What do these stones stand for?

When I was in high school I had to drive a car that looked a lot like this  except it was older and uglier. By the time we got it it was at least 15 years old   It wasn’t quite as ugly as the rusty royal blue station wagon that it replaced, but harder to drive because it was a three speed with a clutch.  And before you say that I should have been lucky to have a car, please realize that the one vehicle was shared with four drivers, (my parents, my brother and I) and so most of the time I road the city bus to work.

But the car has a story.  And that story is a powerful one.

The blue station wagon died one day.  I remember sitting at the dining room table, hearing of her death.  My dad announced that the mechanic had said there was no way to fix it again.  He solemnly let us know that he wasn’t sure how we were going to get around because there was no money for a new car.  (My parents lived on a very small income and always prioritized tithe and giving to mission BEFORE groceries, so we often didn’t have meat with our meals during weeks where there was a surprise expense (but they never missed paying their tithe and the missionaries always got the monthly pledge)

After my dad’s announcement, my mom said, “Well kids, I guess we’re just going to have to ask God for a car.  And my dad, as he often did, said in his prayer that night, “We commit our ways to thee now.”

The very next day my mom got a call from former neighbors.  They said to my mom, “I’m not sure why, but I think God was leading me to ask you if you want the car we have in our back yard.  It runs fine, but we don’t need it any more and we will sell it to you for a dollar.”

Check out this story from Joshua 4 (EXV)

Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel,  that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’  then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”

In Scripture this kind of monument was referred to as an Ebenezer, now defined as a "commemoration of divine assistance”.  It’s something we point to when it’s time to remember what God has done.

The old 3 speed clutch car became one of the many Ebenezers of my childhood.   Many times when we were running into hard times, someone would say, “Remember, God when gave us a car for a buck?”

In essence we would ask the question “what do these stones mean to you” and our parents would tell of all the things God had done for us.

Do you have an Ebenezer but didn’t know it?  Take a minute to look back today on something you can point to when your friends, or your kids or grandkids wonder if God can do as he promised.  

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I've come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home

https://youtu.be/EYrTqBioaZ4