’Ēzer

             Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” (I Samuel 7:12)

The pastor who led my church when I first started attending came back over the weekend to help us celebrate our 125th anniversary. I repeatedly told myself that I was not going to discuss this text because, short of sharing the recording of his message, I couldn’t possibly do it justice, but here I am because it won’t go away. Fortunately, I’m not going to try to reproduce the pastor’s sermon.

The main point I will share is the term Ebenezer. It comes from two terms in the Hebrew. The first is transliterated ’eban and means “stone.” The stone Samuel set up between Mizpah and Shen was probably pretty big, so people would notice it and remember

The second is transliterated ’ēzer or ’hēzer and is pronounced ay’-zer. I can’t find it now, but there was a meme that did the rounds on Facebook some time ago about ’ēzer meaning “Helper” and  “strong woman”- to the point that the picture was of a woman with a crested warrior’s helmet. ’Ēzer is used in Genesis when God said He would make a helper suitable for Adam.

In today’s passage, Samuel uses the verb form of the term to describe what God has done. He has been Israel’s ’Ēzer.  The term does not confer second-class citizenship, as some suggest. An ’ēzer is someone to be honored appropriately. If God allows us to step into that role, it is a blessing to be a blessing.