What Is an Ebenezer?
Modern versions have changed it, but many of us still recognize these lines from the beloved old hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Robert Robinson (1735-1790):
Here I raise mine Ebenezer – hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope by Thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger wand’ring from the fold of God;
He to rescue me from danger interposed His precious blood.
Thanks to Charles Dickens, the name Ebenezer brings to mind a crotchety old man. But the Ebenezer in the hymn is not a person at all.
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.” – 1 Samuel 7:12
A Stone of Help
In Hebrew Ebenezer is Even Ha’Ezer, literally “a stone of help.” A marker… a testimony.
Twenty years before Samuel set up the Ebenezer stone, the Philistines had stolen the ark of the covenant from Israel, and experienced seven long and uncomfortable months (1 Samuel 5:1-6:12). Realizing that their only hope was to give the ark back to the Israelites, they had sent it on its way pulled by two cows.
The Israelites were greatly relieved to have the ark returned, but life did not return to normal. For twenty years…
…all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. – 1 Samuel 7:2
So Samuel told the Israelites that if they returned to the Lord with all their heart, removed the idols, and served God alone, God would deliver them from the Philistines. They obeyed, cleaned house, then all gathered in Mizpah in repentance. And that’s when the Philistines decided to attack.
In terror, the Israelites begged Samuel:
“Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” – 1 Samuel 7:8
And He did. The Lord mightily subdued the Philistines, and Israel was saved.
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.” – 1 Samuel 7:12
Modern day Ebenezer stories
An army has not been subdued on my behalf, but I have seen some amazing blessings as a result of God’s power. And I have heard countless “God stories,” coincidences that I know weren’t coincidental, real examples of God’s presence and working in the details of the lives of His children.
I can look back over my own life and almost see those Ebenezer stones.
And when I hear others’ stories of God’s helping power, their Ebenezer stories, I am encouraged and my faith grows.
We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
– Psalm 78:4
This coming month at Do Not Depart we want to encourage you by sharing stories of God’s might in our lives. Throughout May we will be raising our Ebenezers and declaring the glorious deeds of the Lord!
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
– Psalm 145:4-6
And we want to hear your Ebenezer stories. In a few weeks, we will give you an opportunity to share His awesome deeds in your life with the Do Not Depart community, and commend His works to us all!
Have you seen tangible evidence of God’s faithfulness in your life?
We hope you will share your Ebenezer stories with us! If you have one you are eager to share today, feel free to leave it in the comments!
This is such a wonderful idea! Just last night I was reading Judges and this verse struck me, “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, WHO KNEW NEITHER THE LORD NOR WHAT HE HAD DONE FOR ISRAEL.” Judges 2:10 (all-caps-shouting, mine). What hit me in this verse was that the reason the one generation grew up ignorant was because the previous generation must not have taught them. They failed to honor Him by following the portion of Psalm 145 you quoted. Israel then “forsook the Lord” Judges 2:12. I can’t wait to read these Ebenezer stories; not only are these type of stories encouraging, but they can remind us of who the Lord is and keep us from wandering into sin.
I’ll look forward to reading the stories. Thanks, Patti, for setting this up. May God receive much glory as His deeds are displayed!
I need to read these stories of faith, Ladies. Please get to writing. My faith needs some growing.
Thanks in advance!
Patti, I’ve loved reading this portion of 1 Samuel as I’ve studied for this month. What an amazing, powerful, active God we have. And you’re so right that sharing our “Ebenezer” stories often encourages each other in our faith and our energy to persevere.
Praying right now that He gets the glory.
My Ebenezer story started on a day much like today, I had risen early had my quiet time, but instead of going to work as usual I had driven three and a half hours to visit my then pregnant oldest daughter. Erica was pregnant with our first grandchild and I wanted to experience every moment of this with her. We had a very uneventful doctor’s visit,(not even an ultrasound) and then we enjoyed a nice lunch and a beautiful time of sharing and talking.
I left her thanking God for giving me the opportunity to pour into her and for giving me words to encourage her and lift her up during this time. As I started the long drive back home listening to a Bible study teaching the words of the speaker were interrupted by a phone call from my husband. “Sam has had an accident, he is burned very badly, I am taking him to ER.” I hung up and began to pray and called my parents to meet Hugh at the ER. I also texted my pastor’s wife and asked her to get the church to pray. The next few hours are a bit of a blur for me as I drove to meet my father who drove me the additional 3 hours from our home to the nearest burn unit in Birmingham. As we waited for the burn team to access Sam’s injuries I began to piece together the details of what had happened.
Sam was working in the yard and burning some trash, was careless with some gasoline, he slipped in the gas,it sparked the nearby fire and engulfed him and the gas can he was holding. The decision was made at the ER to take Sam to UAB to the burn center. They lifeline helicopter was out on another run so Sam was taken by ambulance. The trip was over 3 hours.
A lot of things go through your mind when you have three hours to ride and you aren’t the one in the ambulance with your child. I can not begin to tell you all of mine, but I do remember that I felt such peace. I now know that there were prayers surrounding me and my family this whole time.
My son had 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 30% of his body. We spent over three weeks in the burn unit at UAB and several more in physcial therapy but my Ebenezer? My son is alive!
You see my husband is paralyzed and he had just laid down for a nap after work that afternoon and would not have heard my son’s weak cries BUT a neighbor who is usually not outside at that time of day had a “strange urge”to go outside on her deck and rest. She heard the explosion and saw a ball of fire engulf my son. She then watched as he ran and jumped into the lake (yes, another blessing, we live on the lake)bumping into trees as he ran. She ran and started beating on our door to wake my husband.
Running into the lake saved my son’s life, he says he remembered his chemistry teacher telling them over and over that “Stop, Drop and Roll does not work in a chemical fire.”, so he ran.
My son, my Samuel, he is alive. Here I raise mine Ebenezer!
What an incredible story Julie!! I am praising God with you that Samuel is alive! Thank you for sharing your story with us.
The Deeds of God website collects some of the greatest true accounts of well attested Christian miracles from every century.