Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the
towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer—"the stone of
help"—for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!" —1
Samuel 7:12,
The word "Ebenezer" comes from Hebrew and is
actually two words pronounced together: Even Haazer." Literally
speaking, an Ebenezer is transliterated as a "stone of help," or a
reminder of God’s presence or divine help in our lives. Spiritually and
theologically speaking, an Ebenezer can be nearly anything that reminds us of
God’s presence and help: the Bible, the Sacramental Elements, a cross, a
picture, a fellow believer, a hymn – those things which serve as reminders of
God’s love, God’s Real Presence, and God’s assistance are
"Ebenezers."
In 1 Samuel 4:1-11 and 5:1, the Ebenezer is associate with Gilgal, where the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant was stolen. The site wasn’t named Ebenezer until after the Israelites finally defeated the Philistines, and took back the Ark of the Covenant. Israel experienced an extended time of grievance and distress as a result of their disobedience under the rule of Samuel, yet the Ebenezer served as a reminder of God’ restoration of his people after they repented and re-committed their hearts and minds to his purpose in their lives.
Samuel set up a large stone to mark the place where this
restoration began. He publicly dedicated it as a monument to God's help,
faithfulness, and eternal covenant. As God slowly mended the Israelites broken
hearts and lives, the stone stood as a reminder of judgment and repentance,
mercy and restoration. The Ebenezer
stone represented the beginning of recovery, a complete change of course for
God's people, and was a tangible reminder of God’s everlasting mercy and his
shatterproof promise to his often wavering people.
My heart is in the process of recovery, and I must look
to the Ebenezers in my life that remind me of God’s help in my life. I believe God is uncovering my sin and asking
for honesty in order for me to continue down the road of Christian
maturity. I have so many questions that
I fire at him much like Habakkuk and Job in their distress: What are you doing Lord? Why are you letting this happen? When will
you fix this? My limited time and scope inhibits my ability to grasp what He is
ultimately doing. And God’s demanding that I continue to dive into him, to lay
it all at the cross, so that I can continue to see his infinite power to save
me from myself. No one has lied to me or
betrayed me more than myself, and I am unable to fix myself, “the mind set on
the flesh is death (Rom. 8:6a). He is the only one who can fix me, so I must
“set my mind on the Spirit which is life and peace (Rom. 8:6b).
Lately, I’ve been confronted with my ugly sin of
worshipping the creation and not the creator, and thinking my way is best. God is unveiling my issues with lust and
pride: having a self-absorbed desire for
an object, person, or experience and believing that my plans supersede God’s
plans. It is not material things, people,
experiences or money that is evil; it is the desire or belief that material
things or relationships will fill that void in my heart that only the love of
God can fill. God calls me to confess
and sort out my sin. Once I confess my
guilt and repent, he forgives me of my sin.
Yet, I tend to beat myself up about mistakes I have made. I refuse to forgive myself, even though I
accept God's forgiveness. My lack of self-forgiveness is a sin in itself,
because I elevate myself above God by thinking his grace and mercies are just
not enough.
I must firmly hold on to the fact that the cross is
sufficient. There is an intensity to
shame over sin that says I want to run and hide, because I feel uncovered,
naked, and exposed, just like Adam and Eve in the garden after the fall. (Gen.
2 and 3) Even worse, our shame can
sometimes be compounded; if in our repentance we are met with legalism and
contempt from others. Yet, God calls us
to “forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead, strain to reach the
end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is
calling us up to heaven. —Philippians 3:13b,14
The cross is
sufficient. We often seek to cover our
shame through building our own kingdoms, works, possessions, and
positions. On the other hand we
sometimes try to cover our shame by detaching emotionally. We must own that this covering or detachment
is also sin. Jesus didn’t detach
himself from the cross or stop trusting God when all was seemingly hopeless and
our shame was poured onto him.
The Lord has our heart, and the point of the cross is to
show us just how faithful He is to finish His work in us. Shame has been dealt with once and for all,
he has washed us in his blood, and he has cleansed us (expiation) (Ps.
51:7). “Who will bring any charge
against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who
then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who
was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 (Romans 8)The resurrection of Christ
justifies. The wrath is gone. He knows we are prone to wander, stumble,
and fall, but he is faithful to bring us home.
He won’t let us go. Don’t give
up. Let go of regrets. Keep walking, keep confessing, keep pressing
in:
Here I raise
my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
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.
Hither by Thy help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
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.
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