DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- MEMORIAL STONES

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – MEMORIAL STONES

MEMORIAL STONES

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the LORD has helped us.' " (I Samuel 7:12)

Israel was facing another battle with the Philistines. This caused fear to arise in among the Israelites, so they came to Samuel and beseeched him to call out to God for help. God answered their prayer and caused a great thundering that confused the Philistines, and Israel defeated them.

In yesterday's Gleaning, the Israelites tried to use the Ark of the Covenant as their help in battling the Philistines, and we saw how that worked for them. This time, they came to Samuel and asked him to pray, they put away their idols, and fasted and repented. They truly trusted the Lord, rather than some earthly thing, and God gave a great victory.

Samuel built a monument to the Lord, calling it "Ebenezer." Ebenezer means "the stone of help." It was a testimony to the gracious work of the LORD that gave them victory over the Philistines.

I have set up my own memorial stone. In fact, I look back over the past 80 years and remember memorials set up that are testimony to the Lord's help. Were it not for those blessed times that God intervened, my life would be totally different today.

You also probably have those times of God's help etched in your memory.

I still need His help, and I am still erecting memorials in my mind of the times that God manifests Himself in deliverance. There are times when I echo the words of King David in Psalm 12:1: "Help, LORD!" And God is faithful to answer that cry from the heart.

We serve a great God, who said that we can cast all our burdens on Him for He cares for us (I Peter 5:7). What a wonderful God we serve.

Love, Dad