West of Jerusalem, between Mispeh and Shen, in the territory of Benjamin, the prophet Samuel erected a large rock. It was to be a memory stone that Samuel named “Ebenezer,” for the people of Israel; for, Samuel said, “ Thus far the Lord has helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12) It was a dramatic and enduring reminder to the people that their well being and safety had been secured by the hand of God when the Philistines had attacked them. It was an acknowledgment of the Israelites’ unique relationship with their God, who was indeed their shield and protection. It was a valuable gesture of remembrance, and it required a prophet of God to establish it for the people.

The truth was that Israel had been devastatingly defeated by the Philistines prior to their most recent victory. Samuel had told them that they must abandon all other gods if they hoped for help from their God, and, perhaps surprisingly, the entire nation responded: Then all the nation turned back to the Lord, so Samuel said to all the Israelites: “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods. . . and commit yourselves to the Lord, and serve Him only. Then He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths , and served the Lord only. 1Samuel 7:3-4)

Samuel’s Ebenezer meant more to the Israelites than a simple tribute to their God. It acknowledged the abandonment of “other gods” that had been a pervasive temptation to the people since before their arrival in the Promised Land. “Ebenezer” testified to the need to consciously reject the idols of all other peoples around them. The Ebenezer was a tangible reminder of the One who had brought them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and had recently rescued them from what could have been a very bruising battle with the Philistines. Ebenezer was a call to humility, a sign that the nation was not self-sufficient, but dependent upon a God they could know from their own past with the help of their prophet Samuel.

I believe that the message is true today as well as then. Our God has made Himself available through His son Jesus, but many preoccupations stand between us and a close relationship with Him. God looks for us to make time to turn to Him, He is the God of all life, and the time we spend with Him is time He cherishes. He has loved us thus far, even before the time of Ebenezer.

Love in Him,

Prue