In 1 Samuel 4 we are introduced to a child with the unfortunate name of Ichabod, which essentially means the glory of the Lord had left Israel. As his mother was dying in childbirth she bestowed the ominous name on her son:
“And she named the child Ichabod, saying, ‘The glory has departed from Israel!’ because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband (v.21).”
Her husband, one of the priests, had died during a battle in which Israel was defeated and the ark of the covenant was stolen by the Philistines. When news reached the prophet Eli, her father-in-law, he fell over died after suffering a broken neck. The glory of the Lord was gone, and not just because the ark was stolen. The ark was stolen because the glory of the Lord was already gone. The prophet and priests were corrupted, and the people were not walking with the Lord, so the Lord left.
That is a dark chapter in Israel’s history, but it isn’t the final one. Describing the birth of Jesus, the apostle John would write, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 14:6).”
The glory of God once resided in an ark, an invisible presence that allowed sinners to be near to their Creator. But those sinners had a long record of messing up. So God did something unfathomable: He came in the flesh to save sinners from their sin. In all His glory Jesus walked among mankind and then died a vicarious death so that sinners can share in that glory.
Things may look as bleak as they did in 1 Samuel 4, but the glory of the Lord has not departed. His glory is seen in His church, His bride. As believers we are now filled with God’s Holy Spirit, so we should be a light shining in a dark world. We need to show the world the glory of God by living the way He has called us to live.
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