Stones of Celebration

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’”—1 Samuel 7:12 (NIV)

Israel was on the threshold of a new spiritual era. When you read through the Book of Judges and on into these early chapters of 1 Samuel, you see a well-worn path of compromise and rebellion. But this begins to change here with God’s hand upon Samuel and Samuel’s hand on Israel’s spiritual helm.

There’s a corporate call for repentance, and the people repent! There’s a turning away from the infectious idols that had led their hearts astray and a turning to the one true and living God who rescued them from the land of Egypt and provided them with a promised land of their own.

In response to His people’s repentance, God gives them victory over their mortal enemies, the Philistines, in a most miraculous manner. As the enemy draws near, the Lord thunders from the sky and it sends the Philistines into such a panic they lose all composure and become easy prey for Israel (1 Samuel 7:10).

The darkness of disobedience was lifting and the light of righteousness began to illuminate the land. Given all that had gone before this moment, this was a big deal! And Samuel, sensing the rays of revival beaming down from heaven and seizing the momentum of the moment, does something we need to pay special attention to. He sets up a stone to mark the occasion and embused this makeshift monument with significance by naming it “Ebenezer.”

Unfortunately, most of us automatically associate that name with something miserable and miserly . . . Ebenezer Scrooge. I mean couldn’t Samuel have thought of a better name than that?! This is something we just need to get over (even though that character is eventually redeemed) because the name “Ebenezer” literally means “rock of help” in Hebrew.

This stone Samuel sets up was to be an enduring reminder and perpetual celebration of the Lord’s help. That in years and generations to come, when new challenges would arise and new fears would creep into their hearts, the Israelites would be able to recall how the Lord met them in their obedience and helped them in the face of their enemy. And this not only marked an event in the past, but it was also a token of what they could expect in the future, because the God who helped then is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

I feel confident in assuming that every single person reading this right now has experienced the Lord’s help in some form or fashion. He’s proven to be a rock of help when the ground was giving way beneath your feet. It could be you’re currently going through something, a storm perhaps, and the waters and the winds are whipping you in every direction. All you have is the rock of Jesus to cling to, and He’s your only help and your only hope of surviving your ordeal.

Guess what . . . He’s enough! His help is enough, and in time you’ll be able to do what Samuel did. You’ll be able to set up a stone to remind you of how He helped you in ways that nothing and nobody else could. Wherever you’re at in life, rest in the Lord’s heart for you and in the sufficiency of His help towards you. The creator of all things wants to fill the landscape of our life with Ebenezer stones, celebrating who He is and what He’s done for you.

Pause: What does the Ebenezer stone represent and how does this relate to your own life?

Practice: Think of some Ebenezer stones that fill the landscape of your life and how can you be more observant of them.

Pray: Lord God, You’re our only hope and You’re our only Help when push comes to shove! There will be times when no other person and no other thing on earth can help us with what we’re going through, but You can! Make us more and more mindful and aware of the ways and times You help us, because we miss seeing it all the time! Open our eyes to see and our hands to receive Your help in our lives, and may we exist in an ongoing response of praise and celebration of You. Amen!