I Samuel 7 recounts the story behind the Ebenezer stone. I'm telling you, the Bible is full of great stuff! But a bit of background leading up to the events of chapter 7: the Israelites have forgotten God, forgotten His faithfulness, and started to wander spiritually. Sound like anybody you know sometimes? As a result of their pride and unfaithfulness, they have suffered a disastrous defeat by their enemies, the Philistines. That defeat, which also ultimately resulted in the deaths of their prophet Eli and his sons, as well as the devastating capture of the Ark of the Covenant, occurred at a place named Ebenezer. What a horrific disaster for the nation.
But here they are in I Samuel 7, and the prophet Samuel tells them to repent, to return to the Lord and to remember His past faithfulness to them. They do, and then God gives them a resounding victory over the Philistines. As a result of all this, v.12 tell us: "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, 'Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.'"
How I love that! As I mentioned yesterday, Ebenezer means "stone of help," and it was a stone of remembrance to help jog faulty memories of God's forever faithfulness in the past. But Samuel named their stone of remembrance for the very place where Israel had suffered her most disastrous defeat! It as if he was reminding the Israelites both of their past folly and failure, but also of God's amazing grace and goodness and forgiveness even in the face of all their mess-ups!
His grace shines brightest in the darkness of our sin. His power is made perfect in our weakness. (2Cor.12:9) O how I thank Him for His grace and forgiveness for all my sin... but also for His power and love and restoration and redemption that is manifested even more strongly in our weakness and failure.
No one is beyond His power to forgive and redeem. No situation is hopeless with Him. He can take our Ebenezer's of defeat and turn them into Ebenezer's of joy. Because they are our Ebenezer of remembering Him who paid it all for us on the cross--took our sin and gave us His righteousness. Isn't that just how God works: He takes ALL things--sorrow and gladness, tragedy and triumph, weakness and strength--and works them for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. (Rom.5:8)
And so we raise our Ebenezer and remember, at the close of this old year, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us," and far into the distant horizon of forever, we know and trust He will help us till we reach our heavenly home. He will help us, love us, sustain us, strengthen us, hold us, encourage us, guide us in the new year ahead.
How I love the words to the beautiful hymn, "Come Thou Fount." May they be our prayer in 2113:
Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
I'll praise the mount I'm fixed upon it
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wondering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it,
Prone to leave the God i love
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
I'll never sing this song the same way again--for now I will be raising my Ebenezer in my heart--and remember and know "hither by Thy help I come." All by His help. All by His grace. All for His glory.
Yes, Lord, that is me--prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love--but take my heart and seal it, seal it throughout this coming year and bind it to Yours until that day You take me home.
Might this be our prayer as we walk with Him daily in the 8,760 hours of this year ahead that He is giving us. One day at a time. One hour at a time. One minute at a time. To God be the glory.
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