Ebenezer
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).
Yesterday the UK marked one year since the first COVID lockdown. The pandemic has cast its dark shadow over everything, and the world is focused on protecting us from an invisible virus. We have felt helpless against such a potent enemy. We have also felt thankful for the efforts of the NHS, and both appreciative of, and caring for, our neighbours. We have got used to avoiding contact, making space and managing our lives around the disease. We have sorrowed with families who have lost loved ones, and longed for our lives to return to normal.
As Christians, we instinctively raise our hearts to God at times of difficultly. Our faith heightens when we face life’s problems and dangers because we believe in Jesus Christ. These experiences take us to the Throne of Grace in prayer. That doesn’t mean we are spared or can avoid painful and distressing circumstances. But it does mean our faith and hope are in God. When we look to Him as individual Christians, He draws us closer to each other and deepens our care and affection for each other.
In 1 Samuel 7 Israel faced a strong enemy and had turned its back on God. Samuel called the people of God together at this time of desperate need. He led the nation back to God. But the people felt so helpless that they said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us.” This verse reminds me that the Lord Jesus is our Great High Priest, “who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:34-35).
In response to their appeal, Samuel “took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord.” I think it was the smallest sacrifice offered in Scripture. But the tiny creature was not weak or imperfect. Its tininess was a reflection of the people’s little understanding of the love of God. So often our needs seem greater than God’s power to meet them. In Exodus 12:4 we read, “And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next to his house take it according to the number of the persons.” The household could be too small for the lamb but the lamb is never spoken of as being too small for the household. It is God’s description of things that conveys significant spiritual meaning which we so often overlook. Samuel’s tiny lamb was sufficient for a nation because it spoke to God of how much He loved His people. It was the people who did not understand the greatness of that love. God restored His people, and victory followed. Afterwards, “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.’”
This morning we can look back over the past year and know, like David, our times are in God’s hands (Psalm 31:15). That does not mean we understand all the circumstances God allows us to pass through. But in passing through them, we know whom we have believed, and we are persuaded that He is able to keep what we have committed to Him until that Day (2 Timothy 1:12). Through this knowledge we live in the reality of the hope we have in Christ (Romans 8:28).
