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Why
Glory Departs
1 Samuel 4:12-22
Introduction:
The Challenge of Names
One
of the big challenges faced by new parents is selecting a
name for their baby. Once the name is selected there will
be those who say, “Oh, what a nice name,” and those who will
ask, “What were they thinking?” My brother Bob was named Jeffrey
for a few days until my parents changed his name after strong
protests from both sets of grandparents. If you are named
Jeff, I want you to know that I think it is a wonderful name!
There
are many factors that go into choosing or rejecting specific
names. Often there has been a significant experience with
another child that eliminates that name from any consideration.
In a recent conversation with someone, they mentioned just
such a child. After my experience with a grade school boy
at church I told Judi I would never name a child of mine Andy.
Obviously there was enough time and distance that elapsed
from that declaration to soften my opinion by the time our
son Andy was born.
It
seems like only yesterday we were considering names as we
waited for him to be born. Looking back over what is now three
decades I can with all truthfulness tell you one name we never
considered. There wasn’t even the slightest bit of interest
in putting the name Ichabod on our list. With all due respect
to Longfellow’s Ichabod Crane, who would ever name their child
Ichabod? We might consider Gabriel or Ignatius or Cornelius—maybe—but
Ichabod? No way!
Let’s
read about a mother who did choose that name.
1
Samuel 4:12-22
That same day a Benjamite ran
from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn
and dust on his head. When he arrived, there was Eli sitting
on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his
heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the
town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a
cry. Eli heard the outcry and asked, "What is the meaning
of this uproar?" The man hurried over to Eli, who was
ninety-eight years old and whose eyes were set so that he
could not see. He told Eli, "I have just come from the
battle line; I fled from it this very day." Eli asked,
"What happened, my son?" The man who brought the
news replied, "Israel fled before the Philistines, and
the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni
and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured."
When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his
chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he
died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty
years. His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant
and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that
the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law
and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth,
but was overcome by her labor pains. As she was dying, the
women attending her said, "Don't despair; you have given
birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay any attention.
She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed
from Israel"-because of the capture of the ark of God
and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. She said,
"The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God
has been captured."
The Meaning Of A Name
The
baby was named Ichabod by his mother as the result of a series
of great tragedies. His father and uncle have been killed
during battle. His grandfather has died of a broken neck that
was probably more the result of a broken heart. His mother
has gone into premature labor and dies from the trauma shortly
after giving birth. Here is a baby whose lineage traces back
to Aaron, making him part of Israel’s priesthood. But, he
is given the name Ichabod which means The Glory Has Departed or
literally No Glory.
If
anyone was left alive to care about the baby I’m sure they
had to wonder why his mother chose that name. The account
we just read explains why.
She
named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed
from Israel"-- because of the capture of the ark of God
and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. She said,
"The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God
has been captured." 1 Samuel 4:21-22
NIV
A
little history provides much help in understanding the scene.
After the Exodus from Egypt, God promised to consecrate—to
make holy—the tabernacle by His glory.
For
the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made
regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the
LORD. There I will meet you and speak to you; there also I
will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated
by my glory. So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and
the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve
me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and
be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God,
who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among
them. I am the LORD their God.
Exodus 29:42-46 NIV
When
the Tabernacle was completed the glory of the Lord filled
that place just as God had promised.
Then
the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the
LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent
of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the
glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exodus 40:34-35 NIV
The
word “glory” communicates the reality of the presence of God
dwelling in the Tabernacle. The Hebrew word for dwell is shekin
and results in a term with which you may be familiar—Shekinah
Glory—meaning the glory of the Lord dwells among you. The
connection between the Ark and God’s glorious presence is
made clear by the author of Hebrews.
Above
the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the
atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail
now. Hebrews 9:5 NIV
When
Ichabod was named it was more like an obituary announcing
that the glory of God’s presence had departed from Israel.
Be very careful in the conclusions you make. It wasn’t because
the ark had been captured that God’s Glory departed. The ark
was captured because God’s Glory was already gone. If that
weren’t true, God certainly could have prevented the Ark falling
into the hands of a blasphemous enemy.
The
greatest tragedy for a nation, a church or an individual is
to have no sense of the presence of God—to be Ichabod. How
did Israel—God’s chosen people—find itself in such a terribly
fallen condition that God’s presence could no longer remain
among them? What we will see as we dig through the ruins is
that there had been a slow erosion finally resulting in the
departure of God’s Glory.
The Reasons For The Name
In
the opening chapters of 1 Samuel we read the account of a
nation’s journey into what was an ancient expression of New
Age Religion, which when followed to the end leads to what
we now call post-modernism where God is largely ignored as
irrelevant. Those in leadership had allowed some very dangerous
positions to develop. In 1 Samuel 4 the people go out to fight
against their most common enemy—the Philistines. They suffer
4,000 casualties in a humiliating defeat. The natural question
of why is asked and answered with a proposed solution.
When
the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked,
"Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the
Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from
Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand
of our enemies."
1 Samuel 4:3 NIV
They
made the mistake of thinking the mere presence of the Ark
with them would guarantee victory. They reduced the Ark from
being the place where the Glory of God resided to a good luck
charm. It was nothing more than a witch doctor’s talisman
or a psychic reader’s magic crystal.
A
great shout greeted the arrival of the Ark in the camp. This
drew a response from the Philistines.
1
Samuel 4:5-11.
When
the ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp, all Israel
raised such a great shout that the ground shook. Hearing
the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting
in the Hebrew camp?"
When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come
into the camp, the Philistines were afraid.
"A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're
in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe
to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods?
They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds
of plagues in the desert. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews,
as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!" So the
Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every
man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel
lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas,
died.
The
Philistines seemed to have a better understanding of the significance
of the Ark than the people of Israel. They believed a god
had entered the camp and they were in trouble because this
was the same God who had destroyed Egypt. On the other hand,
Israel had sunk so far that they adopted the viewpoint of
their pagan neighbors and considered the Ark their ace in
the hole. How sadly mistaken they were!
So,
Phinehas’ wife, with great spiritual perception, named her
son Ichabod—The Glory Has Departed. The question we need to
answer is:
What
caused the Glory—the abiding presence of God—to depart? What
were the conditions that gave birth to Ichabod?
Here
are 6 scriptural and historical reasons for the naming of
Ichabod.
Reason
# 1: An Unconverted Priesthood
Eli
was the High Priest and was assisted by his two sons Hophni
and Phinehas. The sons were the problem.
Eli's
sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD.
1 Samuel 2:12 NIV
They
didn’t know God and they didn’t care. They were scandalous
in their lifestyles, reckless in their habits and profane
in their hearts. They weren’t backslidden or carnal; they
were separated from God and lost. They had been raised by
Eli, they had heard him teach and pray, but they had no regard
for God. They were the blind leading the blind.
You
would think it natural that someone serving God in this way
would know Him. Sadly, it still happens today that those serve
as ministers in the church don’t know and follow Jesus.
We
had friends in California who asked to be on the search committee
for a youth pastor at their church. They had one reason for
serving—they wanted to make sure that the next youth pastor
would actually be a Christian. Apparently this qualification
was negotiable at their church and they wanted to be sure
they were there to negotiate for the sake of their teenagers.
I was grateful that we didn’t have to add this qualification
to the list when we went looking for staff pastors because
it was a non-negotiable.
There
is an undeniable link between belief and behavior. The same
danger exists for us today. We can be in all the right places
and have the best of spiritual heritage and still be lost.
What we believe is reflected in our behavior. Many people
profess belief in Christ, but there is no visible evidence
to support the claim.
Reason
# 2: Unfit Leadership
Everything
rises and falls on leadership. God has appointed leaders in
the church and leaders in the home. Before the Glory of God
departs from Israel the Ark of God was being carried on unholy
shoulders. Hophni and Phinehas had no respect for proper worship.
This
sin of the young men was very great in the LORD's sight, for
they were treating the LORD's offering with contempt.
1 Samuel 2:17 NIV
God
had made provision for the priests to receive a portion of
the sacrifice.
When
you sacrifice a bull or sheep, the priests will be given the
shoulder, the jaws, and the stomach.
Deuteronomy 18:3 CEV
They
weren’t satisfied with that. They would take not only their
portion by the random dipping in of the fork but also demanded
a portion before the sacrifice.
This is what the priests would normally do
to the people: Every time someone brought a sacrifice, the
meat would be cooked in a pot. The priest's servant would
then come carrying a fork that had three prongs.
He would plunge the fork into the pot or the kettle.
Whatever the fork brought out of the pot belonged to the priest.
But this is how they treated all the Israelites who came to
Shiloh to offer sacrifices. Even before the fat was burned,
the priest's servant would come to the person offering sacrifices
and say, "Give the priest some meat to roast. He won't
accept boiled meat from you, only raw meat." 1
Samuel 2:13-15 NCV
They saw their need as more important than God’s prescribed
practice. As a result, their contempt for God’s ways caused
the people to despise worship.
At
the root of the problem was Eli himself. He is described as
being extremely overweight. He apparently enjoyed the extra
meat his boys were bringing home—even though it had been stolen
from God. He failed to do enough to correct them. In the account
where God calls Samuel (1 Samuel 3) it appears that Eli can
no longer hear God. He knew enough to tell Samuel to listen
and invite God to speak, but he couldn’t hear God himself.
God tells Samuel He will carry out judgment.
For I told
him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin
he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and
he failed to restrain them.
1 Samuel 3:13 NIV
Eli acknowledged God’s
place in exacting judgment.
So
Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back.
“It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do
what he thinks best.” 1 Samuel
3:18 NLT
He
accepted the verdict but did nothing—absolutely nothing—to
repent and put his house in order.
This
is no way to conduct ministry or to raise a family. Lest I
fail you, men, I must remind you that you have been given
a strategic leadership role in the family. Don’t fail your
family and God by failing to follow through.
Reason
# 3: No Respect For The Moral Law
Before
God abandons a people they first abandon His standards of
truth and righteousness. God’s truth is not open for negotiation.
Like it or not, God established limits. It has been well said
that the Ten Commandments were etched in stone; not scratched
in the sand.
The
sons of Eli ignored all of God’s commands. They engaged in
gross immorality in the name of God at the place of worship.
This wasn’t any one-night stand; it was a way of life. Eli
pointed out the error of their ways, but they continued on
and he allowed them.
I
could recite all kinds of statistics to reinforce the perilous
slide into immorality in this country. We are people who play
fast and loose with God’s standards and invent every kind
of rationalization. I could give you those kinds of facts.
But,
bringing it much closer to home, is a recent event where our
son-in-law’s youngest step-sister opted for an abortion. It’s
awful that she did that, but even worse is that her dad allowed
her to proceed because he has bought into the mindset that
it’s a woman’s right to do what she wants with her body—even
if the body is only 16 years old.
During
the past three decades surveys have consistently revealed
that only 10-15% of professing Christians say that their beliefs
affect the way they live. The attitude is: It’s great to believe
in God as long as it doesn’t cramp my style. We are now raising
a generation that sees no connection between God and morality
because the church refuses to demand the link between belief
and behavior.
Reason # 4: Rebellion Against Parental
Authority
Any corrective measures attempted by Eli were ignored.
If
a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but
if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?"
His sons, however, did not listen to their father's rebuke,
for it was the LORD's will to put them to death.
1 Samuel 2:25 NIV
Rebellion
gives birth to more rebellion. There are times when parents
really have tried their best and it’s impossible to explain
why the children act the way they do. In this case, however,
rebellion is the norm and rebellion is serious stuff. Check
out what Samuel told King Saul when he acted against God’s
desires.
Rebellion
is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping
idols. So because you have rejected the command of the
Lord, he has rejected you as king.
I Samuel 15:23 NLT
God
can’t allow rebellion to go unchecked. Sin crosses God’s line;
rebellion goes the step beyond. Rebellion is the refusal to
step back across the line once it’s known the line has been
crossed. That’s what Hophni and Phinehas did; they refused
to respond to Eli’s warning. Rebellion against parents is
rebellion against God’s design and leads toward Ichabod.
Reason
# 5: Ignored Word Of God
Because
God had been ignored He stopped revealing Himself.
The boy Samuel
ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word
of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. 1 Samuel
3:1 NIV
God had little to say
to Israel—or, maybe He had a lot to say and no one to listen
and then say it for Him.
This is a sign of glory
departing—the failure to care about what God says. One of
the most difficult situations for a pastor occurs when someone
is obviously overwhelmed by the consequences of sinful behavior
but ignores God’s solution. They will claim, “I love the Lord,”
but they stubbornly insist on doing what they want to do instead
of what God instructs them to do. At that point, how can God
talk? What more is there to say? He has already said,
If
you love me, you will obey what I command. John 14:15 NIV
Love
without follow through is no love at all.
Reason
# 6: Forfeited Parental Authority
The
family is God’s basic building block for society. Before the
church or government existed the family did. If you spend
some time studying history you will discover that as the home
goes so goes a nation. David Barton of Wallbuilders provides
convincing evidence from his extensive research that when
previous nations and civilizations allowed the home to disintegrate
the nation followed within two generations.
What
Hophni and Phinehas did deserved a just response from God.
The problem, however, began with Eli who failed to exercise
his God-given parental authority. When God resumed speaking
to Israel through Samuel here is his first message.
The
LORD said: Samuel, I am going to do something in Israel
that will shock everyone who hears about it! I will punish
Eli and his family, just as I promised. He knew that his sons
refused to respect me, and he let them get away with it, even
though I said I would punish his family forever. I warned
Eli that sacrifices or offerings could never make things right!
His family has done too many disgusting things.
1 Samuel 3:11-14 CEV
The
erosion of parental authority is a dangerous trend in America.
For whatever reason parents retreat from being parents. In
some cases they do so because they don’t want to upset the
children. In other cases authorities set limitations on what
parents are allowed to do, especially as it involves discipline.
With parents in retreat, the family becomes vulnerable. It’s
imperative to remember that strong families don’t just happen;
they are built.
Conclusion: Check For Leaks
We
see increasing signs nationally that the glory has departed.
People go on enjoying life while society crumbles around them.
The attitude of “As long as it doesn’t affect me” is just
another sign of God’s glory departing.
What
about your life and family? We need to remember the reasons
why Ichabod received his name and act accordingly.
1. An
Unconverted Priesthood
2. Unfit
Leadership
3. No
Respect For Moral Law
4. Rebellion
Against Parental Authority
5. Ignored
Word Of God
6. Forfeited
Parental Authority
Someone
has said,
Christian
failure is seldom a blowout; it is usually a slow leak.
It’s
time to check for leaks and invite God to patch them before
it’s too late.
One
of the best places to check for leaks is at the Communion
Table. It is here that God as our heavenly Father reminds
us of the lengths He went to and the cost He paid to be able
to call us His children. It is here where He reminds us that
our relationship with Him goes in both directions. He has
expressed His love to us in that while we were still sinners
Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). In turn He invites us to
offer ourselves to Him, as those who have been brought from
death to life; and offer the parts of our body to Him as instruments
of righteousness (Romans 6:13).
Therefore,
we need to pay special attention to the instructions given
by Paul when we enter into His presence at His table. I’m
reading from The Message because it helps me to understand
how serious this is.
Anyone
who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently
is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his
death. Is that the kind of "remembrance" you want
to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come
to this meal in holy awe. If you give no thought (or worse,
don't care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat
and drink, you're running the risk of serious consequences.
That's why so many of you even now are listless and sick,
and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight
now, we won't have to be straightened out later on. Better
to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation
later.
I Corinthians 11:27-32 Message
This is a great time to check for leaks!
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