1 Samuel 4
What a sad story; here
again we see the Israelites have “done what was right in their own eyes” and
sinned against God. The High Priest, Eli
raised two sons who also served as priests and they sinned against God by
taking a portion of peoples’ sacrifice before it had been processed as commanded
by God (1 Sam. 2:12-17). They also lay
with the women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting (1 Sam 2:22). So, not only did the people sin but the
priests did too. God allowed enemies to oppress
them (Judges 10:12-14) but in this case they did not cry out to Him for
help. In fact, the Israelites did not go
to Him at all; they sent for the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark had been used in a battle before
giving Israel a great victory. We do not
know if this was their reasoning for sending for the Ark but I suspect it had a
lot to do with it. Of course it was Eli’s
two sons who brought the Ark and when it arrived there was a great cheer that
came out of the camp of Israel. That
cheer shook up the Philistines so much that they steeled themselves to fight
even harder and 30,000 soldiers of Israel were killed that day, along with Eli’s
two sons and the Ark captured.
When word got back to
Shiloh to Eli that his two sons had died and the Ark was captured he fell over
backward and died. When news of Phinehas
(one of Eli’s sons) reached his wife she went into labor and died as the child
was born. The woman attending her took
the baby and named him Ichabod (literal translation from Hebrew is “no glory”)
and she said, “The glory is departed from
Israel! – because the ark of God had been captured and because her
father-in-law and her husband…the glory is gone from Israel, for the ark of God
has been taken.”
Now you might be
thinking, “Just why would this sad story be important to me today?” If you are a believer then the Glory of God
resides in you:
“I pray for them now.
I am not praying for the people in the world. But I am praying for these people
you gave me, because they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And my glory is seen in them.” (John 17:9-10 ERV)
“When He comes to be glorified in His saints [on that day He will be made more glorious in His consecrated people], and [He will] be marveled at and admired [in His glory reflected] in all who have believed [who have
adhered to, trusted in, and
relied on Him], because our witnessing among you was confidently accepted and believed [and confirmed in your lives].” (2 Thess. 1:10 AMP)
“May you abound in and be filled with the fruits of
righteousness (of right standing with God and right doing) which come through
Jesus Christ (the Anointed One), to the honor and praise of God [that His glory may be both manifested and recognized].” (Phil. 1:11 AMP)
So, we believers are receptacles of His Glory. His Glory resides on and within us. What might make that Glory depart? In 1 Samuel 4 we see what causes the Glory to
depart: sin. In Israel’s case it was the sin of not crying
out to and depending on God Himself but rather looking to an object that brought
victory before (verse 3). Yet you say, “But
God promised to never leave us or forsake us so how can you say sin will cause
Him to leave?” There is the
distinction: God does not leave. If you are a believer He will always be with
you, but His Glory (light, radiance) will not remain where sin abounds. That very thing that draws people to Jesus
through your witness of Him will not be shining and it will leave them in the
darkness of sin without a Savior.
Make no mistake, sin has a direct
effect on glory, “As they were increased,
so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set
their heart on their iniquity.” (Hosea 4:7-8 KJV)
“O sons of men, how
long will my honor and glory be
[turned into] shame? How long will you [my enemies] love
worthless (vain, futile) things and seek deception and lies?” (Psalm 4:2 AMP)
Brothers and sisters in Christ, time is short! We have less and less time to be the radiant
light God calls us to be in this darkened world of sin. Do not allow a day, an hour, or even a moment
for God’s Glory (His Light and Radiance) to depart from you. Walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16)! But should you sin, confess and repent of it
right away and He will forgive you and cleanse you from all sin (1 John 1:9) “so that you may learn to recognize and treasure what is excellent
[identifying the best, and distinguishing moral differences], and that you may
be pure and blameless until the day of Christ [actually living lives that lead
others away from sin]; filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through
Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God [so that His glory may be both revealed and recognized].” (Philippians 1:10-11 AMP)
Let me say a final
word of encouragement to you with what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13:11: “Finally,
believers, rejoice! Be made complete [be what you should be], be comforted, be
like-minded, live in peace [enjoy
the spiritual well-being experienced by believers who walk closely with God]; and the God of love and peace [the source of lovingkindness] will be
with you.”
