The Philistines oppressed Israel for years. Finally, under the leadership of Samuel, the Lord interceded with such loud thunder the Philistines panicked and fled. The armies of Israel won a huge victory and ushered in an era of peace.

A new monument soon commemorated the site: Samuel took a stone and set it up…He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

Ebenezer means stone of help.

The old hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing comes to mind. What seems like a strange lyric, Here I raise my Ebenezer, now makes sense. Here I raise my stone of help forms a clearer image.

Prone to wander, another lyric from the hymn, has always made sense. I am prone to wander away from the Lord and his ways. The chosen people of God shared this same tendency. The entire history of Israel recorded in the Old Testament reflects our proclivity to wander.

Which is why Samuel set up a stone. Something solid and immovable to remember the Lord’s help. I also need solid markers to remember the Lord’s help in my life.

The Scriptures provide one such stone. The cross provides another. I hung a print of Supper at Emmaus, the painting by Carravaggio, on my wall to help me remember the power of being surprised by Jesus.

What do you see when you look around that do the same for you?

1 Samuel 7 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Kristin Ellis