Rock Solid

 

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the LORD has helped us.” 1^st Samuel 7:12

If you’ve ever sang Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing penned by Robert Robinson in 1758, our modern understanding might have a difficult time with the second verse, Here I raise my Ebenezer.

What, you may be wondering, is an Ebenezer?  After a time of sinning against the LORD Israel put away their idols to serve Him only.  Their perennial enemy, the Philistines, had defeated the Jews several times in battle, and had become a force to be reckoned with.  But now the prophet Samuel, led the Israelites out to fight.

Israel came to the battle rattled.  They had been on the losing end of the Philistine spear before and were understandably frightened. But when Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, they stood their ground and the LORD heard him and allowed Israel to defeat their enemy.

After the victory Samuel took a stone and called it Ebenezer, which means Stone of Help.  It was, in essence, a trophy of victory that could only have come by the hand and help of the God of Israel.

Sometimes when we reach a valley of decision, before the battle is joined, it seems we’re praying through stone and not to the Rock of our Salvation. With an outlandish chunk of ice in our stomachs, chilled by continual worry or fear, it is difficult to trust that the LORD is already fighting for us.  We might ask, “Doesn’t He know how hard and frightening standing at this battlefront is?”  Yes, He knows exactly where we stand.  It’s not for His understanding that He knows where we stand, but that we understand that He stands with us. 

He is our Stone of Help, a Rock that cannot be moved, yet hears our every cry. When the smoke clears, if we do not become discouraged in our communion with Him and prayers, we will find our victory secure (Galatians 6:9).  It will become one of many Ebenezer’s we will raise throughout our lifetimes.  Trophies of Help and Remembrance.  As we raise them, we will find every one of them to be rock solid. As solid as our Rock, Christ Jesus (1^st Corinthians 10:4).

Ken