A Verse
1 Samuel 4:12-22
A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, “How did it go, my son?” He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. 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 and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 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. And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
A Comment
I know everyone is upset that I was not able to share this uplifting passage on Valentine’s Day yesterday, but I’ve been down with a pretty bad headache for the last two days, so hopefully you will forgive me ;)
Obviously, this is a tragic passage. Eli receives the awful news that his two sons have been killed and that the Ark of the Lord has been captured by the Philistines. Based on the way that this message reads, there appears to be an intentional order to the awful news. First, the messenger from the tribe of Benjamin reports that the Israelites had been defeated. The winners of war do not have to flee from it. Second, the news of the death of Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phineas, is reported. Regardless of the fact that Eli had already heard the prophecy from Samuel regarding their just destruction for their behavior as priests, we should expect Eli to be heartbroken over the loss of boys.
Yet, it is the final piece of the news of the capture of the Ark of the Lord that metaphorically and literally kills Eli. The symbol of the Lord’s presence in the midst of His people had been taken away. The glory of the Lord, as manifested by the presence of the Ark, had literally departed from among the people of Israel. Upon hearing the news, Eli falls to his death. The author includes a detail about Eli’s weight at the time of his death, which hints to the fact that it was not only Eli’s sons who were enriching themselves from the people’s offerings.
In the final scene of this story, Eli’s daughter-in-law, due to the grief of the news of the death of her husband, goes into labor, and due to difficulties in the labor, she dies as well. However, before she dies, the midwives inform her that she has borne a son. She, however, would not be comforted by this news. For, she names the son, “Ichabod,” which means, “No glory,” or “the glory has departed.”
The birth of Eli’s grandson, Ichabod, points to the departure of the glory of God among the people of Israel. One commentator notes, “Banishment from the presence of God was a penalty threatened in the covenant (Lev. 26:33; Deut. 28:64), but here it is God who has departed the land. “Glory” (from the same root as “heavy” or “honored” in 1 Sam. 4:18) probably goes beyond a reference to the ark as such, obliquely pointing to the Lord himself (15:29), or at any rate to his glory-presence (Lev. 16:2; Num. 7:89; Ps. 106:19–22). The concluding words are the narrator’s commentary emphasizing what has brought this about: God-abandonment is the tragic outcome for a people who have abandoned their God. Moreover, being abandoned by God, they are deprived of the symbol of his presence as well.”
How should we respond to this passage? While there is a lot that could be said here, I think it is important for us to recognize that we cannot put our hope or our trust in our own religious performance. It is possible to do external things without having an inward affection for God. This was the case for Eli and his sons. While they conducted their priestly service outwardly, their hearts were far from the Lord.
We, thus, ought to examine not only our actions but also our motives. As one commentator mentions, “In all spiritual matters there remains an absolute obligation for self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).” To state this principle in the form of a question, “What motives you to do the things that you do?” Are you motivated by the glory of God or the glory of self? If you are motivated by the glory of self, there will be no room for the glory of God. And when this is case, 1 Samuel 4:12-22 should serve as a warning to all of us. May we keep our eyes on Christ, living for His glory alone, and not our own.
A Prayer
Would you pray with me?
A Blessing
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The Glory Has Departed! (1 Samuel 4:12-22)