Ebenezer: The Lord Has Helped Us This Far!

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” 1 Samuel 7: 12, NKJV

Precious Lord, We have come to the last day of the year 2007, and it has only been by Your grace.  Thank you, Amen

What a blessing!  We have made it to the last day of the year.  How sad to know that many “who began the race”did not make it to the “finish line.”  How far has God brought you in the year 2007?  How many of the goals that you had set for yourself have been reached?  How many victories have been won?  I hope you had a year full of grace! 

Our promise for today is more of an assurance:  “This far has the Lord helped us!”  I claim the promise, “and He will help us until the end.”

The Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines approximately twenty years before.  The children of Israel could not forget that last battle with the Philistines.  As one of Eli’s daughter-in-laws, the wife of Phineas, lay dying during childbirth, on that fateful day, she named her son Ichabod “Where is the glory?”  The Ark of the Covenant where the “glory” of YHWH resided, was gone!  It had been captured by pagans.  The two sons of Eli, the High priest, and Eli himself, were dead.  This was a day that the people of Israel would never, could never, forget!  It was the day that “the glory had departed.” 

But now, twenty years later,  “the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.”  The prophet Samuel summons them to a meeting at Mizpah.  The entire community comes before God to receive a cleansing, and much needed blessing.  There, a four part ritual takes place:  they pour water upon the earth, they fast, they pray, and confess their sins.  Then Samuel prays for them.  In the midst of their ceremony the Philistines launch an attack.  At that moment, YHWH thunders from above and the Philistines are thrown into a state of confusion.  Israel pursues them and conquers.  Samuel sets up an “Ebenezer,” “A Stone of Help,” in commemoration of how far the Lord had helped them in the battle against their enemies.

A “Stone of Help” serves more than one purpose.  It reminds us where we are coming from, but it also serves to inspire us to go further.  The secret is in remembering “Who” brought us this far!  E. G. White writes: 

In the past few weeks we have spoken about the dangers and the benefits of forgetting.  We need to be able to recognize what to remember and what to forget.  If we seek wisdom from above, God will “give it willingly.”  Remember the things that have “virtue, and a reason for praise.”  Forget the things you cannot change.  Remember how much God loves you.  Forget the pain others cause you.  Remember who began a good work in you.  Forget about those who tried to interrupt the process.  And always remember not to forget, Who holds your yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows in His hands! 

As we enter the great unknown of the year 2008, I wish you a closer walk with God.  May you be blessed, and in turn, become a blessing to others.  Have a prosperous, God-filled, New Year!