tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9396860.post110598474425665860..comments2024-03-28T08:41:17.341-04:00Comments on <center> Ralph the Sacred River </center>: Translating EbenezerEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05188482189638751204noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9396860.post-6218977338463886562008-06-08T14:36:00.000-04:002008-06-08T14:36:00.000-04:00Well, I think the real problem (and yes, not knowi...Well, I think the real problem (and yes, not knowing that "Ebenezer" translates to "Stone of Help" is part of the difficulty) is, as noted by the author, that we don't remember the Biblical account of the LORD's battle against the Philistines under Samuel (I Samuel 7).<BR/><BR/>I mean, who thinks of Samuel as a general or warrior? He's first a sweet & beloved only child, given to the LORD by his redeemed mother, and then a prophet, a preacher, and/or a traveling evangelist in our minds. Spiritual power, sure; physical prowess? We don't attribute this to Samuel.<BR/><BR/>I think in light of this passage, and also the account of Samuel in I Sam. 15, (in his old age, no less):<BR/><BR/><I>32 Then Samuel said, "Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites."<BR/> Agag came to him confidently, thinking, "Surely the bitterness of death is past."<BR/><BR/> 33 But Samuel said,<BR/> "As your sword has made women childless,<BR/> so will your mother be childless among women."<BR/> And Samuel put Agag to death before the LORD at Gilgal. </I><BR/><BR/> --- we fail to see Samuel as a warrior, a king figure, a <B>real man</B> --- as exemplified by the LORD Himself, not only as God the Father, but also as Jesus Himself showed Himself a man. He picked up a sword and killed the mightiest warrior of Amalek. If we thought of Samuel in this way, then we might tend to remember the story of the victory under Samuel in chapter 7, and the raising of the Ebenezer stone might well be remembered by a larger number of contemporary believers.<BR/><BR/>Or so we could hope. At any rate, I love the text of the old hymn, although I object to the weak treatment it generally gets when performed at a "old school" church and would prefer not to hear it done badly. Of course, that's just a preference; our LORD doesn't need a great performance to meet us in worship, as I was reminded this morning in a church service that was decidedly "old school", not well played, drug to death, etc. But He is still God....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9396860.post-52522434969461147752007-08-01T00:11:00.000-04:002007-08-01T00:11:00.000-04:00You can find all 5 verses of the original poem on ...You can find all 5 verses of the original poem on wikipedia at: <BR/><BR/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Thou_Fount_of_Every_BlessingCherylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00894057926676389866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9396860.post-1106718313513080582005-01-26T00:45:00.000-05:002005-01-26T00:45:00.000-05:00It's a scriptural metaphor, but it's one that reli...It's a scriptural metaphor, but it's one that relies on knowing the Hebrew word. Simply knowing the passage isn't sufficient.Jeremy Piercehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03441308872350317672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9396860.post-1106083498813390072005-01-18T16:24:00.000-05:002005-01-18T16:24:00.000-05:00Very interesting.
I wonder if you'd consider ente...Very interesting.<br /><br />I wonder if you'd consider entering this article in this week's Christian Carnival? The dead line is this evening, but if you think you'd like to, here's the info:<br /><br />The next Christian Carnival will be hosted at Sidesspot www.sidesspot.blogspot.com, and submissions are now open. <br /> <br />First, your post should be of a Christian nature, but this does not exclude posts that are political (or otherwise) in nature from a Christian point of view. If you are looking for posting ideas, you might want to consider that the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision is January 22. Another topic might be to consider how Christians of different denominations can put into practice Christ's admonition that we love one another--what does this mean in real life, what impact could it have on nonbelievers if we did this? How Christians can help foster a sense of community in their neighborhoods is another topic.<br /> <br />Second, please send only one post dated since the last Christian Carnival. Then, email me at the following address (and please put "Christian Carnival Entry" in your subject line):<br /><br /> sidesspot@comcast.net<br /><br />Provide the following:<br /><br />Title of your Blog<br />URL of your Blog<br />Title of your post<br />URL linking to that post<br />Description of the post<br /><br />Deadline is 10 p.m. Central, Tuesday, January 18<br /><br />Don't forget to encourage a friend to contribute, and have them stop by and join the Christian Carnival mailing list at<br />http://patriot-paradox.com/mailman/listinfo/christiancarnival_patriot-paradox.comRebecca Starkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04648669478887197766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9396860.post-1106079460122839222005-01-18T15:17:00.000-05:002005-01-18T15:17:00.000-05:00That's quite interesting; the study of church nami...That's quite interesting; the study of church naming conventions might uncover a lot of fascinating connections. Has it been done?<br /><br />Glad you enjoyed the post.EMChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02505525490002421093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9396860.post-1106070810932161742005-01-18T12:53:00.000-05:002005-01-18T12:53:00.000-05:00Fascinating where you can get to when starting fro...Fascinating where you can get to when starting from one line of an old favourite hymn! This was really interesting. (BTW in Wales, and England but less so, many Baptist Churches are called "Ebenezer Baptist Church" rather than the more usual naming after a location "Cemetry Road Baptist Church" or a locality "Stow-on-the-Wold Baptist Church". I do not know why, but the dates of foundation for the ones I was most familiar with would be in the century following the writing of the hymn, with matbe a few before that...Tim Bulkeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07289349880110581469noreply@blogger.com