How many of us remember singing as a child, wondering what an ebenezer was, and how to raise one? The word comes from 1 Samuel 7:12, where we read that “Samuel took a stone and set it up … and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Till now the Lord has helped us.’” This took place after the Lord had given Samuel and the army of Israel a mighty victory over the Philistines. It was to serve as a lasting reminder of God’s goodness to His people. Samuel had led the people in corporate confession of their sin at Mizpah, a confession that was joined with acts of repentance as they put away the Canaanite idols which they had allowed to be in the land.
In Hebrew, Ebenezermeans “stone of help” (eben = stone; ezer = help). Samuel wanted the people to remember, not just for a few days, but for years, for decades, for generations, how God had come to the rescue of His people when they humbled themselves before Him. They were vulnerable, with their enemies approaching, and they did not deserve God’s rescue, having been chronically unfaithful. And yet in His gracious fidelity to His covenant people, God intervened with thunder to throw Israel’s enemies into confusion and give His people a resounding victory over the invading force.