Phinehas’s wife was pregnant when her husband and father-in-law, Eli, died in battle and the Ark of the Covenant was taken from Israel. The presence of the Lord was known to be in the Ark of the Covenant and the Philistines had stolen it away from them. The glory of the Lord went with the Ark.
1 Samuel 4:19-22 tells it this way:
Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ 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.”
Obviously, the more important (repeated) message is that the glory of God was gone because the Ark of God had been captured. God was missing at a crucial time of war.
This came up in a section of R.J. Rushdoony’s “Systematic Theology” where he suggested that, “Too often churchmen play the role of Ichabods; for them the glory has departed. The glory, as it seems to appear in the world, is humanistic. …..The church dies when its Lord is remote, and the glory only a matter of biblical record rather than present power.” (Systematic Theology, R.J. Rushdoony, page 558, Ross House Books, 1994).
The Christian life seems to be a constant battle and when we are Ichabods we fail to honor and glorify God in everything we say and do. Is God missing in our personal or even national battles against evil?
Biblically, we have each been assigned the role of Ambassador for Christ, to be salt and light, to care for the widow and the orphan, to raise children in the fear and instruction of the Lord. Is God glorified in how we respond to these responsibilities?
Think about the specifics of the work:
- Do we glorify God in the words we use with others? How about the words we use with our parents, husbands or children?
- Do we glorify God in the work that we do? How about in the way we do that work?
- Do we honor God in what we watch, read, or listen to?
- Do we glorify God in the way we handle finances and care for the homes and properties He has given us?
- Do we glorify God in the way we talk to or about the authorities in our lives?
Our Sunday worship at church is meaningless if we use words that honor God there but live like Ichabods with no evidence of the glory of God in every other part of our lives. When we honor God in thoughts, words, and deeds, and work diligently in whatever capacity HE has placed us, we are worshipping Him in every sphere of life. This brings back the glory of God in our lives and will, hopefully, bring back the present power of God we all so desperately need.
