12-13 The Philistia mob ran away and went home. Then Samuel got a big stone, and stood it up half-way between 2 places, Mizpah and Shen, so that everybody will remember the things that happened. And he said, “God was helping us.” So he called the stone Ebenezer. That name means stone that belongs to the one that helps us. The Philistia mob sat quiet for a long time. They didn’t come back to the Israel mob’s country. So God saved them from the Philistia mob for a long time, until Samuel became an old man. (We have not yet translated 7:14-17.)
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he called the name of it Ebenezer [stone of help], saying, Heretofore the Lord has helped us.
12 Then Samuel took a single stone, and he placed it between Mizpah and Shen. And he called the name of this place: The Stone of Assistance. And he said, "For in this place the Lord gave assistance to us."
But God helped me. You see, God helps me all the time, and he is still helping me now. So I’m standing here now, and I’m telling you mob that Jesus is the special man that God promised to send to us, the man that is called the Christ. I’m telling this message to you big bosses, and I’m telling it to all you other people too. This message is already in God’s book. I’m only saying things that Moses wrote about a long time ago. God’s other men wrote about these things too.
Jacob knew that God talked to him there, and he wanted to show that it was a special place. So he got a stone, and he stood it up. He poured out some wine on top of that stone, and he poured some olive oil on it too.
That’s the way Samuel talked to all the Israel mob. At that time, a lot of soldiers from Philistia came together to fight the Israel mob. The Israel mob camped near a place called Ebenezer. The Philistia mob camped near a place called Afek.