Ebenezer

December 26

Ebenezer is one of those old-fashioned names we rarely hear these days. Every Christmas we watch again the classic A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens and we hear it, but it’s certainly not among the top list of names for boys of today’s parents. After all, who wants to name a child after Ebenezer Scrooge?

We hear names like Trevor and Kyle that have been selected for newborns—and they are perfectly good names—but we rarely hear the old names found in scripture that are filled with meaning. Perhaps parents should look through the ‘name’ books with not only the sound but also the meaning of the name in mind.

The name Ebenezer, for example, means ‘stone of help.’ In I Samuel 7:12, it says, “He named it Ebenezer, explaining, ‘The Lord has helped us to this point.’” This is where the prophet Samuel set up an altar of praise to the Lord for the help He had given His people Israel in defeating the Philistines.

Names like Ebenezer remind us of the all-encompassing presence of the Christ we serve. They remind us of His faithfulness. They remind us of His power that exceeds the might of our foes. They remind us that when we are confronted with the difficulties of life, Jesus, the Rock of our salvation, is with us.