Expounded explanation of choosing the name, Ebenezer Stone

The Israelites had lost the Ark of the Covenant (which was how God used to reside among them at that time before Jesus came, essentially it represents the presence of God) by using it as somewhat of a “good luck token” when going into a battle with their enemy; a battle God had not told them to fight. They were presumptuous that God would give them victory if they took the Ark of the Covenant with them on a battle they wanted to fight, but one that the Lord never wanted them to fight. They lost the battle, but even worse, they lost the ark of the Covenant, as it was confiscated by the enemy. The presence of the Lord is taken from us when we are living in defeat of our enemies and/or our sin. The battle against the world, the flesh, and/or the devil (our enemy) cannot be fought by the flesh using the Lord as a “good luck token.” This battle must only be fought in the Spirit, by His Spirit within us. When His presence goes before us, the size of our enemy matters not. As they say, “one with God is the majority.”

After suffering without the Ark (remember that this was essentially the presence of God to them) for some time and the enemy suffering with the Ark for some time (the Ark was meant only to belong with Israel), the people lament over their loss. Samuel (their priest and judge at that time in history) tells them, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD only” 1 Samuel 7:3-4. He tells them to gather and he will pray for them, but the enemy hears of it and once again approaches the Israelites for battle. They are overcome with fear. They ask Samuel to not stop praying to God on their behalf. He made a sacrifice and cried out to the Lord. Interestingly, scripture states that God answered Samuel's prayer… but then the enemy arrives. It would seem that God missed what Samuel had said or something… but then… God chooses to give them victory through overcoming their enemy. His yes was given, but He allowed them to participate in the fleshing out of the answer. If the enemy had been pacified, they would’ve returned. God could’ve chosen to obliterate the enemy with a natural disaster, but He chose to give them ownership and participation and responsibility in the victory He gave them. They were victorious through Him and therefore freed from their fear of and inferiority to their enemy.

After God gives them victory and they send the enemy packing, the first thing Samuel does is takes his two freshly victorious hands, picks up a large rock from the very ground where they chased off the enemy off of, set it upright to make a rock memorial unto the Lord, and calls it Ebenezer. “The Stone of Help” and proclaims, “thus far has the Lord helped us!” Those rocks stayed there as a memorial, proclaiming to passersby that the Lord is more than able, to make you more than a conqueror. We don’t need to live in defeat of our sin. We must go to intercessory war over it in response to the yes that is already given in Christ Jesus! Every time I revisit this passage, the Lord shows me more depth within it. This time I see what type of praying is needed. This time I’m suspecting He’s saying that it’s praying in the Spirit. Then we can’t even really take credit for our prayers being what God answered… They’re His prayers… But we open our mouth to utter them so we have some sort of skin in the game like the battle he sent the Israelites into.

We can ask our pastor or our friends or our family to pray for us on our behalf, but only when we are willing to go to war ourselves are we able to see the Lord bring us to personal victory over our
enemies - including the seemingly impossible flesh. The scripture says that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). This passage from 1 Samual was pivotal in my personal battle over anger in my life. The Lord alone brought me to victory over the sin of systemic anger and bitterness. Absolutely He used the prayers of my loved ones, but the YES in Jesus is already given. The Bible says it is “For freedom, Christ has set us free.” Galatians 5:1. And that we are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37. And that He (Jesus) has given us “every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ .” Ephesians 1:3. This means not only can I be set free from sin (anger for instance), but I can have the opposite (the spiritual blessing) of that sin (for instance, peace).

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Lord help me with all my grammatical errors, but hear my heart, and the why behind the name choice of Ebenezer Stone for my jewelry business.