ONE WINDOW and THREE VIEWS!

There are milestones in the pathway of the people of God. These milestones tell us about the experiences and blessings God has given them in the past. Each milestone is a place of praise to the Lord who allowed them to pass that place as per His plan, promise and faithfulness. There are also memorial stones which remind God’s people about great events that took place among them that the future generations should remember and claim by faith for them also. When we go through bitter experiences for considerable time, as the Israelites did for 400 years in Egypt under slavery, oppression and persecution, His great deliverance and victories are worthy of remembrance all through future generations. Had it not been for the grace and mercy of God, Israel would have never reached a place like Ebenezer. There were memorials and reminders at Bethel, Peniel, Red Sea, Marah, Gilgal, Jericho, Ai and other places which were places of victory over the enemy. All of these places of memorials were because of the faithfulness of God. Now Israel has a special place of memory because it was a time when the ark of God was once again back with the people of God. God helped them to take possession of the Ark of the Covenant which helped them to get their spiritual lives in order, and subsequently enjoyed victory over the enemy. That was why Ebenezer was a great memorial for the Lord.

Dear friend, it is certain that you have many milestones in your life, all of which remind you of the faithfulness of God to you. These would have been moments of great miracles in your life. But Ebenezer speaks so loudly about all that the Lord has done for you and gives all glory to God for all that has happened in the past. It is a reminder of the response from God when His people were going through a series of battles. Definitely it is a time to gain confidence and courage from God because the God of yesterday is our God who leads us today and will be there for us on all our tomorrow as well. He is Jehovah-Jireh for all our needs and will provide for us no matter what the situation is. But it is also a time of great responsibility for His children to sanctify God in their lives as the Lord of all aspects of their lives. At Ebenezer, God reminds His children that their relationship with Him is not one sided. When we seek His help, we need to at the same time honor Him and give Him prime place in all areas of our lives. Surely God shows mercy to all His creation, but His relation with His people is mutual. He has given them great promises which will definitely be fulfilled. But such a God demands that He is enthroned at the right place among His people, individually and as a community. Ebenezer is also a memorial of the penitence of God’s people and a place where they sanctified the Lord in their lives and in all their affairs. That has led Israel to the kind of victory that they experienced, and reminds them of all His faithfulness to them. Ebenezer is the stone of help which reminds all of us that our Lord is strong like a stone and firm like a rock for His children, and help will flow from Him to us today and forevermore. He has done wonders for us in the past and brought us thus far, and is faithful to the core to make sure that we enjoy His favour in the future also. For without His favour, how can we ever live from victory to victory here in this world! Ebenezer is our place of victory, and at the same time Ebenezer is our Lord who gives us victory. If we look at Ebenezer, we can see our past, present and the future through a single window and sing Hallelujah to the Lord!!

1 Chronicles 16:12 – Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced.

Thought for Today
Ebenezer is a two-way window through which we can see the past wonders of the Lord and the present and future wonders which are on the way for His children.