Ichabod: His Glory Has Left (1 Samuel 4)

​Are you more worried about the box than His presence?

“When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backwards by the side of the city gate.” 1 Samuel 5:18

Eli was more concerned about the box more than His presence.  He just assumed that because He has the Ark of the Covenant, there would be Power and they would defeat the Philistines.  He at that point recognized the glory of God had left.

Lesson: We can have the power but not HAVE THE power.  We can have innovation but not the power.

Eli’s daughter-in-law, after the death of his son, had a son and was named Ichabod meaning the glory has left.

His presence is what we need more than ever!  The lesson from this is that we can continue to go through the motions, we can be more concerned about the form of godliness, we can still move forward, but if His presence is not with us, what is the point?

Innovation doesn’t necessarily mean His presence is with us. Us being present doesn’t mean He is present in power.

The Philistines capture the ark and tumors and death is catapulted throughout the land.

Would the story have turned out better if there was repentance with Eli and his sons, who seemed to despise the Lord?

Could our story turn out better on the other side if we repent and cry out to God?

In "Live Dead Joy" by Dick Brogden, he states, "The only way the enemies could have captured the ark was if God's presence had left.  God had left His people.  This is functional hell--the absence of the presence of God.  Pity the men or women who bear liability for the absence of God due to their sins or because they led others to sin. Let us not be the damned who are responsible for the absence of God--this is the opposite of mission.  Real mission is to bear the weight of the presence of Jesus to people who know it not.  Anti-mission is to grieve the Spirit of God by our sin and cause Him to abandon us to a deserved hell.  Mission is glorious.  Anti-mission is inglorious hell."

So what do we do?  Psalm 81 is a great place to start.  All of Psalms is a great place to just park and meditate during these days.

1.  Stop the pretend obedience. (v. 15)
2.  Listen to Him (v. 8)
3.  Let there be no gods or idols among us (v. 9)  Note: this time of quarantine reveals our idols--what is creating anxiety and what action or thing is your body having a hard time withdrawing from?)
4.  Remember who brought us out of our sin (v.10)
5.  Walk in His ways (v. 13)

Since we have more time on our hands, would you commit to spending time individually and as a family to seek the Lord, repent and pray for revival?

I preach this to myself this morning as I sit on my couch because so many times I have great forms of godliness, but no presence.  Lord, change me!  Mold me!
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Let us not be an Ichabod where his glory leaves.