Are you trusting in the wrong god? Have you made the mistake of relying on an object instead of The One True God? You’re not alone in that error. Many have made the same mistake only to encounter disappointment and defeat. Let’s read together.
“And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when IT comes among us IT may save us from the hand of our enemies.” So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!” So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on a seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the sound of this tumult mean?” And the man came quickly and told Eli. Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see. Then the man said to Eli, “I am he who came from the battle. And I fled today from the battle line.” And he said, “What happened, my son?” So the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured.” Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was with child, due to be delivered; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she regard it. Then 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. And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.””
I Samuel 4:1-22 NKJV
Ichabod means the glory has departed or basically the presence of God no longer abides with us. The Ark of the covenant represented the very tangible presence of God among His people. During the sourjourning of the Israelites, the people moved when the Ark moved. When Joshua was preparing to cross the Jordan to the promised land, the priest went before them bearing the Ark on poles. No one was allowed to touch it or they would die. But the power to save them wasn’t in the object, it was in the presence of God among them. Joshua 3
The children of Israel had turned from the true source of their deliverance, to serving other gods. They had become so calloused that they had now turned to the thing instead of trusting the Lord who had not only supernaturally delivered them from Egyptian slavery, but had given them victory over all their enemies. They saw the reason for their defeat as not having the object among them. But how many of you know that just having a Bible in your home doesn’t invite the presence of God to your home? Some people see having a Bible opened in their home as protection. That’s what the Israelites thought until they discovered it made things worse.
Without the ark they lost four thousand men, when they sent for the ark they lost thirty thousand men. What happened? God is not the object. They had spent more time worshipping and relying on a thing instead of trusting in the Lord, the faithful One who has seen them through great victories. How are we different from them? We trust our physicians' word more than God’s, we trust in our pastors and government more than God, we trust the words of friends and family more than God, we trust in our employers, bank accounts and even ourselves more than God. Not realizing until it’s too late that the glory has departed.
We cannot succeed as Christians without the presence of God by His Spirit in our lives. He’s the wick that makes the candle burn. He will never show up where He’s not invited or wanted. Israel didn’t want Him until there was a problem. And God showed them that the object wasn’t Him. They just wanted to use Him without serving Him. We’re doing the same thing today. When you’re His, there’s rejoicing when His presence is with us. The Israelites shouted for the object, the shouting wasn’t about Jehovah, had they been victorious by having the Ark among them, that would’ve become another god to them. Hence God allowed them to learn that lesson the hard way. We will too, if all He is to us is a good luck charm.
Most of us don’t think about Him until there’s a problem. Sickness, death, financial problems etc. He’s an afterthought until hell breaks loose. Covid has exposed the weaknesses in the Church. We have been deceiving ourselves and others. Living an Ichabod life. God’s glory has been gone from a lot of houses of worship and lives, but we don’t know it, why? We’re worshiping the object and not the God of the object. Church stuff, religion, music and even the sermons have no life to them. The gifts are on full display but the anointing is missing. His presence is missing. The two main people keeping watch over the ark were doing things in the house of God so detestable that God had to use a child to deliver His rebuke, because the high priest, Eli, chose them (his sons) over obedience to Jehovah. He wouldn’t correct them. You may read the full account in 1 Samuel 2
“Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
I Samuel 3:11-14 NKJV
The glory didn’t depart on the day the Ark was taken as Phinehas’s wife thought when she gave birth to Ichabod, it was gone from the moment the high priest and the nation rejected God. We wear the title but we bear no evidence. This is why the enemy of our souls is razing the Church today. We have become the architect, we no longer need or seek the Word as our guide. We have our own agendas and programs. Until…then we remember what we think is missing…we haven’t been praying, we haven’t been reading the Bible, we haven’t been going to church, we haven’t been tithing, we haven’t been…but that’s just the Ark. The glory is gone. Ichabod is the reminder. Whenever that child’s name was called it was a reminder that God’s glory had departed. What an avoidable legacy. God had been faithfully with them throughout their journey, yet they had chosen to worship the object instead.
Is your name Ichabod? Have you chosen to worship His blessings over Him? Have you surrendered His glory deceiving yourself that you can conjure Him up whenever you’re in a battle? Israel shouted and rejoiced at the sight of the object, the Ark. It once meant something, God’s glory, His very tangible presence. But they found out, just as we will, that He is not to be mocked or taken for granted. He’s not our genie in a bottle. He’s God Almighty, the High and exalted One. He doesn’t dwell in temples made with man’s hands. If you honor Him He will honor you. Yes my friends you may have all the latest religious paraphernalia, but remember the name. ICHABOD..
“Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be My priests. But I will honor those who honor Me , and I will despise those who think lightly of Me.”
1 Samuel 2:30 NLT
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
October 5, 2021
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