Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
1 Samuel 7:2-14 – Praying through the Bible #86 – A Prayer of Ebenezer
Hear the word “Ebenezer” and our minds drift back to Dickens’s classic, “A Christmas Carol.” Being a literary genius, no doubt the name Ebenezer Scrooge was chosen meaningfully. Scrooge is a variation of an obscure English verb: “to scrouge” meaning “to squeeze” or “to press.” Scrooge pinched his pennies tightly and pressed heavily the poor. Ebenezer, his first name, does not appear until Marley’s ghost appears to help and says, “I am here tonight to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. A chance and hope of my procuring, Ebenezer.” Ebenezer means “Stone of Help.”
Hear the word in church, and we’re probably singing the second verse of “Oh Thou Fount of Every Blessing” which begins “Here I raise my Ebenezer.” This prompts our children to tug at our clothes and ask, “What is an Ebenezer?” This prompts us to ask the preacher because we need help. Appropriate, don’t you think? The third verse begs, “Bind my wandering heart to Thee.” Very fitting not only for us, but for the original audience of Ebenezer, the Israelites, who constantly needed help from enemies.
Hear Ebenezer in a synagogue, and the original use might be the reason. In 1 Samuel 7 we read the encouraging declaration, “Then the whole house of Israel began to seek the LORD” (7.2). Samuel encourages them, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, dedicate yourselves to the LORD, and worship only Him” (7.3). Samuel says, “I will pray to the LORD on your behalf” (7.5). Israel gets serious. Not only do they remove the idols, they fast, and confess (7.4,6). They even perform an unexplained ritual by drawing water and pouring it out in the presence of God (7.6). Later David will messianically prophesy “I am poured out like water” (Psalm 22.14). Could the pouring of water symbolize Israel’s mouths pouring out their confession of sins?
Next comes war, and with war fear, and with fear more prayer. The Israelites plead to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the LORD our God for us” (7.8). The prophet and judge sacrifices; and God answers with victory. Afterward, Samuel sets up a stone and names it Ebenezer, explaining, “The LORD has helped us to this point” (7.12). “To this point” (HCSB). “Thus far” (NASB). “Up to here” (NET). All these phrases teach a very important point. Don’t ever stop praying. God stops helping when we stop praying.
Scrooge describes us grasping stubbornly to be our own masters. “That you have yet a chance and hope of escaping” is only because the true Ebenezer, the stone of help, ultimately is Jesus Christ the Rock.
Prayer Challenge: These prayers were accompanied by changes in their lives: repentance, confession, fasting, and sacrifices. With prayer must come change; and with change must come constant prayer.
Comments