HERE I RAISE MY EBENEZER!

Greetings church family!

Recently at one of our church services, we sang the famous hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The lyrics to the second verse go as follows:

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Here by Thy great help I've come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood

At the end of that worship service, a church member asked me what was the meaning of the phrase “Here I raise my Ebenezer?” So, this week, I chose to share the answer with all of you (after taking time to research this myself). To understand this, we must dive into God’s Word.  

In 1 Samuel, God has appointed Samuel as a prophet in Israel. In Samuel’s early days as a prophet, Israel was engaged in battle against the enemy Philistine army (you can read about this in 1 Samuel 4). Eventually, the Philistines defeated the Israelites and captured their central article of worship - the ark of the covenant. So distressing and devastating was it for the Israelites to have lost the ark of the covenant, that the judge at the time - Eli the priest - fell backwards from his chair, broke his neck, and died.

Twenty years later, the Israelites lamented the absence of the ark of the covenant, as it represented the absence of God’s presence. Samuel gathered the people together at a place called Mizpah for a time of national repentance. 1 Samuel 7:6 says, “When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the Lord’s presence. They fasted that day, and there they confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.”  Samuel responded by offering a lamb as a sacrificial offering to God.

Meanwhile, the Philistines had heard that the Israelites had come to Mizpah, and the Philistines approached Mizpah ready to engage the Israelites in battle once again. This time, the Israelites would be victorious. 1 Samuel 7:10a states, “The Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they were defeated by Israel.”

Samuel was determined to commemorate this victory. 1 Samuel 7:12-13 says, “Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, explaining, “The Lord has helped us to this point.” So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israel’s territory again. The Lord’s hand was against the Philistines all of Samuel’s life.”

Of course, Israel would repeatedly wander in disobedience and unfaithfulness to God at various times after this. In raising the Ebenezer stone, Samuel was in no way a declaration of final victory, but rather of victory “up to this point.” Rather, the stone was to serve as a reminder that as they maintained humility and faithfulness to God, He would continue to be their refuge and rescue.

This is true for us today. Our stories are not over. We are not out of the woods. We are living through life as we await God’s return. Like the Israelites, we too are prone to wander while we wait. We are prone to let fear, pride, doubt, and impatience lead us astray from Him. May we not lose sight of who God is prone to be. He is prone to pursue us. He is prone to rescue us. He is prone to be our fount of blessing! As the last half of the 2nd verse of the song says:
Jesus sought me as a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God. He to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood!”

Take the time to raise an Ebenezer stone of commemoration. Take the time to recognize God’s victories through Jesus’ rescues in your life. And remember, if He's rescued you again and again in the past and present, He is sure to, by His good pleasure, see to it that you arrive safely home with Him in glory!  

Oh how awesome it is to know that God is for you, God is with you, and God loves you!

Pastor Chris