Here I Raise Mine Ebenezer

I love the line "Here I raise mine Ebenezer" in the great hymn Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Every time I sing it there's a profound feeling of God's faithfulness that wells up within me. And yes, I realize that you're probably wondering why raising an Ebenezer would inspire me. It's a fair question because the only Ebenezer many of us are familiar with is from Dickens classic A Christmas Carol that is about to be played by Jim Carrey in the soon to be released A Christmas Carol by Disney. Ebenezer Scrooge, with all his "Bah Humbug," just doesn't seem to fit a song of praise. So what gives? Well consider this:

Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." (1 Samuel 7:12 NASB)

See, whenever God did something great in the life of the Israelites they would erect a stone to serve as a reminder of what God had done. This stone which Samuel erected was called Ebenezer or The Lord our Help and served as a testimony to the Israelites that God had helped them that far and that He would continue to help them. Here's what Weirsbe comments on this verse:

The setting up of stones to commemorate significant events has been a part of the Hebrew culture since Jacob set up a memorial at Bethel (Gen. 28:20-22; 35:14). Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan (Josh. 4:9) and twelve more on the western bank at Gilgal to mark the place where the waters opened and Israel crossed into the Promised Land (vv. 4:1-8, 19-21). A great heap of stones in the Achor Valley reminded the Jews of Achan's disobedience (vv. 7:24-26), and another heap marked the burial place of the king of Ai (8:29). Another heap stood at a cave at Makkedah to mark where five kings had been defeated and slain (10:25-27). Before his death, Joshua set up a "witness stone" to remind the Israelites of their vow to serve the Lord alone and obey Him (24:26-28).

"Ebenezer" means "stone of help" because the monument was a reminder to the Jews that God had helped them that far and would continue to help them if they would trust Him and keep His covenant. The founder of the China Inland Mission, J. Hudson Taylor, had a plaque displayed in each of his residences that read "Ebenezer—Jehovah Jireh," Together, these Hebrew words say, "The Lord has helped us to this point, and He will see to it from now on." What an encouragement to our faith! Bible Exposition Commentary by Warren Weirsbe

We all need Ebenezers in our life. Those rocks we can cling to when our worlds seem to be folding in against us. Those reminders of God's faithfulness in the past and the assurance that who He was then He still is today. Those bedrock truths or passages of Scripture that He has impressed upon us which encourage, inspire, comfort, and even challenge us.

Tonight, God took me back to an Ebenezer in my life. The section of Scripture from which He called me to ministry came alive for me again this evening and a promise within it reassured me deeply. I needed it! This week has been fabulous on many fronts. I've had great conversations with people in our church, celebrated the arrival of a little 9 lb 1 oz bundle of joy with a couple I led to Christ, been encouraged and challenged by our children's curriculum, and been inspired by the excitement of one of our newest members. Nearly everything I love about being a pastor I've experienced this week. And yet it has also been a very hard week. And though Satan would like to distract me with the challenges of the week, the Ebenezers around me won't allow me to mire myself in the muck. They remind me of the awesome, faithful, loving, gracious, forgiving, and holy God who has proven Himself in my life over and over and over again. So...

Come Thou Fount of ev'ry 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
Praise the mount I'm fixed upon it
Mount of God's redeeming love

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither to 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

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

What are the Ebenezers in your life? Remember God's work in your past and know that He hasn't changed or gone anywhere. He is the same God today that He was then. Lean into what you know of Him and find His help there. I praise God for all my Ebenezers for we truly serve the GREAT God!