Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. 1 Samuel 7:12
The stone of help – that is what Ebenezer means. The prophet-judge Samuel set up a stone as a memorial of a great event in Israel’s history. It was truly an event worthy of a memorial. The Philistines had attacked at a time when Samuel had assembled the people to judge them as he sought to convince them to stop their idolatry and return to worshipping the Lord. Alarmed at being caught helplessly off guard by the sneaky Philistines, the people pleaded with Samuel to entreat the Lord for them. Samuel did so, offering a suckling lamb as the Philistines approached. At that very moment, God thundered against the Philistines, totally demoralizing and confusing them. The Israelites chased their enemies away, and the Philistines ran, never to return as long as Samuel lived. So Samuel raised up the Ebenezer stone because of the Lord’s help. Note where the stone was set up, why it was set up, and what it was called.
Twenty years earlier, in the very same field, the Philistines had come and defeated the Israelites, killing the priests and capturing the ark of the Lord. Now, in the very place where the Israelites had failed, God had triumphed. There is a Gospel application here: the very sins that were dragging us sinners down to defeat and destruction were laid on our Saviour at Calvary, and He won a great victory there. Praise God that at Calvary, He helped us. And since we entered into the good of that help, the Lord has helped us every day, giving us victories that we could never achieve on our own. In the very places where we must admit defeat, the Lord gives victory.
The stone Ebenezer was set up so that the people might remember what God had done for them. We are far too prone to forget all of God’s loving kindness. That is why we gather to remember the Lord each week, bringing our minds and hearts back to the scene where our salvation was purchased at infinite cost. This weekly event is our Ebenezer. We should also mark well the other great victories God works in our lives, so that we don’t forget His help.
If Samuel had set up a wooden post, or had built a special building, it would have looked good for a while, and then have deteriorated. But he set up a stone, something that would not decay or fall to the elements. For many years, that stone – and its name, the stone of help – would remind all who passed that way that God had helped. Like a stone, God’s ability and willingness to help His people never fades or falls.
Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. And, praise His Name, He will continue to do so. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the viodeo of this message: https://youtu.be/-9R0dmkUK7w