Samuel's Ebenezer Stone

Samuel's Ebenezer Stone
A Reminder of God's Power to Help
1 Samuel 7:9-12

The Bible is filled with memorial stones that remind God's people of important spiritual truths. The stones of Gilgal reminded Israel of God's saving power and their new beginning. Jacob's stone at Bethel reminded him of God's presence. The stone of Abel reminded God's people of God's pleasure in sacrifice. Now we come to Samuel's Ebenezer Stone, a monument that stands as a testimony to God's power to help his people in times of need.

Israel was facing a formidable enemy. The Philistines had oppressed them for years, and the nation desperately needed divine intervention. Samuel understood that victory would not come through military strength or human ingenuity. It would come through sacrifice, prayer, and dependence upon the LORD.

The Offering
Samuel offered from the heart, a sucking lamb, which is considerably young, between 20-30 days old, as a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD. This sacrifice represented complete surrender and devotion. At the same time, Samuel made supplication and cried unto the LORD, and the LORD heard him.
What a reminder that sincere prayer still gets God's attention. When God's people begin to seek him wholeheartedly, the enemy often becomes more active.
 
The Opposition
The Philistines moved against Israel while Samuel was sacrificing and praying. Opposition often intensifies when spiritual progress is being made. The opposition in the believer's life may come from the enemies of his own flesh,  family, friends, foes, or even finances.
When opposition arises, there is a possibility that areas of your life are hindered. Prosperity can be hindered, as in Genesis 24:56: "Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way." Prayers can be hindered according to 1 Peter 3:7. Purposes can be hindered, as Paul wrote to the Romans in Romans 1:13: "Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let (hindered) hitherto,) And Progress can be hindered like in the days of Israel rebuilding the house of God in Ezra 6:8: "...forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered."

Yet what the enemy intended for defeat, God used as an opportunity to demonstrate His power.

The Overthrow
The LORD thundered with a great thunder upon the Philistines and discomfited them. Their plans were overturned. Their confidence vanished. Their army was thrown into confusion. The God who had divided the Red Sea and removed the wheels from Pharaoh's chariots in Exodus 14:25 once again intervened on behalf of His people.
The LORD has power both to help and to cast down (2 Chronicles 25:8). Another way of putting it, he can help you while at the same time casting down or abasing the opposition surrounding you. The LORD smote the enemy before Israel’s eyes so they would see his power and might, and encourage them to keep fighting in the victory.

The Offensive
The LORD destroyed the enemy, and the victory belonged to him, but he let the nation of Israel have a part in it.
Israel pursued the fleeing Philistines and smote them until they came under Beth-car, the "house of the lamb." What a beautiful picture of the Christian life. When we surrender, submit, and sacrifice ourselves to God, He brings the enemy "under subjection." He subdues the enemy through us while we subdue the enemy through Christ.
The believer does not gain victory through self-effort but through dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. James 4:6-7, "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

The Observance
After the battle, Samuel erected a stone between Mizpeh (watchtower) and Shen (tooth) and called its name Ebenezer, meaning "stone of help." He declared, "Hitherto hath the LORD helped us." Samuel wanted future generations to remember that their victory was not the result of their own strength but the result of God's intervention.
As Samuel observed, so too should the Christian remember that our help comes from God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

David would go on to write verses like 2 Samuel 22:3, "The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence." Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalms 62:7,  "In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." And Psalms 94:22, "But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge. The writer of Hebrews 2:18 would say,  "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour (help) them that are tempted."

We all face battles, hindrances, and opposition. Sometimes our prayers seem delayed, our progress appears blocked, and our strength feels insufficient. In those moments, we need our own Ebenezer to remind us that our help comes from the LORD.
The God who helped Israel still helps his people today. He remains our refuge, our strength, our defense, and our rock. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we have access to divine help for every trial, temptation, and difficulty.
When you find yourself overwhelmed, lift your eyes upward and remember Samuel's testimony: "Hitherto hath the LORD helped us."