Keeping A Record

“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.”  I Samuel 7:12

The land of Philistia was located on the Mediterranean coastline at the southwestern edge of the nation of Israel and north of Egypt.  The Greek name “Palestine” was derived from the name Philistia.  It is now known as the Gaza Strip and who possesses this land has been in dispute for a very long time.  After the Hebrew people escaped from Egypt, God made a promise to Israel in His declarations to Moses on Mt. Sinai:  the land from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea across the desert land to the Euphrates River would belong to Israel, an area of land much larger than the present day borders of Israel.  Those nations who were in possession of much of that land, including the Philistines, had no intention of giving up their territory.  God had told Israel to drive them out when they reached the promised land, but they did not.  He knew that the heathen nations would influence them to turn against Him, which they did from time to time.

There were many wars between Israel and these other nations, and the Philistines were one of their major enemies.  In this particular passage from the Old Testament, the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled for a national gathering.  They assumed that Israel was about to attack them so they decided to strike first.  When Israel heard that the Philistines were on the move, they became frightened because of past experiences with these powerful enemies, thus they called on the prophet and judge Samuel to intercede to the LORD for them.  They had come to understand that God was truly their LORD who cared about them, and that they were His chosen people whom He would protect from their enemies as long as they gave Him His rightful place of honor and worship.  That had always been the deal that God had made with His people, but they had broken their end of the deal numerous times by disobedience and idolatry.  However our gracious and merciful God stood ready to forgive them each time they repented and returned to Him.

Before Samuel would go to the LORD with the request of His people, he sacrificed a lamb as a burnt offering.  The burnt offering symbolized the promise of the people to live by God’s commands.  First came the sacrifice, the shedding of blood “without which is no remission of sin” (Hebrews 9:22) and then the plea for mercy.  Meanwhile, the Philistines had already assembled to engage in battle.  God was already at work, though, and sent a great thunder upon Israel’s enemy that frightened them so badly that they were completely bewildered and began to flee.  This is how I picture this intervention by the LORD:  The Philistines are lined up for battle, swords in hand, on a clear, sunny day with no clouds in sight, and all of a sudden a huge clap of thunder sounds like those that seem to be rolling across the land, shaking it as it goes as it would during a bad storm, but there was no storm.  It was completely unexpected.  The Philistines weren’t dumb.  They had previously experienced the wrath of God so they knew that this wasn’t just some weather phenomenon.  All they knew to do was to run.

Even so, Israel did not let them off that easy.  The brave men of Israel pursued the Philistine soldiers and defeated them.  To mark the occasion of their victory over the Philistines, Samuel set up a memorial stone between Mizpeh and Shen and called that place of memorial Ebenezer (“stone of help”) to signify the place where the LORD had helped them to victory over their enemy.

If we would keep a record of all the times that God has come through for us, it would help us to know that God always has our back.  The best thing to do when having doubt or worries about some situation, after praying to the Lord first, is to think back at the times when God intervened and brought a calm assurance that everything would be OK.  The main thing that makes life difficult on earth is the fact that our world is so filled with sin and unrighteousness.  It is easy to get depressed about all the challenges that we face in this 21st century.  It seems like it is one thing after another that perplexes, upsets, and makes us fear the future.  It is good to know that we have an Advocate who pleads our case before the Father.  If we kept a diary of all the prayers that had been answered and those that were not answered that would not have been beneficial to us, we might just be surprised at the numerous times God has helped us even though we may not have realized it or acknowledged it.  The Apostle Paul wrote in Acts 17:27 that God created mankind to seek after Him, and if they do, they will find Him for He is “not far from everyone of us.”