Every evening before I switch off the kitchen lights and bid goodbye to the day that the Lord gave me as a gift.  I make sure to lift my eyes to the beautiful wooden cravings verse on my wall. t says, “Ebenezer. Thus far has the Lord helped me.”  Ebenezer a stone of help in our prayer life.

The origin of EBENEZER

The Israelites had suffered a huge defeat in the hands of the enemy , the Philistines. About 4000 men of the army were killed. So, the Israelites decide to bring the Ark of the Lord from Shiloh thinking of the Ark as a symbol of good luck. the Israelites are defeated again, the Ark of the Lord is captured, and Eli and his sons are killed. It is a period of deep sorrow and mourning.

 In Chapter 7 of 1 Samuel, the Ark is sent back by the Philistines who fear this God of Israel, and Samuel asks the house of Israel to repent of their sins and put away every idols (Baal and Ashtoreths) from their lives.

During the time of true repentance and renewal, the Philistines planned the attack on the Israelites. The Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, a supernatural help. Israelites who faced defeat after defeat finally experienced victory from the enemies when they put away that which defiled GOD.

To commemorate the divine victory in 1 Samuel 7:12 ,NIV we find the verse  :

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

Who is our EBENEZER? 

Mizpah means the watch tower. It is in the city of Benjamin. God is our witness and watches over us when we face the battles of life day in and day out.  

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
Psalm 127:1 , ESV

Shen occurs only once in the Bible and that is in this verse. It means sharp tooth from the verb “Shanan” means to sharpen, also a steep pointed rock.  

Christ is our Rock and our deliverer in times of troubles and wars that rage within our homes and our hearts.

The Rock!  His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.” Deuteronomy 32:4

 

In Ebenezer, God brought victory to His people and in our battles our Lord will do the same. We are His chosen generations. 

The enemy wants to destroy us and defeat us , and he wants us to believe that we are all alone in our battles.

Do we live a fully repentant life in our war room? 

Let us erect Ebenezer  stone of help and praise in our prayer life daily

– Hitherto, thus far, up to this point, and until now God has been there for me.

-Thus far has the Lord helped us through the chemo treatment, financial difficulties, and turmoil

-Thus far has the Lord helped me/you through my depression, anxiety and fear

 -Thus far has the Lord helped us/me through the losses, miscarriages, and misfortunes.

Meaning of EBENEZER? 

 Ebenezer means Stone of Help. LORD JESUS is our Stone of Help.

The Stone which the builders rejected but became a Chief Corner stone for you and I. Mark 12 :10

–Have we lifted HIM high above everything else in our life.

–Have we erected Ebenezer Memorial of praise and victory because Jesus has walked with us thus far, to this point?

The Lord promises to fight for us, but we must also be ready to fight the battles against our mutual enemy.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

 

For when a man gets up to a certain mark and writes “Hitherto”, he looks back upon much that is past, but “hitherto” is not the end, there is yet a distance to be traversed – C. H. Spurgeon.

There are three reasons why we must have erect EBENEZER stone of help as a memorial of praise

1.Look back and see how the Lord led us through the wilderness thus far. Deuteronomy 8:2

2.Look now and see How the Lord is fighting for our marriages, for our children, for our country that wants God to be erased.  Exodus 14: 14

3.Look to that glorious day when we shall all see Jesus, the King of Kings waiting to take us HOME ABOVE.

Let us raise Christ our Rock, our Ebenezer for He promises to help us in this journey home bound.

Let us shout praises and worship our Savior who defeated our enemy on the Cross.  Why? The Enemy may look real, but our Lord promises to help us supernaturally. We must lift our Jesus so that every other name will bow down before HIM.

Eli , the priest never ask God’s people to repent but Samuel, the Judge stepped up to bring victory by being the God’s own leader.

War Room

Satan will try to fight us while are praying, but the WATCHMAN of our Lives will roar a thunder and defeat the enemy. No weapon that is formed against us will prosper, my friend.

Mark a place- a WARROOM in your homes so that our children and grandchildren will glorify the Commander-in-chief under whose auspices the battles were fought and won. 

—Do we take time to pause and reflect on all the victories we have experienced through Christ Jesus?

–Have we removed idols from our lives completely, fasted and prayed today?

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

REFLECTION –

-How has the Lord helped you THUS FAR in your life?

-What are some of the ways you have commemorated an EBENEZER for the Lord?

Until next time,

Diana

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