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Summary:
You may have heard of the Ebenezer Stone before, but do you know what it is? Hear the story of the Ebenezer Stone in 1 Samuel 7 explained and how God is using that story and my Word of the Year to encourage me to trust Him.
Podcast Transcript:
Welcome to Journey Together, a podcast for Christian women who want a deeper relationship with God. I’m your host, Brigette, and today we’re talking about the Ebenezer Stone.
Introduction
Hi ladies! I hope you’ve had an awesome week. I am super excited to update you on my Word of the Year and how God has used the story of the Ebenezer Stone in 1 Samuel 7 to make my word real to me.
My Word for 2024 is Trust, which is a difficult word for me, especially in this season. Right now, we’re living in temporary housing while we sell our old house and buy a new one. We’ve been here for three months, and we’re just now under contract to sell our house. The market is so slow, and new houses aren’t showing up, so buying a new house seems like a pipe dream. We definitely heard God calling us to make this move, so now it’s just a matter of trusting that He has a plan when it seems like there’s no hope, and that is really difficult.
An Ebenezer Stone
Usually, I get a little wooden sign to remind me what my word is, but since we’re in temporary housing, there’s no good place to put one. I also have a toddler who gets into everything, so I have a limited number of safe spaces. I started to ask myself what I could do instead. And I felt God whisper, “what about an Ebenezer stone?”
I have heard the story of the Ebenezer Stone for years. I know people who have carried stones in their pockets, so I thought “maybe I could find a stone and write the word “Trust” on it.” But I’m a woman, so only half of my wardrobe actually has pockets. So while I’m trying to figure this out, and I’m praying for God to help me understand why He brought this up, He told me two things: one, you already have a stone, and two, you should probably read 1 Samuel 7 again. So today, I’m going to read you 1 Samuel 7:1-12, I’ll give you some historical context and we’ll talk about what the passage means. And then I’ll explain what this has to do with my Word of the Year.
1 Samuel 7:1-12
Starting in 1 Samuel 7:1 it says,
So the people of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the Lord and took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill. They consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it.
Time went by until twenty years had passed since the ark had been taken to Kiriath-jearim. Then the whole house of Israel longed for the Lord. Samuel told them, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, set your hearts on the Lord, and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtoreths and only worshiped the Lord.
Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the Lord’s presence. They fasted that day, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. The Israelites said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, so that he will save us from the Philistines.”
Then Samuel took a young lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him. Samuel was offering the burnt offering as the Philistines approached to fight against Israel. The Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they were defeated by Israel. Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, striking them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.
Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, explaining, “The Lord has helped us to this point.”
Context
So, what’s happening in this passage? We start in verse 1 and the Ark of the Covenant is brought to Kiriath-jearim. The Ark of the Covenant was a large, ornate chest covered in gold and carried on poles. God commanded it to be built as a symbol of His presence. It was kept in the Tabernacle or Temple, and there were rules about how it should be treated. You can find more information about the Ark of the Covenant in Exodus 25 and throughout the Old Testament.
Background – 1 Samuel 4-6
But back in 1 Samuel 4, the Israelites brought the Ark of the Covenant with them into battle against the Philistines. Now, the Ark was taken into battle other times as a symbol of God’s presence, but this time was different. In 1 Samuel 4:3 the people of Israel said, “Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it will go with us and save us from our enemies.” The Israelites forgot that the Ark was a symbol of God’s power, and they sought protection and comfort from the symbol, rather than the One the symbol represented. Like the foreigners around them, they treated the Ark like an idol, or a good luck charm. So the Israelites lost the battle against the Philistines and the Philistines took the Ark.
Then, in 1 Samuel 5-6, the Philistines pass the Ark from place to place, and it brings death and destruction everywhere it goes. So the Philistines decide to return the Ark to the Israelites, and they send sacrifices of gold in hopes that their suffering would end.
Verses 1-6
So, when we reach the beginning of 1 Samuel 7, the Ark is being returned to the Israelites, and they have another chance to treat the Ark with respect and obey and trust God.
And that’s what they do. In verse 1, the Ark is brought to a safe place and a priest is consecrated to care for it according to the laws of consecration that God laid out for them. Twenty years later, the Israelites began to long for God. Samuel tells them to get rid of their idols, and they do. They repent, they fast, they pray, and they worship God.
Verses 7-11
And then in verse 7, the Philistines hear that the Israelites are gathered in one place, at Mizpah. They march out against the Israelites to conquer them.
This is the same scenario we see in chapter 4. The Israelites and the Philistines are facing each other in battle. But this time, the Israelites call for God’s help. They see God as their rescuer, not the Ark, and they ask Samuel to cry out to God on their behalf. Samuel does exactly that, and the Israelites defeat the Philistines.
Verse 12
Then we get to the Ebenezer. In verse 12, Samuel takes a stone and names it “Ebenezer”, which means “stone of help”. Then, Samuel makes this statement: “the Lord has helped us to this point.”
I cannot get over how powerful that statement is: “the Lord has helped us to this point.” These are the Israelites we’re talking about. God has helped them A LOT, but they have a pattern of praising God one minute and complaining that He’s not doing enough the next. And I feel that very deeply in this season of my life. One minute I’m praising God for all the good things He’s doing, and the next I’m grasping for control because I’m ready to establish new habits I can’t have in our living situation, I want my house to sell, and I want a space to call my own. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t tried picking up my own idols of comfort, control, pride, selfishness, and impatience to help me through this season. They haven’t helped, just in case you were wondering.
I also think the statement is powerful because it points back to God. The Israelites had taken the Ark into battle before and won (see Numbers 10:35-36 and Joshua 6). When they brought the Ark with them in 1 Samuel 4, they were suggesting that the Ark had helped them in the past, not God. Samuel’s statement is a refreshing reminder, “the LORD has helped us to this point.”
Three Things From The Story of the Ebenezer Stone
I have always seen this story as a light, feel-good, “God is always with you” kind of story. Now I’m realizing this story hits home, hard. We don’t always trust God. We doubt that He wants to give us good things. And sometimes, we pick up idols that disappoint us.
There are three things I want you to learn from this story.
First, the Israelites obeyed. When they got the Ark back, they placed it in a safe place and consecrated a priest to care for it according to the laws of consecration that God laid out for them. And when Samuel gave them instructions to turn back to God, they followed those instructions without question. So we need to ask ourselves: how am I obeying, or not obeying God, in this season of my life?
Second, the Israelites repented. Truly repented. They turned back to God, and when they were asked to give up their idols and to “dedicate (themselves) to the Lord,” they did. They worshiped, fasted and prayed to God. And when things got tough, they didn’t turn back to their false idols. They remained repentant and relied on God for help. Have you truly repented? Are you remaining faithful, and staying away from the sin God has asked you to give up? Is there sin in your life that you need to repent from now?
Third, the Israelites trusted God. When faced with fighting the Philistines again, they turned to God for help, rather than relying on symbols or idols. They trusted God to be with them, which was what the Ark symbolized in the first place. So this last question is simple: are you trusting God? And that brings me back to my Word of the Year.
My Word of the Year
I did have a stone already. It’s a brown stone in a necklace setting from the sea of Galilee my grandparents got for me when they visited Israel. It’s from the Sea of Galilee. Jesus walked on that water. He was baptized in that water. He calmed that water during a storm. I feel like that’s a pretty good Ebenezer stone. I wrote “trust” on it and I wear it often. And now when I look at it, I remember what Samuel said: “the Lord has helped me to this point.”
I cannot point to a time in my life when God abandoned me or left me to figure things out on my own. I have had blessings in abundance that are clear testimonies of His faithfulness and presence. And the fact that He pointed me to this passage in this season of life is evidence of that.
Your Stories
I’m thinking you also have some stories of how God has shown His faithfulness and presence to you through your Word of the Year. So if you have a story to share, I would love to hear it. I’m hoping to collect some stories and share them in a special podcast episode. Sometimes we don’t realize it, but hearing how faithful God has been to someone else encourages us to trust Him as well. I would love the opportunity to share your story, even if you think it’s simple. Any way that God has shown His faithfulness to you can encourage someone else.
Conclusion
If you haven’t chosen a Word of the Year yet and you would like to, there’s still time! There’s no rule that says you have to choose a word on January 1st. If you need help, I have a free workbook that will help you choose a Word of the Year. You can find the link in the show notes.
I also have a 5-day study designed to realign your heart with God’s heart. So if you’ve been feeling far from God, and you’re not sure what to do, I encourage you to check that out. It’s free and it’s a downloadable file so you can get access to it like, right now. The study is called Renew, and you can find that link in the show notes. As always, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please message me! My email address is in the show notes as well.
That’s all I have for today! I’m praying that God reveals Himself to you and I’ll see you back here next week as we continue this spiritual formation journey together. Bye
Links:
Music by: Morning Garden – Acoustic Chill by Olexy on Pixabay
My website: https://brigettehenry.com
Interested in 1:1 coaching: https://brigettehenry.com/coaching
Subscribe to my weekly email: https://brigettehenry.com/subscribe
Word of the Year Workbook: https://mailchi.mp/0506e8988741/word-of-the-year-sub-page
RENEW Study: https://mailchi.mp/6b4edc98bcfe/renew-study-sub-page
Contact me at: brigette@brigettehenry.com
All scripture is CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
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