“My help comes from the Lord…” (Psalm 121:2).
The Hebrew word עזר, “azar,” which means “to help, to support, to assist, and to deliver,” was covered in a previous article [1]. We observed that the Lord God is the primary subject of this verb. This also holds true for the nouns “ezer” and “ezra,” which both mean “help” and are derived from the verbal stem “azar” / to help. The Lord extends to man His heavenly support, aid, and assistance for all needs and issues.
Divine help in the Psalms
We frequently hear in the psalms how the Lord comforts individuals in need throughout their time of need. He gives consolation and aids His own (Psalm 86:17). According to the psalms, we can constantly ask God for assistance and the supplies included in His Word (Psalm 119:173–175). The poet declares in Psalm 46:5–6, “God will help her when morning dawns,” meaning that the city of God will not be moved. That’s true right now, too! “For the glory of Your name, help us, O God of our salvation.” (Psalm 79:9).
Kings taught that the Lord helps
King Asa confesses in his prayer that the Lord is the only One who can “azar” / assist and then pleads, “Azar” / Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you …” (2 Chronicles 14:11). So too it was with King Uzziah who experienced “God “azar” / helped him against the Philistines …” (2 Chronicles 26:7). Compare Amaziah’s actions (2 Chronicles 25:8). Anyone who does not expect her / his help from the Lord will be disappointed. Thus, it was for Ahaz. Thinking that the gods of Damascus “azar”/ helped their kings, he sacrifices to these idols in the hope of receiving help from them, but they become his and the people’s ruin (2 Chronicles 28:23). His bad example had terrible consequences for all! The lesson of this history is in full force now.
“Ezer” and “ezra” in the Psalms
Once more, when we listen to these consoling hymns of praise, we see how the Lord God provides for us in every circumstance and provides man with his essential assistance and support. With His Divine “ezer” or assistance, He is never far from us! We can always beg, “Oh grant us “ezra”/help against the foe,” when we are in need. (Psalm 108:12). This cry for assistance is a result of the realization that, while the Lord may use humans as His tools of assistance, no (everlasting) salvation is to be expected from human redemption. The Lord offers eternal redemption; we place our trust in Him. According to Psalm 33:20, “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our “ezer” / help and our shield.”
Psalm 115 teaches God’s children to honor His name and to expect all help only from Him, even when the mocking question is, “Where is their God?” (Psalm 115:2). We may know that He is enthroned in heaven and delivers us, while all idols – yes, the very ones of our time! – are dead human work (Psalm 115:4-8). A bitter, disappointing discovery for many who build on it.However, those who build on the Lord will hear the repeated, inspiring call: “O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their “ezer” / help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their “ezer” / help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their “ezer” / help and their shield” (Psalm 115:9-11).
Anyone who serves the Lord with devotion, fearing and loving Him, will understand that this divine invitation to “trust!” and the assurance of assistance are modern! Under the shielding wing of God, we might joyfully sing, “… because you have been my “ezra”/help.” (Psalm 63:8). This verse’s spoken form is meant to be read at all times because it speaks to both the past and the present. Ultimately, our [unchangeable God] remains the same as He was in the past, present, and future! We declare, “Our “ezer” / help is in the name of the Lord,” for this reason.(Psalm 124:8).
Eben ha-Ezer
As he bid Israel farewell, Moses blessed them and assured them that no one could possibly provide them with “ezer,” or help from heaven (Deuteronomy 33:26). This assertion is still relevant today: The Lord is still keeping vigil over His people, powerful to save them in their hour of need! It is true that during Samuel’s day, many disobeyed the Lord and appeared to give in to the threat posed by the Philistines (1 Samuel 7). However, they paid attention to Samuel’s instruction to remove all alien idols and turn to the LORD alone (1 Samuel 7:3–4).
This obedience paved the way of prayer addressed by Samuel to the Lord (1 Samuel 7:5b) and was accompanied by fasting and confession (1 Samuel 7:6). Fearful of the advancing Philistines, Samuel was begged to pray to the Lord for help, and He answered Samuel’s supplication and sacrifice with miraculous deliverance (1 Samuel 7:8-11). In response to this God-given deliverance and victory over the enemy, Samuel erected a large stone as a solemn memorial of Divine help and appropriately named it Eben ha-Ezer: “stone of the help”[2]. The Hebrew name can also be translated as “the stone of help”. As an explanation for this naming, he then spoke the well-known words: “Till now the Lord has helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12). We are grateful to be able to imitate that in so many cases and situations and we know: the Lord is our Eben ha-Ezer!
Notes
[1] Because the first letter áyin is a deep “guttural letter” that many Westerners find difficult to pronounce, we refer to the verb “Azar” here as it sounds without translating it (this also applies to the nouns derived from this verb).
[2] The Hebrew terms “eben” (stone of), “ha” (the), and “ezer” (help) make up this name.
© Copyright dr. Annechiena Sneller-Vrolijk
