When our circumstances seem overwhelming, we need to fix our gaze on the one who can change those circumstances. We may be aware of this truth, but it’s not always easy to do. Especially in the middle of the night when the ‘worry wolves’ prowl! How easy it is to forget what God has already done. How inconstant we are that we so easily lose sight of his character and his promises.

In a small cemetery I once visited, there is a tombstone to the memory of a soldier, Major General William Sage, who died in 1864.

It has the following inscription.

. . . to the fatherless and the widow a protector

To the poor a brother

So honest, truth-seeking and noble a man

So generous, kind and firm a friend

That many mourn . . . 

He has fought the good fight. He has finished his course.

He has kept the faith.

Henceforth there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness.

What a great testimony!

I wonder how many lives he touched in the course of his seventy years, that would bear witness to his protection, support, kindness, and generosity. I find the words inspirational, but the purpose of the stone is not just to inspire, but to help the reader remember who William Sage was.

There are several accounts in the Bible, in which stones were used for a similar purpose. Abraham and Jacob were particularly fond of erecting memorials. Abraham set up altars at Shechem (Gen 12), Bethel (Gen 13), the Oak of Mamre in Hebron (Gen 13), and Mount Moriah (Gen 22). Perhaps the most well-known memorial is associated with Jacob’s famous dream encounter with the Lord. Upon waking, he sets up a pillar, pours oil on it, and names the place Bethel—the house of God. 

In one of her darkest hours, Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, also has a dramatic encounter with God, in the form of the angel of the Lord.  She may not have set up an altar, but she gives the well where it took place a special name. She calls it Beer-lahai-roi, meaning ‘The Well of the Living One who sees me’. 

She’s an abused woman, evicted from her home, on the run, and yet she names the place, ‘The Well of the Living One who sees me’. 

Such is the mercy and compassion of our gracious God.

Memorials in the Old Testament

Memorials continued to be a feature in the history of Israel.

The Ten Commandments, of course, were written on tablets of stone. Joshua set up twelve stones—one for each tribe of Israel—after they had crossed the River Jordan on dry land. They stood as a reminder to the people of God’s faithfulness and covenant towards them (Joshua 4). Then in 1 Samuel, we read 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 Sam 7.12

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