While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the Lord helped us." So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again. (1 Samuel 7:10-13 NIV).

If you are reading this on Friday of this week, then I will be traveling back from North Carolina (if all has gone according to plan – I am writing this on Tuesday evening in preparation for being away). While there the schedule has called for a meeting with an Ebenezer Baptist Church. It is a wonderful church with a rich history. One of the interesting features of the church grounds is a very large stone placed in a garden area. It stands more than ten feet tall and is well over five feet across at its widest point.

When I first met the pastor I asked about the stone. He told me the story of how the church had originally been organized and located a few blocks away from their present location. The city needed to widen the street and because their building was located very close to the curb they had to tear the entire building down! At first they were devastated by the news that they would lose their location to the progress of city streets! However, as they would soon see, the Lord had already provided more blessing than they could imagine. Instead of the two acres of their original location, they were able to obtain nearly ten acres just down the street to replace it. Their church began to grow as they ministered to an ever increasing number of people in their community! To commemorate and remind them of how the Lord had blessed, they took a stone from the demolished foundation of the original building and moved it to the new location, renaming their church “Ebenezer,” as they had defeated the enemy of God and raised up a great army of believers in that place!