Setting
up an Ebenezer……..
The hymn, "Come Thou Fount," speaks
in the second stanza of raising an Ebenezer. Strange language—language that
modern hymnbooks change.
The prophet Samuel set
up a stone after the LORD routed the Philistines and Israel won a great
victory. This was not without repentance and seeking the LORD on Israel's part.
They had to put away their false gods and pray. The stone, named Ebenezer,
commemorated that victory, for "Thus far the LORD has helped us" (1 Samuel 7:12). Whenever the
Israelites would pass by the stone, they would remember what they were capable
of, and how the LORD acted on their behalf.
So when people today
refer to setting up an Ebenezer, they are using something physical to remind
them of spiritual truth, especially God's faithfulness and goodness. For
example, in the future I will be setting a bottle of real maple syrup on our
table at each meal. It will serve as a reminder and as my Ebenezer. Why a
bottle of maple syrup? It's a reminder to me of my sin; to be specific, my
stinginess.
Setting a bottle of the golden liquid on the
table will remind me of the battle I fought today, of the false god of
stinginess—and that God is my Helper and my Ebenezer. I may have lost the
battle for my heart today, but I repented, which gave me hope in the one who
not only forgives but molds me to his likeness. And that glass bottle will
remind me of it.
Step up
Ebenezer Kipkemboi….
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