Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the LORD. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the LORD. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.) 7 When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching. 8 “Don’t stop pleading with the LORD our God to save us from the Philistines!” they begged Samuel. 9 So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the LORD as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the LORD to help Israel, and the LORD answered him. 10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the LORD spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. 11 The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way. 12 Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the LORD has helped us!” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the LORD’s powerful hand was raised against the Philistines. 14 The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.

(O) bservation:
    The Ark of the Covenant has been returned to the Israelites by the Philistines. Samuel is now the leader of the Israelites and leads them when the Philistines threat to strike against them. After he defeats the Philistines Samuel places a memorial rock between two towns and names it “Ebenezer” which means “the stone of help”. It was a reminder that the Lord had helped them win the victory. The ebenezer stone was a memorial, a constant reminder of what God had done.

(A) pplication:
    It is important in our lives to place some “Ebenezer stones” as memorials that when seen remind us of God’s provision and help. It is not the memorial itself that is important but rather the memory it represents. I often go to the memorial in Springhill Cemetery that honors the memory of the Marshall Football team that died in the plane crash on November 14, 1970. I had a class with most of the upper class players the spring before the crash. I thank God for memorials that remind me of his presence and provision in my life. I thank God for all the “Ebenezer Stones” in my life.

(P) rayer:
    Father, I thank you for allowing me to remember. I thank you for those memorials that point me back to your provision in my life. Amen