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Announcer (00:00:00): It's time to think about the Bible like you never have before. This is Christian Questions. Experience more episodes, videos and Bible study resources at ChristianQuestions.com. Today's topic is, "What is Your Ebenezer?" As Christians, we should always work at being grateful, but this is usually easier said than done. Fortunately for us, the Bible is full of tools to help us keep our gratitude on track. One of those rarely spoken about tools is called an Ebenezer. A what? What kind of tool is that? Here's Rick, Jonathan and Julie.

Rick (00:00:34): Welcome everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over 25 years. Julie, a longtime contributor, is also with us. Jonathan, what is our theme scripture for this episode?

Jonathan (00:00:47): 1 Samuel 7:12: "Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the LORD has helped us."

Rick (00:00:59): The world around us moves so fast that it's easy to forget, to pause and consider just how profoundly God has blessed us. In the United States, somewhere tucked in between the massive Halloween parties and the exhilaration of Christmas, Santa Claus, presents and fun is a holiday called Thanksgiving. While we won't take the time to discuss how it came to be, we do want to remember why. Thanksgiving's origin was actually simple. It was proclaimed to pause and consider just how profoundly blessed those settlers were to have lived through a hard winter and now experience a harvest in preparation for the next hard winter. In short, the Thanksgiving they gave was to God above, period. Today we'll talk about a similar thanksgiving to God, but under the biblical name of Ebenezer.

Jonathan (00:01:54): What is an Ebenezer? In Hebrew the name means "stone of help." This word is only used three times in the Old Testament; twice in 1 Samuel 4 and 5 as the name of a place, and once in 1 Samuel 7 as the name of a stone of remembrance. It's both a place and a stone.

Rick (00:02:15): Okay, simple enough. Let's look at the powerful connection between these two uses of this word. There's a very sad and difficult history in which this connection was founded, as Israel was not a godly nation at that time. Jonathan, to set the context here let's go to 1 Samuel 4:1-2:

Jonathan (00:02:39): "Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside Ebenezer while the Philistines camped in Aphek. The Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield." Ebenezer was the name of the place where the Israelites camped out before a battle with the Philistines. The Philistines attacked, and four thousand Israelites died. In verse 3, they're trying to figure out how this defeat could have happened, and they decide to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the next battle.

Julie (00:03:21): A quick refresher in case all we remember is the first Indiana Jones movie, the Ark was in the room called the Most Holy in the Tabernacle of the Old Testament. It was a wooden box overlaid with gold and a physical representation of God's presence and power for the Israelites. Not only was it with them in the wilderness, it was also placed in the Jordan River when they miraculously crossed over dry land. The walls of Jericho crumbled when the Ark was carried around them. They were victorious when the Ark was near, and this definitely was a time they needed a victory.

Rick (00:03:55): Israel then brought the Ark into their camp, and because of its presence, they shouted for joy, like, yes, victory is within our grasp! Well, here's what happened. The Philistines then came and attacked them there, and the slaughter was even greater than before. Let's look at 1 Samuel 4:11:

Jonathan (00:04:17): "And the Ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died." Eli, the high priest, was a good man, but his sons were a disgrace, and Eli didn't discipline them. They misused their position as under priests (not high priests, under priests). In addition, they practiced immorality and blasphemy, and they misled the people.

Julie (00:04:41): God never told them to bring this Ark to this place. The battle didn't last long because the Philistines gained a complete victory. They stormed Israel's camp and slew 30,000 Israelites. These are big battles.

Rick (00:04:53): Yeah. You had the four thousand before, but this is much, much, much, much worse.

Julie (00:04:59): 1 Samuel 5:1:

Jonathan (00:05:01): "And the Philistines took the Ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod." Now this was shocking and an absolute tragedy. The Israelites were stunned that the Philistines now had their most precious and holy object. In fact, when Eli heard about what happened, he fell backwards off his chair and broke his neck and died.

Rick (00:05:23): What we have is, we have a series of very catastrophic events. Now let's take a look at Matthew Poole Commentary to kind of put this in order.

Julie (00:05:35): On the 1 Samuel 4:11, he says, "The Ark of God was taken; which God justly and wisely permitted; partly, to punish the Israelites for their profanation of it (it was profane); partly, that by taking away the pretenses of their foolish and impious confidence, He might more deeply humble them, and bring them to true repentance; partly, that the Philistines might by this means be more effectually convinced of God's almighty power, and of their own gods' impotency." Because stealing the Ark, as we're going to see, turned out to be disastrous for the Philistines.

Rick (00:06:11): It did, because the Ark misused is bad enough, but the Ark taken captive by heathen individuals? Not a good situation. The Philistines had possession of this Ark for only seven months, and they were in utter disarray as a result of that possession. Suffering or death came to any who went near it. They lost many men and decided to hastily return it to Israel; 1 Samuel 6:21:

Jonathan (00:06:36): "So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the Ark of the LORD; come down and take it up to you."

Rick (00:06:46): They brought it and literally left it on a cart and ran away. Then they sent a message saying, "Go take that thing," because now they're afraid of it. Now remember, Samuel is the prophet at this ungodly time in Israel's history. We're going to see how he puts this in perspective eventually here. Let's go to 1 Samuel 7. We're dropping through, walking through 1 Samuel 4, 5, 6 and 7 to give the story. 1 Samuel 7:1-2:

Jonathan (00:07:14): "And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the Ark of the LORD and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the Ark of the LORD. From the day that the Ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD." Now, the house of Abinadab was isolated and set on a hill far away. The Ark was aloof and distant from the people, gathering dust not being used in a way it was intended. Israel mourned because it seemed as though the Lord had abandoned them. The Israelites were starting to realize how unfaithful they had been and realize they needed God.

Julie (00:07:58): The prophet Samuel perceives this change of heart in the people, and he acts quickly. He arranges this general meeting for everyone at a small mountain called Mizpah. To Samuel's delight, the Israelites respond in considerable numbers. They recognize their unfaithfulness. They knew they were out of divine favor and wanted to do something about it.

Rick (00:08:19): Twenty years. Twenty years; after those twenty years, Samuel is finally getting Israel's attention.

Jonathan (00:08:29): Samuel then put the matter before them in plain and distinct terms. 1 Samuel 7:3-4: "Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If you return to the LORD with all of your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the LORD and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the LORD alone."

Julie (00:08:59): There was a standing agreement between God and Israel. If they would obey God's laws and be loyal to Him, He would be their God and they His people. He would bless them. But if they did not obey His statutes and were not loyal to Him, then He would deliver them into the hands of their enemies and punish them. God was keeping His part of the covenant. It was Israel that failed, and Samuel was properly bringing it to their attention and urging them to repentance.

Rick (00:09:26): You have this situation where it's all looking ridiculous, but Samuel puts it in order. He draws them back to God, and he gives them the sense of the clarity of what they need to understand here. Let's go now to 1 Samuel 7:8:

Jonathan (00:09:45): "Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines." What a dramatic change in their attitude. They were learning to look for help in the right direction.

Julie (00:10:02): Twenty years earlier, they carelessly called for the Ark of God to lead them into battle against the Philistines without reformation of character, without repentance for their sins. They substituted the Ark for their lack of faith. But now their trust was in the living God, Jehovah.

Rick (00:10:19): You can see a very dramatic change in Israel. This wasn't just a little change, this was a big change. This was a paradigm shift for them to look at themselves as a nation and to realize they had abandoned their God. Samuel brought them back to their God, and they accepted his bringing them back. The humility of their helplessness, you can see it just shining through here. Let's continue as the story continues to unfold; 1 Samuel 7:10-11:

Jonathan (00:10:55): "Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel. The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as below Beth-car."

Rick (00:11:18): Now you have, Samuel is doing spiritual work because Israel is basically begging him, begging, begging, "Please, please stay. We need God's deliverance. We can't do the things that we did before." His immediate response to this resounding victory, because God routes (the Philistines--edited) without them (Israel) essentially. His immediate response to this is to remember it in a very, very unique way; 1 Samuel 7:12:

Jonathan (00:11:48): "Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the LORD has helped us." Their deliverance was not because of their military prowess. This was God's deliverance.

Rick (00:12:05): This is important. God's deliverance has taken over. It's back where it belongs. It's in the forefront of the nation, and they have recognized this. These are the events that help us understand Ebenezers. Let's look at this and let's draw some basic lessons. Let's glean the lessons from Samuel and his own Ebenezer experience. Julie, let's get started.

Julie (00:12:34): The first thing that stands out for me is that Israel's spiritual life was definitely out of order. Sometimes our spiritual lives can be out of order, and we don't want to pay attention to fixing them.

Jonathan (00:12:45): Samuel stood firm and instructed the people to return to worship God. God's providence can show us the path back to godly order, but we have to choose to follow it.

Julie (00:12:57): Samuel's advice and warnings finally sunk in, and the people took action. For us, time can go by and we finally see what we've been avoiding, and we take corrective action.

Jonathan (00:13:09): Right after the people rededicated themselves to serving God correctly, they were put to the test when the Philistines attacked. For us, God's providence will often provide testing grounds to see if our action is genuine.

Julie (00:13:24): The Israelites change their ways, and God mercifully protected them. They gave Him all the credit for their victory. God can and will deliver us, and that deliverance can come within the context of our previous losses. We see the big picture and how far off the mark we've been.

Jonathan (00:13:43): This victory against the Philistines was memorialized with a simple, unfinished rock. We, in turn, should mark His providence in our lives in a humble yet unforgettable way.

Rick (00:13:56): These lessons are actually what we're going to be going over as we unfold the story of Ebenezers in our own lives. It's very fascinating to see how this all came to be in Scripture. Samuel's handling of Israel's heartfelt pleading for God's protection is packed with lessons and applications for our own Christian experiences.

Jonathan (00:14:24): This is a really inspiring account of God delivering His people. How do we make it a powerful personal lesson for us?

Rick (00:14:32): Well, as with any biblical accounts, we want the inspiration that we receive to not only stay in our hearts and minds but grow and become a permanent resident in our lives. The first practical lesson we can draw from Samuel's Ebenezer example is that of simplicity. Now look, there's no surprise here, but simplicity is vastly underrated, and we're going to see the tremendous simplicity and its power in what Samuel does here. Let's examine why Samuel just used a stone, an unfinished rough stone for this marker, and not something more elaborate, something more memorable. Jonathan, let's go back to 1 Samuel 7:12:

Jonathan (00:15:20): "Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the LORD has helped us."

Rick (00:15:30): We've got that scripture. He sets this stone and he names it, and he proclaims, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." It's a simple statement, a simple ritual. Why is it so simple? Julie, let's go back to another biblical commentary here.

Julie (00:15:47): Sure. This is from Matthew Poole. Based on the stone, it's "a rude unpolished stone, which was not prohibited by the Law. There was no danger of worshiping such a stone and this being set up only as a monument of the victory."

Rick (00:16:02): It's a simple statement, and I love the way he says this. This is a "rude, unpolished stone." It's like, "Why are you looking at that? It's not even, it's rough. It's just like you just pulled it out of the ground, for goodness sakes. Why would you do such a thing?" Well, let's look at the Law. Let's look at two different renderings of the second commandment, because they give us powerful reasons as to why this stone, this Ebenezer stone, was just an uncarved plain old stone. Jonathan, let's start with Leviticus 26:1:

Jonathan (00:16:36): "You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves an image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God."

Rick (00:16:50): You notice the little details there. Don't do this. Don't do that. No sacred pillars, no figured stones. You don't want anything that resembles something to worship. Now let's go back to the Ten Commandments as cited in Exodus 20:4-6. This is the second commandment:

Jonathan (00:17:08): "You shall not make for yourselves an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments." Simply put, worship the Creator, not the created.

Rick (00:17:38): That's the wisdom and the beauty of what Samuel does. He understands, deeply understands the Law. Using that which was common was a powerful way to adhere to the Law, as we just saw, while placing a stone of help, because that's what it means. That's what Ebenezer means for everyone to see. This simple, unremarkable marker of God's deliverance taught that what is common can refocus us on the uncommon privilege of God's providence. That which is common can refocus us on the uncommon privilege of God's providence. There's a powerful lesson here. Ebenezers are not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.

Julie (00:18:27): That's so interesting. But stones were commonly used in the Bible. For example, God wrote His Law on tables of stone, and large stones were set up as markers for great events.

Jonathan (00:18:37): The prophet Isaiah refers to Jesus as a "precious cornerstone." Solomon's temple was built of stone. Nebuchadnezzar's image was destroyed by a stone. Goliath the giant was killed by a stone. He was a Philistine.

Julie (00:18:53): Peter speaks of the members of Christ's church as "living stones." In Revelation, overcomers are said to symbolically receive a name on a white stone. There're many other examples of biblical stones, but only one was called an Ebenezer.

Rick (00:19:09): Remember, this was an unpolished rough stone, just as natural as natural it could be. We do have evidence. We look at that; let me back up. It's only mentioned once. You never hear this come up again, ever. What do you do with that as a Christian all these thousands of years later? Well, here's the thing. We do have evidence of the principle, the principle of remembering God's deliverance and helping in several different ways. We're going to take a look at an example of the principle. It's not called an Ebenezer, but it's the principle of simplicity to show the magnificence of God's power. This example is with Jesus. Perhaps Jesus gave us an example of using simple things as a remembrance of great deliverance. Let's look at 1 Corinthians 11:23-25:

Jonathan (00:20:09): "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he took the cup also after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

Julie (00:20:35): Jesus simply said to take the bread and the wine. They were already on the table. He used them as symbols of his sacrifice for their deliverance.

Jonathan (00:20:44): Human perspective would imagine creating some lofty and elaborate symbols to show appreciation for Jesus. Jesus' own perspective as a man and as God's son wisely chose differently, so the symbol itself would not overshadow the gift of God's son as deliverer.

Rick (00:21:03): There is the beauty and the wisdom of what Samuel did, and then what Jesus did. Samuel used a regular stone to mark the spot, and the only reason the stone was there, so Israel could look at the stone and then look up in thanks. Jesus used the bread and the wine as simple pictures to mark the spot so they could look up and thank God for his personal deliverance, his personal sacrifice. It wasn't about the symbols, it was about what they represented in God's plan. It's such a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Jonathan (00:21:44): There is nothing found in the New Testament as a Christian Ebenezer, so there's no specific right and wrong as to how to remember or memorialize how God has led or protected us. But it is always appropriate as a scriptural principle to have gratitude and reflect on the blessings we've received to this point.

Julie (00:22:05): Our Ebenezer memories should have, we think, maybe four elements. One, humility; two, acknowledge our dependence on God; three, appreciation for where He has led us: and four, thankfulness.

Rick (00:22:18): You've got all of those things, and there's lots of ways to do this. This is not a specific Christian formula. For instance, journaling can be a method of Ebenezer. I want to use the example of journaling for one very specific reason. My wife Trish, she journals all the time. What she does is she journals out prayers and just how God's deliverance and how His presence in life has always been there. If you journal and you focus on gratitude in your experiences, you are in a sense putting an Ebenezer into place, something into place that says, "God has delivered me." The journal doesn't have to be neat or presentable to others. It can have crossouts and circles and stars and whatever it is doodling on the side. It doesn't matter. What matters is the content. It simply needs to reflect your embracing of God's providence in all things.

Julie (00:23:16): I like that you said she writes out her prayers. I know several people who do that. I'm trying to use simple index cards for each person I'm praying for. I'm trying to set aside time each morning to review them, bring them before the Lord, and it helps me not to forget anybody. Also writing it out helps me to look back and remember and see how the Lord led us or the person we prayed for, and often it's not in the way we expected.

Rick (00:23:40): Yeah, yeah. It's a beautiful thing. It's a simple thing. Folks, as we were preparing for this particular episode Jonathan, Julie and I were talking about our personal lives, our personal experiences, and we each wanted to isolate one Ebenezer-like experience that we would share with you just from our own personal background to give praise and honor to our heavenly Father. Jonathan, your example is first. What have you got for us?

Jonathan (00:24:08): A couple of years after 9/11, my wife and I were traveling to Chicago for a New Year's Bible convention. We were on a plane that allowed us to pick our seats as we entered. My wife put her bag down next to a man and he quickly asked her not to sit there, so we moved back several rows. There were two men sitting behind us and two men in the seats across the aisle from them. They were together. They appeared not to know the man ahead of us who asked us to move. There was a long delay from when we were supposed to take off. The flight attendant kept walking up and down the aisle asking people if they wanted a pillow or a blanket. After a while, when everyone was getting a little antsy because we'd not left yet, they announced that everyone needed to get off the plane and take all their luggage with them because they had to defuel the plane. As everyone stood up to start to leave, the men behind us and the one single man ahead of us jumped out of their seats and pushed everyone out of the way and ran down the aisle to exit the plane. As we stepped out of the plane, we saw all the men being put in police cars and they were bringing dogs onto the plane to search. Then we were told we had to stay in the airport waiting area, not even to go to the bathroom. Shortly after, the flight attendant, the captain of the plane, and two men dressed in black approached us and asked my wife if the man had asked her not to sit next to him. She answered them, and then they asked her to follow them as she and the captain of the flight and the attendant were to be questioned. The long and short of it, the flight attendant said that all five of the men were together in the waiting area in the airport before they boarded the plane and were very friendly. They appeared not to know the man who was sitting alone once they boarded. She found that very suspicious, and they would not look her in the eye when she asked if they needed anything. They researched and found out that the one man was on the Top 20 Terrorist Watch List. They asked my wife to identify the men by looking through a window. We often look back at this experience on how the Lord protects us and overrules our lives. To us, this was one of our most memorable Ebenezers. In our case we didn't have a touchstone for a reminder though.

Rick (00:26:28): Yeah, but you certainly have in your minds, in your hearts. The way you described it, it's like it's brand new almost. That's a huge experience. Again, hitherto, the Lord has helped us. You can see God's deliverance there. Who knows what could have or would've happened. What matters is you can see the Lord's deliverance, and that's what the whole concept of Ebenezer is about. Jonathan, it's an amazing, amazing experience. Ebenezers are for the sole purpose of giving thanks and praise to God. That's all they're there for, so let's proclaim out loud what our Ebenezer experiences have taught us. Jonathan, as you read Psalm 100:1-5, I am reminded of you especially in the context of that experience. Again, Psalm 100:1-5:

Jonathan (00:27:19): "Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations."

Rick (00:27:48): Doesn't that just make you look back and say, "God has blessed and delivered us beyond anything we could possibly even imagine."

Jonathan (00:28:01): Amen, Brother.

Rick (00:28:02): That's what an Ebenezer is supposed to be for. That's what Samuel did. Again, it's not a Christian principle; you've got to do this. It's a principle that says we need to look up with something to help us remind us of God and God alone. Jonathan, as we wrap this piece up, Enlisting Ebenezers to Empower God's Providence; what do we have?

Jonathan (00:28:28): Remembering God's significant providences in our lives can be effectively accomplished by using that which is common. Why? Because using that which is common to recall that which comes from God reminds us that God's providences work through those things in life that most see as simply unremarkable.

Rick (00:28:48): Those things in life which seem unremarkable, and yet God's presence is in them. That's what we want to see when we look at Ebenezers. We need to allow the simple, rough, and unpolished symbols of our experiences to show us God's abundant and grace-filled deliverance.

Jonathan (00:29:12): We have just looked at the simplicity of this stone as a symbol. The next question is, why name it Ebenezer?

Rick (00:29:20): Alright, we've got simplicity in place. The easy answer to this question would be that as we've already discussed, the word means "stone of help." Look, this is a good answer, and it shows us a powerful appropriateness in being able to recognize the depth of God's deliverance. However, further examination of this context will reveal deeper and even more significant meaning.

Julie (00:29:50): We just released a wonderful, animated video called "What was the Ark of the Covenant?" It's a CQ Kids video, but so good to remind all of us about the details, and we'll give you the link in this week's CQ Rewind Show Notes, or just go to our YouTube channel. Our handle is @ChristianQuestionsMinistries.

Rick (00:30:10): Let's now for a moment, let's go back to the elements of Samuel's Ebenezer experience and connect some of the details that undoubtedly influenced Samuel's naming of this stone. There's more to it than just the name, as we're going to see. When the Philistines took the Ark, where was it? Jonathan, just remind us where it was, 1 Samuel 5:1:

Jonathan (00:30:33): "And the Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod."

Rick (00:30:39): They brought it from Ebenezer. Israel had brought the ark to their battleground encampment, remember we talked about that earlier, without God's direction. When the Philistines returned it months later, it just sat under watchful eyes, but it was not in its rightful holy place.

Jonathan (00:30:57): For twenty years it was in the house of Abinadab far away from the people. Finally, the prophet Samuel got Israel's attention. The people gathered at Mizpah Mountain and acknowledged their sins and humility and honesty. They rededicated themselves to the Lord.

Julie (00:31:15): But in 1 Samuel 7:7, the Philistines heard about this gathering at Mizpah. They sent an army to crush them. Israel was trapped. Here they were to repent and pray, not to battle. They had no weapons. They turn to Samuel in verse 8, and they say, "Do not cease to cry to the LORD our God for us, that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines." God sent thunder that scared the Philistines away. They left their weapons behind in their confusion. It didn't take long for the Israelites to recognize that this victory was not due to their military might or skill. The victory was totally the Lord's.

Rick (00:31:55): That's the point of the Ebenezer. The victory is totally the Lord's. It took twenty years. But after twenty years, Samuel finally got Israel's attention. As a result of that attention and that changing of their hearts and minds back to loyalty, the door of deliverance was opened as a result of their faith and their contrite hearts. Julie, as you said, God's victory followed. I know we keep coming back to the scripture over and over again, but it's a powerful, simple scripture, our theme scripture. Jonathan, one more time. Well, not one more time, one time after this. But anyway, 1 Samuel 7:12:

Jonathan (00:32:34): "Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the LORD has helped us."

Rick (00:32:43): Okay, why the name Ebenezer? We've just looked back at some history that helps us understand it. Here's what we have. Samuel's choice of a name for that stone was twofold. There were two parts. First, Ebenezer appropriately meant "stone of help." We've discussed that and discussed it and discussed it. Secondly, though, and really important on a spiritual level, Samuel was drawing attention to where the Ark had been lost. It's no coincidence that he uses the name Ebenezer, and that's where the Ark had been taken. See, he drew attention to the grave errors and the disloyalty that brought God's disfavor upon them for all of that time, all of those twenty years. In naming this stone, he's drawing attention to the beginning of the problem. The name Ebenezer symbolically showed the problem of losing God's favor along with the solution of rekindled faith that enabled God's deliverance to be restored. You see, it's got to be a combination. You see the error, you see God's deliverance, God's solution. The Ebenezer puts all of that together. Samuel, he was really smart!

Julie (00:34:04): Brilliant.

Rick (00:34:05): It really is an amazing thing. Let's go to a New Testament example. Again, remember Ebenezer's not mentioned in the New Testament, but we're looking at the principle of remembering the error in God's deliverance. The Apostle Paul, the Apostle Paul, had to learn a similar lesson. His recounting of his own experience was done with the insight of hindsight. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 12:7-10:

Jonathan (00:34:31): "Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me." Is Paul suggesting that this thorn in the flesh from Satan is some kind of deliverance?

Rick (00:35:00): Yep. What he's suggesting is that difficulty opens the door for deliverance. He's letting us know that in his life. See, now Paul's hindsight was this; Paul is saying, and I'm obviously paraphrasing, I don't have a scripture for this, so bear with me. But Paul is saying, "Look, I know that I was in danger of self-exaltation, and therefore the hardship that Satan sent to beat me down was in fact able to be a tool of growth in the hand of God through Christ. That was a tool to help me grow out of something that was dangerous to me." Jonathan, let's go back to the scripture. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

Jonathan (00:35:44): "And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

Rick (00:36:09): You see, the Ebenezer principle just jump out of this experience. Paul's Ebenezer was the publicizing of this experience to whom? To all Christians. Now he's writing to the Corinthians. But this became one of the tools of Christianity for the last, I don't know, two thousand years. Paul's publicizing of his weakness is this Ebenezer. He highlighted his weakness to demonstrate God's delivering strength. What he's telling us is, God's strength is big. "Look at me, look at what I was in danger of, and look at how God took something so negative and taught me something so powerful. Praise be to God." Let's get practical again. Let's get down to Ebenezer in our personal practical lives. Julie, we talked about it before. You've got an experience that you wanted to share with us from that Ebenezer perspective.

Julie (00:37:10): Well, I had a high-stress career that involved continual deadlines, managing and working with many different personalities, reading detailed contracts, researching data, managing a large website, and basically sitting in front of a computer for most of the day. I was getting more and more disgruntled over the years, and I wanted to make a complete change. So I thought, should I go to school to be a personal chef? I like food. How about a tour guide? How about a yoga teacher? Because that seems low stress. I signed up to take this long and detailed aptitude test to guide me into my next exciting stage of life. After answering what seemed to be hundreds of questions to find out what I would be happiest doing based on my talents and interests, finally came the big reveal. And it turns out I was 100% qualified to be doing the exact job I was doing in the exact industry I was in. I was mad. I felt trapped and defeated. But then I realized, wait a minute, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I looked at my work with a fresh set of eyes and a renewed attitude. Now, fast forward to the privilege of volunteering with Christian Questions since 2010. It involves continual deadlines, working with others, detailed work studying the Bible and its resources, working behind the scenes on a large website, and sitting in front of a computer most of the day. The Lord was training me and teaching me with structure, deadlines, and responsibility, how to be qualified cheerfully to serve Him in this way. Because of this enormous privilege, believe it or not, the CQ logo with a little microphone is a little Ebenezer for me, because thus far, the Lord has led me right to this place so I can trust Him to lead me further. You may not know the why in your life until much later, but watch what the Lord can do, even in the mundane things of your life.

Rick (00:39:15): That's amazing. That's an amazing story. Now, Julie, how long after you took that aptitude test, were you still in that industry before Christian Questions? Do you remember?

Julie (00:39:24): Probably about five years longer. It made it a much easier five years than the previous five.

Rick (00:39:30): Then suddenly, after five years, slowly but surely you're introduced to exactly the same thing, but in the direct service of God and His truth. I don't know, that sounds like a pretty good Ebenezer experience to me! The stress and the trial and the difficulty and the just, it's so hard, became, this is what you're cut out for and unbeknownst to you became, "And wait 'til you see what I have in store! Just keep working and let Me (let God) do My work, show you My providence." What a wonderful experience in terms of growing into, growing into God's will. Jonathan, in your experience, you were very, very, very aptly protected from a danger you didn't even know existed. Julie, in your experience, you were put in a position to have the past stresses actually be the fuel for present blessing.

Julie (00:40:30): Well said.

Rick (00:40:31): Those are two very, very powerful, powerful examples of Ebenezers in a Christian perspective.

Jonathan (00:40:39): Another way to bring Ebenezer experiences to mind is to talk about them, be it in a testimony or in a personal conversation. Be vulnerable enough to talk about it. Sharing the plain hardship of an experience and how God's deliverance presented itself and delivered you can be faith strengthening for both parties.

Rick (00:40:59): Again, it doesn't have to be something tangible. Having a conversation, looking back and sharing some of your experiences with others or having them share them with you, this is a wonderful way to memorialize what? God's deliverance--by understanding the difficulty and seeing God's providence. There's lots of ways to do this, to take this principle and have it help us in our gratitude on a daily basis. You know what? You know what else, in a way, Ebenezers can also be places. You go to a specific location and mentally or emotionally, it brings you to a godly and peaceful perspective. Let's look at the Apostle Paul when he went to Philippi, because he knew this. Watch what happens in these verses. Acts 16:13-14:

Jonathan (00:41:49): "On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message."

Julie (00:42:12): Here's something I just recently learned, that according to historical accounts, there was no synagogue in Philippi. That would've indicated that there were fewer than 10 Jewish men present in the city. Paul had to go to where the people were who would be in the right frame of mind to hear the message. It's no wonder he found these women in a peaceful setting by a river. Now, is there a specific place that might be considered your Ebenezer, Rick and Jonathan, where you especially slow down and recall how the Lord has led you up to this point?

Rick (00:42:44): There's a couple of places for me. One is much, very much every day. I've mentioned this on a previous podcast, but it's the window in my office, and that sounds silly. But when life is stressful and there's a lot of things to juggle, and I just need to reset, I get up, I turn my back on the office and all of the happenings, and I look out the window and I pray, and I look at the trees, and I look at the sky, and it helps me reset for how to move forward. The stress and the challenges brought me there. When I walk away from the window, it is a renewal based on knowing that God is with me in those experiences. That's a very quick example for me. Jonathan, what about you?

Jonathan (00:43:32): Well, we walk out our back door and look at the sky and the pond with various birds and wildlife. It's a special place for reflection and prayer. How about you, Julie?

Julie (00:43:43): Well, I'm always happy to receive the photographs that Jewel sends me. She texts me photographs of all the different birds that are out there, and it's amazing what you see. Where I live, we have some spectacular sunsets, and that's always a great time to pause and consider.

Rick (00:44:00): Again, what we're all doing is we're looking at the same context that Paul saw in Philippi. Go to a place where there's peacefulness, where spirituality can be found. That's really what our experiences have shown us. Jonathan, Enlisting Ebenezers to Empower God's Providence or us. Where are we now?

Jonathan (00:44:23): To truly remember God's deliverance, we need to also recall the depth of the issue that made His deliverance a necessity. Doing this reminds us of the journey we have already taken and teaches us how our Father has it all under His care.

Rick (00:44:41): That's a simple statement that carries an awful lot of power, "helps us understand how our Father has it all under His care." It is so easy to focus on the feeling of "happily ever after" and forget the turmoil beforehand. To grow? To grow, we need to remember both.

Jonathan (00:45:06): Ebenezers are transformational touchstones of remembrance. Does the deliverance we've been given carry us forward?

Rick (00:45:15): Here we need to make some important points. While the past and present deliverance we experience are powerful inspirations and motivators, they will not, they will not carry us through our next challenge. Well, why? We as Christians need to continually step up to each and every new challenge. As we continually choose godly righteousness as our mindset, we need to put things in perspective, draw on the past so we can move forward.

Jonathan (00:45:51): They put us in the frame of mind to take the next step. Ebenezers aren't a solution. They help us get in the mindset that up to now, we've been delivered. The Lord has been with us.

Julie (00:46:06): I found a quote from an author named Fleming Rutledge, and it was called "Giving Thanks for Less Obvious Blessings." He says this: "The life of thankfulness--biblically speaking--is lived in view of the hard things of existence. But as the life of thanksgiving deepens, we discover that the more mature prayers of thanksgiving are not those offered for the obvious blessings, but those spoken in gratitude for obstacles overcome, for insights gained, for lessons learned, for increased humility, for help received in time of need, for strength to persevere and for opportunities to serve others." I thought that was beautiful.

Rick (00:46:49): Well, that's a plaque that you put right on your wall. That's what that is. We want to capture the combination of difficulty and deliverance. It's such a powerful combination. So to do that, let's go back to Samuel one more time. Let's go back to Samuel for a moment as we glean one more fundamental lesson from his Ebenezer experience. Now remember, Samuel's immediate response to God's resounding victory was to plainly mark it. Jonathan, let's quote that verse one more time. 1 Samuel 7:12:

Jonathan (00:47:21): "Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the Lord has helped us."

Julie (00:47:31): It's interesting that he says "Thus far," or as the King James version puts it, "Hitherto, hath the Lord helped us." Where is the confidence of the Lord helping in the future? Because this timeline is teaching us from the past to right now.

Rick (00:47:45): Yeah, and that's significant. That's amazingly significant up to this point "the Lord has helped us." Why? Well, Israel's track record was not good. Remember the previous twenty years, just a reminder, they were now, they were humble, contrite and grateful. Now that's what they were. But the question for Samuel was, would they stay that way?

Jonathan (00:48:12): Israel's history at best was checkered. The context here is Stephen speaking before he is killed by the Jews. Acts 7:51-53: "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the holy spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it."

Rick (00:48:52): You have that checkered history that Steven is speaking of, and of course he ends up being stoned for telling them the truth of their history. But what's the lesson from Samuel and the Ebenezer experience? Ebenezers can be an effective tool of remembrance to help avoid the up-and-down patterns of human imperfection. That's one of the reasons they're there. We want to learn from Israel what to do and also what not to do. Let's look at it in terms of our own lives regarding our deliverances. We should never feel that we have it all in control as a result of this or that past experience that may have ended well. What we need to do is we need to learn from our past, apply in our present so we can prepare for our future.

Julie (00:49:42): Can you repeat that again please?

Rick (00:49:44): We need to learn from our past, pay attention to the difficulties that have happened, apply in our present. Take that attentiveness and say, "This is what God has given me right here and right now," so that we can prepare for our future, so we can say, "I have evidence of God's deliverance up to this point. I can certainly have faith moving forward."

Jonathan (00:50:11): It's important to keep our minds in the right place. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22: "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil." What this is saying is never let your guard down.

Julie (00:50:43): The phrase "in everything gives thanks" jumps out at me because we live in a weird time when everyone's a critic and it's too easy to complain on social media and it's often anonymously. We can get in this constantly disgruntled mindset, actively looking out for whatever isn't up to our standards, that doesn't meet our every whim and expectation. Being overly critical of everyone and everything around us is going to cause us to miss the blessings in our experiences that God is overruling on our behalf. Most of the time we should just be still and know that He's the Lord--watching to see what He is doing.

Rick (00:51:25): Well, easier said than done. That's right. You heard it here.

Julie (00:51:30): But isn't that right? Everyone's a critic now.

Rick (00:51:32): By being a critic, you forfeit the observational power of seeing the Ebenezers in your life.

Julie (00:51:41): Exactly.

Rick (00:51:42): You forfeit it. You've covered it over and it can't work. We've got to refocus ourselves. Holiness and gratitude are fed by what? They're fed by our hard learning experiences. Folks, you can say, "If God gave me everything I wanted, I would be grateful!" Sure you would, but not nearly as grateful as when He delivers you from the hardship of this or that experience. Jonathan, let's look at Hebrews 12:7-11:

Jonathan (00:52:12): "It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness." Let me repeat that: "...so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness."

Rick (00:53:06): You notice that peaceable fruit of righteousness is not right up front? It's not like right in the beginning of the experience, "Don't worry, I've got a delivery. Knock, knock, knock. Here's the peaceable fruit." Oh, no, no, no, no, no. That's not how it works. It works, it comes after, because the development is what helps us to embrace that peaceable fruit of righteousness. God's fatherly discipline for us includes all life teachings. It's for the purpose of rounding out the character of his children so they become responsible Christ-like adults.

Julie (00:53:39): How often do we think about making our hard personal growth experiences into Ebenezers? Whether you write it, share it verbally, or maybe you have some simple memento to remind us, we want to have this constant attitude of thankfulness, remembering how the Lord changed us, building our faith and trust for the next experience. In this way, our Ebenezers can become steppingstones, helping us get farther and farther into our destination of complete trust and faith. Rick, I imagine that you have several Ebenezers, because you have some strange experiences in your life. What can you share with us today?

Rick (00:54:20): All right, we're going to just pick one. Okay, and this Ebenezer has to do, and I'll give you a date. It has to do with January 25th, 2022. That's the day I was admitted to the hospital and I had blood clots throughout my lungs to the point where they told me if you did not come to the hospital now, a week from now, you would have just not waken up. You'd have stopped breathing. That's how bad I was. I had no idea. I had no idea. But that's what was happening. For those of you who can see this, this is the evidence. I keep the hospital band that they put on my wrist, I keep it where I can see it every single day because it taught me a tremendous, tremendous lesson. As I relay the lesson, I just want to share an experience that happened this morning that really made me think that this is the Ebenezer experience I needed to talk about. I had the privilege of talking to one of the CQ volunteers who is in the hospital as we speak for DVT; deep vein thrombosis. That's what I had, and that's what she has. It's a scary experience to hear that you've got blood clots in your lungs. I got to call her, Julie, you informed me of this. I had no idea. We got to talk this morning about our mutual experiences, about the scariness of it all and about what it is that you can learn. She asked me very, very plainly, she said, "Rick, if it's not too personal, can you tell me what you learned?" I was really glad she had the courage to ask that question. What I learned was this; before that experience, I was feeling the burden of responsibility for the many things that the Lord has privileged me, and I say PRIVILEGED in all capital letters, privileged me with, and I was feeling like I just couldn't keep up. I felt like I was getting further and further behind. Then all of a sudden, one day without any real warning, I am sitting in a hospital bed told I can't leave because if I leave, I'm going to die. I mean, that's pretty much, I'm getting blunt, but that's what they told me. So I'm sitting there in this bed and I'm there all by myself realizing that because first of all, because my wife was so insistent that something was wrong with me, and she talked to my daughter Emily who's an APRN, who said to me, "Dad, you have to go to the hospital. You have blood clots in your lungs." I mean, she knew, she just, all she had to do was talk to me. Because of those two, I'm sitting there realizing life is so precious and I have this deliverance right in front of me. I remember, and this is what I told the sister this morning, I looked up in the midst of all this, in the midst of the threat of losing my life, and I said, "Lord, what will you have me do? Just show me whatever it is, just show...You have just granted me this incredible deliverance that I don't deserve. What will you have me do?" Well, I will tell you, within two weeks of leaving the hospital, He delivered three very, very big responsibilities that I truly believe before that experience would've been crushing. But after that experience, as each one came, I went, "Ahhh!" Then I smiled and I looked up and I said, "Okay, I get it." It just was a transformative experience. That's the Ebenezer, that's that little hospital band that I keep where I can see it every single day to remember, "Lord, what would you have me do? You delivered me. I am yours."

Jonathan (00:57:46): What a powerful experience, Rick. Powerful.

Julie (00:57:49): This particular sister in Christ is amazing. She's a wonderful friend of mine. I just love her, and I love that you can see her heart. Here she is in an ER, perhaps dying and says, "Rick, tell me what you've learned spiritually." That's her focus.

Rick (00:58:06): Yeah, yeah, yeah. It really is a great, great experience to remember such things. Remember the hardship and remember the deliverance.

Julie (00:58:16): Here's something interesting. In the classic story, "A Christmas Carol," it's been suggested that the author Charles Dickens called his main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, to reflect the help given to Scrooge to change his life. His name Ebenezer IS the Ebenezer.

Rick (00:58:33): Yeah. That's interesting. In the classic story of "A Christmas Carol," you're talking about that. It puts it in great, great, great perspective. Alright, now that we have seen the power of taking the time to be "Ebenezer conscious," we can seriously look at applying the results of that consciousness to our Christian lives. Folks, as we've gone through this hope that you've taken these experiences and you look at the scriptures and say, "Wow, there's power here. There's great power here. There's an ability to be inspired, to be lifted up higher so that we can work harder into the future." Because remember, it's up to this point, the Lord has helped me. What comes after is very much up to us. Psalm 116:12-17:

Jonathan (00:59:20): "What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the LORD. I shall pay my vows to the LORD, O may it be in the presence of all His people. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones. O LORD, surely I am Your servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid, You have loosed my bonds. To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the LORD." There is such joy and gratitude and service in this psalm.

Rick (00:59:57): There is, there is. It is a powerful, powerful psalm. That psalm is a result, can be a result of our Ebenezer experiences. For me, it sort of sends shivers up my spine because I think of my own experience. It starts out, "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" It was just in slightly different words that I was privileged to be spared and say, "Lord, what will you have me do? Just what will it be?" Then it's just lift up the cup of salvation. Show your gratefulness by how you live. That's the point of this whole Ebenezer exercise that Samuel showed us so many centuries ago. Jonathan, finally Enlisting Ebenezers to Empower God's Providence: let's wrap this up.

Jonathan (01:00:47): God has given us many ways to help us grow into the likeness of Jesus. Ebenezers can play a significant role in this journey. Let us intentionally remember the deliverances through God's providence we are given, and mark them with simplicity. Let us maintain those markers as visible reminders of God's past deliverances as we face our future challenges.

Julie (01:01:14): In other words, Thanksgiving is not a day. It's a lifestyle.

Rick (01:01:20): Using the concept of Ebenezers can change the way we look at the experiences of our lives. We can now look back and say, "Wait a minute. There is scriptural precedent to say, let me think about that. Let me remember that in a very simple way so that I can use its reference to show me, to remind me how God brought me to this point so that I can look forward and say, I wonder how God will deliver me to the next point." Then have another Ebenezer to say, "Look at how He brought me to this point. I wonder how He'll bring me to the next point." Use the principle of Ebenezers. Think about it. Folks, we love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback and questions on this episode and other episodes at ChristianQuestions.com. Coming up in our next episode, "What's the Biblical Process for Becoming Perfect? (Part I)." We'll talk to you about that next week.