In I Samuel 7:12 we read, "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, "Till now the Lord has helped us." Ebenezer literally means "a stone of help". Jesus, our Rock, that stone, is indeed our Ebenezer. I take joy in understanding yet a little more of the nature and character of our Lord.
So, Samuel set up a stone for the people to remember the great victory God had given the Israelites over their longtime, relentless enemy, the Philistines. He knew, God knows, how quickly men forget the goodness of the Lord, and so Samuel set a stone of remembrance. While we usually do not set up stones except in cemeteries, we do have other remembrances of the goodness of the Lord: a garden to remember the dear one He loaned to us for awhile, a photograph of the long-awaited child for which we prayed, an 8-inch scar that reminds me that the tumor was benign and I can still walk, and so many other things that we must not grow dull to. Ebenezer - our Stone of help.
3 comments:
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/comethou.htm
Second stanza middle line. If you search the word Ebenezer in the cyberhymnal you will find many old hymns with a reference to Ebenezer with this usage. I love to hear them. It's fun just to go through this site. Many of the songs remind me of our days in Oklahoma when Daddy aunts and cousins would get to singing. A very precious memory. When he died I know they greeted him with hymns.
I love it - thank you! That is one of my favorite hymns, and we have recently sung it at church . . . which probably had me keyed for "Ebenezer".
That's a good thing to know about Grandad and his family singing hymns. The old Hymn Sings were special, and I hope to go home amidst the singing of hymns and be greeted by hymns of praise and thanksgiving, too.
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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