How to Live in Ebenezer

There are two morals to this biblical story:

1. You can't keep God in a box, and

2. The best view comes after the hardest climb.

1. YOU CAN'T KEEP GOD IN A BOX: Let me begin by telling you about a remote location in the Bible called Ebenezer. It's located midway between two places called Mizpah and Shen. According to the Book of 1 Samuel in the Bible, after waging and finally winning a series of bloody battles with the dreaded Philistines, the prophet Samuel erected a stone (today it's called the Stone of Help) to commemorate the event as described simply in the following 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.'" -- 1 Samuel 7:12 NIV

Thus far, indeed!

With typical Old Testament understatement, beginning with 1 Samuel 4:2 we are introduced to a scene of absolute carnage. In the first battle, "the Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield."

The famous and divinely powerful Ark of the Covenant -- (first introduced to most of us in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark in June 1981) -- normally preceded the Israelites into battle. This time, however, in what first appears to be poor military planning, it had been left behind in Shiloh. The Israelites sent for it, but when it arrived they still lost; this time losing 30,000 soldiers.

You might remember from the movie, that Indiana Jones and the Nazi's are battling each other for control of the Ark, which was a carefully constructed box in which God resided. The box itself, the movie script suggests, had immense power. Perhaps it works that way in Hollywood, but in real life, it's God, not the box that wins battles.

A whole series of plot twists then occur. Max Lucado tells the story this way: "When the Israelites improperly brought the ark of the covenant into battle with the Philistines, they were routed and the ark captured. Eli, (the Israelite responsible for the Ark), who had grown lazy in his position, died when he heard that the battle had been lost and his sons killed. The Israelites thought God had abandoned them. At the same time, the Philistines endured plagues when they set the ark among their idols." And so the story continues.

Again quoting Max Lucado, "God’s power and support for us is not based on a lucky charm or holy object like the ark, but on our constant faithfulness to Him." Well said. In short, you can't (and shouldn't try to) keep God in a box.

2. THE BEST VIEW COMES AFTER THE HARDEST CLIMB: Even when you're doing everything right, life's struggles can be devastating. Battles can last interminably, enemies can be ferocious, victory can seem impossible and there will be times when you desperately want to give up.

I know because I've been there too.

Sometimes it takes the very last bit of energy you can muster, just to stay on the battlefield. You're out of time, painfully short on resources, tired of poor advice from the generals on the sidelines, and often just plain scared.

It's at moments like these -- moments that you realize later God has allowed enabling your spiritual growth -- that you must be strong and courageous. You must endure. You must persevere. You must trust and obey. You must continue to climb until you reach the summit where God has always intended you to be.

When you do, your reward may not be the spoils of war or an Academy Award for the movie your life has become, but it will be sweet. And when you can finally step back from the battlefield to survey your Promised Land in the distance, and you have the time to erect your Stone of Help, the view will be worth it.

You will have learned how to live in Ebenezer.