in class a few weeks ago we discussed the idea behind an ebenezer. it is something i cannot stop thinking about. many of you might know the beautiful and beloved hymn, come thou fount of every blessing, it is one of my favorite songs. within the song is the lyric..."here i raise mine ebenezer; hither by thy help i come; and i hope by thy good pleasure, safely too arrive at home."
what is an ebenezer?
1 samuel 7:12, "then samuel took a stone and set it up between mitzpah and shen and called its name Ebenezer, for he said, "till now the Lord has helped us".
rewind to the book of judges and we see the deliberate disobedience of the israelites. fast forward to the book of samuel and we see that under the new leadership of Samuel, Israel repented. God began restoring the people and in order to have a constant reminder of His work in their lives, Samuel placed an Ebenezer at the place where God began the restoration. It was to publicly show that God is faithful. Samuel wanted to remind the Israelites of who God is and the promise of His covenant. Ebenezer literally means "stone of help" it symbolizes the work that God does in our lives and the depth of His restoration. in a way it speaks of where and how the Lord has brought us this far.
God's faithfulness is something that is impossible to ignore. His promises are something we can bank on. We don't have to ever question them. I think the reason that the Israelites needed an Ebenezer and the reason we need one too, is because we're prone to wander and forget. but i want to remember.
what is your ebenezer?
1 comment:
hey!! so you're going to Zambia?? That's where I went a couple of years ago! I went to Ndola with another friend in the program...what are you doing there?
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