Raising an Ebenezer.
1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."
God often used this concept throughout the Old Testament to remind His people of the great acts He had done on their behalf. The raising of an Ebenezer was a way to remind the Israelites of God’s continuing work for them. “Eben” is the Hebrew word for “stone” and “ezer” is the word for “help” so an Ebenezer is a “Stone of Help”. Samuel raised this Ebenezer to remind Israel that God had helped them win a great victory over the Philistines. Samuel’s Ebenezer was certainly not the first time God used this visual aid for remembrance.
Joshua was also instructed to raise an Ebenezer after the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on dry ground. Joshua 4.2-9 tells the story of taking stones from the midst of the river and then setting them up as a memorial to remember what God had done for them.
Even earlier Jacob used an Ebenezer for a pillow, even though it was a pillow first. In Genesis 28.11-18 Jacob sets up his Ebenezer and calls it Bethel, “House of God” and vows that he will worship God alone if He returns him to this place.
The concept of the Ebenezer is indeed ancient and Biblical and finds its reflection in the New Testament as well. On the night Jesus was betrayed He took bread and broke it and said, “This is my body which is for you, do this in remembrance of Me”. I see this as an Ebenezer. One that many of us do once a month to remind us of Jesus sacrifice in our place. Our memories are so short that we so often forget the wonderful atonement Christ forged for us with His own blood. We need always to keep this Ebenezer before our eyes.
So then, what of you, brother? Do you have any Ebenezers to raise? One of mine is when God reached down and pulled this poor sinner out of the miry clay and set my feet on solid ground, November 30, 1969. I celebrate another Ebenezer when my wonderful wife took pity on a lonely young man and became my bride, February 21, 1987. Beyond that was the birth of my children, for God helped us there as well. Even greater yet was the day those children decided to be birthed again! My ordination, graduation, and later elevation to pastor all deserve a stone of remembrance. Another important Ebenezer is remembering steps of faith where God proved Himself mighty once again. So often He met my needs by paying my bills when no money was to be found, helped us pay school bills that were beyond our salary to cover, healed the sick, saved a sinner, purchased a building, and so on, and so on. All these truly deserve an Ebenezer, and many are marked in the blank pages at each end of my Bible so that I can remember. At my church we even changed the words of my favorite hymn back to the original. Our hymnal opted for a more contemporary wording. For us now, “Come Thou Fount” in verse 2 reads, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’m come!”
How many times do we let great answers to prayer slip from our poor memories and fade into nothing instead of raising an Ebenezer so the generations to come may marvel at God’s faithfulness? At my church we try to mark these special occasions, some have even been recorded on a stone. We have a wooden cross outside the church, and we lay these stones at the foot of the cross, because Jesus is the One who made those victories possible.
America’s Keswick has certainly become an Ebenezer to many men who have been set free. It has become home to me in many ways as well and I thank God for raising that wonderful Ebenezer. May it stand for many years to come.
How about you? Can you think of the Ebenezers in your life? I challenge you to raise an Ebenezer over it, praise God for it, and remind your children, “Thus far the Lord has helped us!” Pastor Paul Ort is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Egg Harbor City and is Chris Hughes’ Pastor! J
Compass Pointers: It is not so much our time and so much of our attention that God demands; it is not even all of our time and all our attention; it is ourselves. C. S. Lewis
Navigation Rules: Level 1: Proverbs 4:18; Level 2: Proverbs 4:20-27
Anchored to the Rock: Cold prayers do always freeze before they reach to heaven. Thomas Brooks
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