Topic: “Ebenezer, hereto the LORD has helped us.”
Texts: 1 Samuel 7:12.
EXPOSITION.
As this Prayer/Lenten journey draws to a close, we are using today’s topic as written in 1 Samuel 7:12, to say to God with hearts of gratitude, “Ebenezer, hereto the LORD has helped us.” Samuel was prompted to make this statement after casting his mind back to the many battles God enabled him to lead the children of Israel to fight, and the victories God made possible for them to win in these battles.
In the context of Samuel and the Israelites, it was a journey of war after war. In our context however, it has been a stretching spiritual journey of seeking the face of God in prayer and fasting. One thing is however common in these two contexts – the ‘God Factor’, which should not be ignored. With God’s help, the Israelite were victorious; they set up a stone memorial to acknowledge God’s help in making their victories achievable. For us now, our way of acknowledging God may not be the way it was done in the Israelites’ case, but we must regardless show our appreciation to God who has been with us all the way till this tail end.
Like the Psalmist writes in 124, “if it has not been the LORD who has been on side…” the LORD who has been on our side to strengthen, to encourage and to inspire us, if it had not for Him, perhaps the exercise wouldn’t have been as good has it has been. For this, and more reasons we must show gratitude to God.
Samuel set up a stone not as an idol object to be worshiped, but as memorial, that will help their generation and the generations unborn to continue to remember the great feat the LORD did for them. Our own memorial may not be in a dramatic form of setting up a stone or building a statue, we may instead do as written in Psalm 116;12-14, “What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits towards me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD, 1 will pay my vows to the LORD now in the presence of all His people.”
The multiple prayers we have prayed during this season will come to performance and bring forth practical manifestations that will lead to testimonies; these testimonies shall not exclude any one of us in the name of Jesus. But mind you people of God, when God has done His part as He will surely do, let’s not fail to do our part by acknowledging Him in the assembly of His people, and to pay our vows as befitting and deserving of Him. May God so help us. Amen. God bless you. SHALOM.
