The Bible has much to say about stones and rocks. Just off the top of my head I can give you some I thought of this afternoon. Jacob had a rock for a pillow. It was a rock of testimony between him and Uncle Laban. What about the 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan River by Joshua or the rock that was rolled over the mouth of the garden tomb? As a boy I would love to pick up rocks and look at them. I’d skim them across the South Georgia ponds and rivers. I’d put them in sling shots I’d made from tree limbs and old bicycle inner tubes. Those rocks meant something to me and the rocks in the Bible mean things also. The Ebenezer Stone was named, placed, and dedicated by the great prophet Samuel. Let me share with you three thoughts today about the Ebenezer Stone.

  1. Stone of Remembrance. What were they to remember? They were to recall how God had delivered them from the Philistines. I Samuel 7:7-8 tells us how Israel was fearful, but God sent great thunder which struck fear into the hearts of the enemy. The people of God won a great victory. They were to remember how God did it, thunder (7:10), and how long the peace lasted (7:13). Do we remember what God did for us at salvation? He gave us healing when we were hurting, victory when we didn’t see how, and provided for all our needs.
  2. Stone of Recognition. Our text in chapter 7 is not the only time the Philistines were coming to Ebenezer. Look back at 4:1-2; 5:1. Twenty years earlier Israel had been defeated and the ark of God taken captive. It had been a place of defeat. The Philistines thought their gods were more powerful than Jehovah because they just didn’t understand the reason they were victorious. It wasn’t their mighty army with all its iron chariots, it was that God’s people were living sinful lives and allowing pagan worship throughout the land. But now, they can walk their families by this spot and tell the kids a story. No longer do they worry about the enemy killing or maiming them or their children. God had now helped them.
  3. Stone of Revelation. The location of the Ebenezer Stone is very interesting. Mizpah was the location where Jacob placed a rock of testimony between him and his Uncle Laban. The place called Shen means “a jagged, jutting, hard place.” Perhaps this is like our saying “between a rock and a hard place.” That saying may have originated from this passage. The name of the place between Mizpah and Shen was Ebenezer, and it means “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” I want us to place an emphasis on two things. One, the Lord. When everyone else fails, he succeeds. When no one else has a solution, he has the answer. The second thing is the word “us.” The Lord isn’t limited to helping just one of us. He can help us all.

Final Thoughts: You and I will have trouble. Job 5:7. “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” Just as sure as you see sparks from a fire flying up into the night sky, so you can count on trouble. You and I will have God to help us. God has healed in the past and he will do it again. God has guided in the past and he will guide us in the future if we walk with Him. God has protected us in the past and He will do so again. Why don’t we raise our Ebenezer Stone just as the old prophet did?