Here I Raise My Ebenezer

Text: 1 Samuel 7:12

In the song, “O Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” the second verse has the phrase, “Here I raise my Ebenezer…” This is not a term we use today, yet it is important to understand the words that we sing (1 Corinthians 14:15). So in this lesson, we are going to look at the story about the Ebenezer – a stone set up to remind the Israelites – to see some lessons for us today.

The Background

The Philistines defeated Israel in battle (1 Samuel 4:2) – the Israelites decided to bring the ark to help deliver them from their enemies (1 Samuel 4:3-5); the Philistines then captured the ark (1 Samuel 4:6-11)
The Philistines brought the ark to the house of Dagon, an idol (1 Samuel 5:2) – the idol was humiliated and a plague came upon the people (1 Samuel 5:3-6); so the ark was sent to Ekron, but the Ekronites did not want it (1 Samuel 5:10-11)
The ark was sent to Beth-shemesh (1 Samuel 6:7-12) – the Lord killed over 50,000 men (1 Samuel 6:19)
They sent messengers to Kiriath-jearim to get the ark (1 Samuel 6:20-21) – it remained there twenty years (1 Samuel 7:1-2) until David decided to move it (1 Chronicles 13:5)
After receiving the ark, Samuel addressed the people at Mizpah and called for them to repent (1 Samuel 7:3-6) – the Philistines heard they were gathered there and decided to attack (1 Samuel 7:7); the Israelites were afraid, but God helped them and they defeated the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:8-11)
At this time, Samuel erected this stone – Ebenezer

God Was with Them

Ebenezer means “stone of help” – this was the reason for the name; without God, Israel was defeated; with God, they were victorious
What was necessary for God to be with them and help them is true for us today
They needed to return to God and repent (1 Samuel 7:3-4) – we cannot remain in sin (Romans 6:1-2, 11; 1 John 2:1)
They needed to confess their sin before God (1 Samuel 7:5-6) – in addition to repentance (1 John 1:9; Acts 8:22)
They acknowledged dependence upon God (1 Samuel 7:8-9) – He is our source of strength (Philippians 4:13; John 15:5)
They still had to go out and fight (1 Samuel 7:10-11) – Christ will be victorious (Revelation 17:14); but we must fight for Him (1 Timothy 6:12)

It Was a Memorial

Memorials are important because people forget – the Bible emphasizes the importance of being reminded (Deuteronomy 6:6-12; 2 Peter 1:12-13; 1 Timothy 4:6); the Lord gave a memorial in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
The Israelites were to remember that God was with them and had helped them – we must never forget this (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Memorials Do Not Guarantee Remembrance

Even with memorials, people often forget
Jesus died that we might die to sin (1 Peter 2:24) – we remember His death each week (Acts 20:7); yet we sin
This memorial was to remind the Israelites’ of God’s help – yet they forgot and demanded a king (1 Samuel 8:5); they sinned in this because they rejected God (1 Samuel 8:7) who was their king (1 Samuel 12:12)
Memorials and reminders do no good if we do not continually set our minds to follow the Lord

Conclusion