Ebenezer

“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.” I Samuel 7:12

If you are a regular church attender, it is likely that you have occasionally found yourself following along with the congregational singing without paying much attention to the words. The second verse of “Come Thou Fount” begins, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer; Hither by Thine help I’m come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home.” Most of us sing those words without really thinking about what they mean. We are singing about a stone that had special significance to the people of Israel. The prophet Samuel had called the people together to encourage them to serve the Lord and to put away the false idols that they had made. The people confessed their sins, destroyed their idols, and asked the prophet to pray for them. When the Philistines heard that the people of Israel were gathered together, they mustered their army and came to fight against the Israelites. The people were afraid and asked Samuel to pray for God to help them. The Lord sent a great thunder against the Philistines that scattered them in all directions, and the Israelites won a great victory. Samuel wanted to be sure that the people would give God the glory for what He had done for them, so he set up a great stone and called it Ebenezer, meaning, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” Are you giving God the glory for the victories that you have experienced in your life? John Newton wrote, “’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.”