HERE I RAISE MY EBENEZER

          In an older hymn that we sometimes sing, Come, Thou Fount Of Every Blessing, the second stanza states:  Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I’ve come; And I hope by Thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home.  Some of you may have sung this song wondering silently, “What in the world is an Ebenezer?.   To discover the answer to that query one needs to re-visit the sacred archives of Israel.  Once they crossed into the promised land the young nation of Israel found themselves repeatedly embattled against the Philistines.  In the aftermath of having the ark of the covenant captured by the Philistines, the prophet Samuel urged the children of Israel to “come clean” in order that Jehovah's blessiings might return to them (1Sam.7:3-4).  Following a favorable response Samuel convened a national assembly at Mizpah.

          At Mizpah the nation of Israel prayed, fasted and confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.”   When the Philistines caught wind of Israel’s gathering they quickly countered with a blitz, striking fear among the congregation.  Israel petitioned Samuel:  Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines (1Sam.7:5-8).  Samuel immediately offered up a sacrifice to God with prayer.  In answer to Samuel’s prayer, Jehovah God literally thundered forth sending the Philistines into mass confusion and allowing Israel to route and pursue their enemy.  Shortly thereafter, Samuel took a stone and named it EBENEZER, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us" (1Sam.7:12).     

          This stone was not intended to be idol to bow before and worship, it was A STONE OF REMEMBRANCE.  It was just that - - nothing more, nothing less - - but it was a significant marker in Israel’s history.  It was a reprisal of a deed performed by Joshua's directive (as authorized by God) several years earlier when Israel first crossed the Jordan  (Josh.4:1-11).  Like the 12 stones placed in the river, Samuel's Ebenezer was to serve as a very important memorial. 

          Fast-forward to our nation in the year 2020.  We are witnessing the indiscriminate tearing down of stones of remembrance - - Columbus, Lee & Jackson, Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass, to name but a few.  Such monuments were never intended to pronounce perfection.  Indeed to look upon such statues and memorials often evokes great sorrow and heartache.  Have you ever visited Gettysburg?  Years ago, a highly-esteemed philosopher and Harvard professor named George Santayana opined:  “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”   When Samuel erected his ebenezer stone it was destined to become a long-lasting reminder of Israel’s many short-comings and sins and their ongoing need for Divine intervention (the word itself, Ebenezer, means, "a stone of help").  Rather than attempting to eradicate history, wouldn’t it be better to learn from the past - - even though often painful?

                                                                               Terry Siverd / Cortland Church of Christ