Here is a summary from sparksnotes.com, of a famous story by Charles Dickens that everyone will be familiar with:
A mean-spirited, miserly old man named Scrooge sits in his counting-house on a frigid Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the anteroom because Scrooge refuses to spend money on heating coals for a fire. Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Two portly gentlemen also drop by and ask Scrooge for a contribution to their charity. Scrooge reacts to the holiday visitors with bitterness and venom, spitting out an angry “Bah! Humbug!” in response to his nephew’s “Merry Christmas!”
Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold apartment, Scrooge receives a chilling visitation from the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, looking haggard and pallid, relates his unfortunate story. As punishment for his greedy and self-serving life his spirit has been condemned to wander the Earth weighted down with heavy chains. Marley hopes to save Scrooge from sharing the same fate. Marley informs Scrooge that three spirits will visit him during each of the next three nights. After the wraith disappears, Scrooge collapses into a deep sleep.
He wakes moments before the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange childlike phantom with a brightly glowing head. The spirit escorts Scrooge on a journey into the past to previous Christmases from the curmudgeon’s earlier years. Invisible to those he watches, Scrooge revisits his childhood school days, his apprenticeship with a jolly merchant named Fezziwig, and his engagement to Belle, a woman who leaves Scrooge because his lust for money eclipses his ability to love another. Scrooge, deeply moved, sheds tears of regret before the phantom returns him to his bed.
The Ghost of Christmas Present, a majestic giant clad in a green fur robe, takes Scrooge through London to unveil Christmas as it will happen that year. Scrooge watches the large, bustling Cratchit family prepare a miniature feast in its meager home. He discovers Bob Cratchit’s crippled son, Tiny Tim, a courageous boy whose kindness and humility warms Scrooge’s heart. The specter then zips Scrooge to his nephew’s to witness the Christmas party. Scrooge finds the jovial gathering delightful and pleads with the spirit to stay until the very end of the festivities. As the day passes, the spirit ages, becoming noticeably older. Toward the end of the day, he shows Scrooge two starving children, Ignorance and Want, living under his coat. He vanishes instantly as Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming toward him.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come leads Scrooge through a sequence of mysterious scenes relating to an unnamed man’s recent death. Scrooge sees businessmen discussing the dead man’s riches, some vagabonds trading his personal effects for cash, and a poor couple expressing relief at the death of their unforgiving creditor. Scrooge, anxious to learn the lesson of his latest visitor, begs to know the name of the dead man. After pleading with the ghost, Scrooge finds himself in a churchyard, the spirit pointing to a grave. Scrooge looks at the headstone and is shocked to read his own name. He desperately implores the spirit to alter his fate, promising to renounce his insensitive, avaricious ways and to honor Christmas with all his heart. Whoosh! He suddenly finds himself safely tucked in his bed.
Overwhelmed with joy by the chance to redeem himself and grateful that he has been returned to Christmas Day, Scrooge rushes out onto the street hoping to share his newfound Christmas spirit. He sends a giant Christmas turkey to the Cratchit house and attends Fred’s party, to the stifled surprise of the other guests. As the years go by, he holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart: he treats Tiny Tim as if he were his own child, provides lavish gifts for the poor, and treats his fellow human beings with kindness, generosity, and warmth.
This heartwarming tale is known as, ‘The Christmas Carol,’ and Ebenezer Scrooge may be the only Ebenezer you have ever heard of. We could all benefit by taking a long hard look, and assessing our lives to see if there are any changes needed before it is too late. At the end of his life, we see he embraces the true spirit of Christmas.
I have not personally met an ‘Ebenezer’ in my lifetime; however, this is a Hebrew boy’s name seen often in their culture, which means ‘Stone of Help.’ It was a name of a place seen in scripture in 1 Samuel 4, 5 and 7. Samuel had recently been established as a prophet and judge over Israel, and chapter 4:1 says, “And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.” In chapter 3 through 6, the back story we see is not in the favor of the Israelites. Eli the high priest and judge was ninety-eight years old, blind, and feeble; and therefore, was not able to do much, and his sons Hophni and Phinehas, did evil in the sight of God. The young boy Samuel was living and serving in the temple, and he knew through a dream from the Lord, that Eli’s family legacy as priests was soon ending because of their evil ways. Battles were fought and lost by the Israelites, the ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines, which they deeply regretted afterward. Eli’s sons did in fact die in battle and Eli also dies when he hears the news of the ark being stolen. After much trouble and strife, the Philistines returned the ark, which was then taken to the house of Abinadab in the hills and was cared for by his son Eleazar for over twenty years.
This brings us to 1 Samuel chapter 7, the nutshell version. The people of Israel wanted the estranged ark of the Covenant to be returned to its rightful place, and Samuel agreed under one condition, that they would leave all the idols they were serving and serve the One True God only, to which they agreed and repented. When the ark arrived back there was a great noise of jubilee, which got noticed by the Philistines, and again the war was on, which caused fear to the Israelites because they had been on a losing streak last however many times they had tried to fight against them, so they hid behind the man of God, Samuel. It is what happened in 1 Samuel 7:9 that made all the difference. “And Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him.” God had had enough of the Philistines but was waiting on his people to acknowledge their need of Him. We see the outcome in verses 10 and 11, “And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.” God literally scared the living daylights out of the Philistines, and they became so discombobulated that they could not even fight. That must have been quite a thunder storm.
In verses 12 and 13 the man of God puts up a memorial, to the day that God won the battle for them, after so many years of failed attempts, and the Philistines never won a battle against them again during Samuel’s lifetime! The scripture recounts, “Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. So, the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.” This ‘stone of help’ aka ‘Ebenezer’ was to stand as an inspiration and testimony for all who would pass that way for generations to come.
God has been fighting battles for His people since the Garden of Eden, and he continues to fight for us today. Romans 8:37-39 says, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” However, though God always has a plan, it may not look like what we would do, but He is the Commander in Chief. We must trust Him because His ways are higher than our ways. As humans, it is exceedingly difficult for us to ‘walk by faith and not by sight’ when we cannot see what is ahead of us. We struggle with surrendering to His will because of past defeats, and often live with anxiety and fear. But the thing that will make the difference is when we come to him with our sacrificial offering and lay ourselves at his feet. Romans 12:1-3 states, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Gideon could have really felt insulted when He got the final instructions from the Lord, at the last minute, on what the actual plan was to defeat the Midianites. “Defeat, like this, yeah, right!” he could have said. The Midianites had been defeating them for seven years, oppressing them, and leaving them starving and destitute, yes, you guessed it, it was because of their own evil doings. However, because they cried unto the Lord, God was ready to give them victory. So, Gideon put out the call on their social media, and gathered men as God instructed, and thirty-two thousand men came to fight. That is extraordinary for such short notice, but God said no, there are too many, send the ones that are afraid home. God wanted the Midianites to know that He had defeated them! This left Gideon with a ten thousand man army. Yet again, God said no, there are still too many. Following instructions on a ‘need to know’ basis once again, Gideon took them to the water and the ones who brought water to their mouth and lapped it up from their hands are the ones he kept. There were only three hundred men left! I can feel Gideon’s confusion here, and I can imagine he is beginning to panic.
Now three billion, or three million, or even three hundred thousand may be more than we can readily imagine, but we all pretty much know how few three hundred men are, especially for going into a battle. Three hundred may only be the size of a congregation or small town community gathering. Judges 7:12 says, “And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.” Yikes! By now, Gideon is surely scratching his head. When he and the angel had this big conversation earlier and he was eventually persuaded that he could lead this effort, he never imagined that this would be the plan. God then tells him, “There will be no tanks, no grenades, no artillery, no knives, no swords, or spears, but I will be fighting the battle. I want you to give each man an earthen pitcher, a torch, and a trumpet.” The instructions were that one hundred men would be on three sides of the valley encampment, they would wait for night fall, light their torches, break the pitchers, and blow the trumpets. Again, God brought fear and confusion to the enemy, so much so they all began to kill one another. Gideon and his men did not have to lift a finger. God won the battle and God received the Glory! Mission accomplished.
Repeatedly we see God agreeing to fight for His people, but His way. He takes pleasure in helping us, but He will not share His glory with anyone or anything else. He brought the walls of Jericho down so that Joshua could lead the people into battle and take the land, but God wanted them to praise Him first to show the enemy who was in control and strike fear in their hearts because they knew they were up against more than just the peasants who were marching around their city. Another account is told in John 9:1-3, “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” God wants the Glory, and rightfully so.
The Ebenezers we construct today may not be physical altars of stone, however, they are just as effective and accepted by God. Revelation 12:10-11 says, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Others should be able to look back on our lives when they hear our testimonies and see the goodness of God and how He has blessed us and kept us along the way. They should all reflect the ‘Stone of Help.’ David said it this way in Psalm 18:2, “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”
It was the literal altars and sacrifices of Samuel that God saw and loved. He was rewarded with peace during his lifetime. Though his altars were literal, they have been replaced in the New Testament by our offerings, altars, and sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving in the spiritual sense, which He loves. Jesus was offered up as the final sacrificial lamb for our sins. Luke 17:11-21 tells this story, “And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
In 1758, Robert Robinson penned the Hymn, “Come Thou Fount”. He had come from a troubled home and was sent away to study in London after his father died but had fallen into bad company. One night he found himself in an evangelistic meeting which led him to repentance. At age 23, he began serving at a Calvinist Methodist chapel where he wrote this beautiful hymn, which is his testimony of how God rescued him from sin and the dangerous path he was headed down. It is his Ebenezer. It goes like this,
Come Thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by Thy help I come.
And I hope by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God.
He to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood.
So, to grace how great a debtor, Daily I’m constrained to be.
Let Thy goodness like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
So, to grace how great a debtor, Daily I’m constrained to be.
Let Thy goodness like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
We must allow the Lord to fight our battles His way. He has never failed us, nor will he ever. Moses did not really know the plan that God had in mind, when he stated with great confidence, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord,” with the Red Sea staring him in the face. Paul said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” He did not say this because he had never faced trials and tribulations, but because he had. Let it be written of us, if we ever have an Ebenezer Scrooge moment, where we must go back and assess our lives, past, present, and future, that what was most evident, were the altars, the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, and our testimonies unto the Lord for the victories He has wrought for us. These are our Ebenezers, our memorials, for all to see, that God was our ‘Stone of Help.’