A First Blog Post for 2016

Here I raise mine ebenezer, Hither by Thy help I've come!  These familiar words are from the hymn "Come. Thou Fount of Every Blessing" written by Robert Robinson in 1758.  I guess what has been surprising to me through the years is that this single phrase has been used to declare why we should not sing the old hymns because singing "Christianeze" words that the world doesn't understand does not help evangelize the lost and only turns off the modern generation.  Well, did it ever occur to anybody that if you come across a word you don't understand, it might be a good idea to look it up or even ask someone what it means?  Good grief, you can Google it and find the answer in about one minute!

This phrase was penned because the author knew his Bible enough to know the word "ebenezer".  It is found in 1 Samuel 7 where the prophet Samuel and the Israelites found themselves under attack by the Philistines. Fearing for their lives, the Israelites begged Samuel to pray for them in their impending battle against the Philistines. Samuel offered a sacrifice to God and prayed for His protection. God listened to Samuel, causing the Philistines to lose the battle and retreat back to their own territory. After the Israelite victory, the Bible records: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’ ” (1 Samuel 7:12).  The word ebenezer comes from the Hebrew words ’eben hà-ezer (eh’-ben haw-e’-zer), which simply mean “stone of help”. 

So, what better time to "raise an ebenezer" than at the end of 2015 and the beginning 2016!  Stop long enough to look back and thank God for all the blessings He bestowed in 2015!  Then thank Him and credit Him for getting you through the tough trials, tragedies and heartaches of this past year!  Pray a prayer something like, " Father, here I raise an ebenzer, a stone of help, to declare that I know that it was by Your grace and mercy that I am alive today and have an opportunity to serve you today and however many more days you grant to me in this coming year.  In Yeshua's name I pray, Amen!"

One more thought: When Robert Robinson wrote his hymn in the 1700's do you think he purposefully wrote a lyric that he thought nobody would understand, or did he assume that people knew their Bibles well enough in his day to understand what was meant by "raise an ebenezer?"  If people indeed don't know their Bibles very well in 2016, what is wrong with finding more obscure phrases or words in the Bible to include in our worship songs as a means of increasing Bible knowledge?