August 20th is the day the Church remembers Samuel. Occasionally while the babies are eating breakfast I’ll read to them whatever I’m reading from Treasury of Daily Prayer. I recently was reading about Saul and David and Samuel. So on this day as things were rushing and children were fussing I just gave them a “remember Samuel who anointed David to be king and who lived with Eli for a while? That’s who we remember today.” It was deep.
But I did tell them the story of the Ebenezer stone Samuel set up in I Samuel 7:
“Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and the Lord answered him. 10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great [a]thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were [b]routed before Israel. 11 The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it[c]Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.”
We had to dip our Ebenezer stones in chocolate.
