Ichabod: When the Glory Departs

There's a name in Scripture that carries an entire sermon in itself: Ichabod. Its meaning is simple, but its lesson is for every child of God — because there are moments when God says to any of us, "You've been traveling this same road long enough. Enough is enough." (Older readers might remember Burger King's slogan from the early '70s: "Have it your way." That's not how it works with God.)

By the time we reach 1 Samuel 4, God had had enough of Eli, the high priest, and his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. As priests at the tabernacle, their job was to mediate between God and the people — handling the sacrifices and the worship rituals. Instead, they helped themselves to the best cuts of meat from every offering and slept with the women who served at the entrance of the tabernacle. And it wasn't only their family sliding into corruption — the whole nation of Israel was sliding down with them.

Sound familiar? Dallas Willard used to say we've arrived at the age of the "ABC church" — Attendance, Buildings, and Cash — or the "3N church" — Noise, Nickels, and Numbers. The prosperity gospel spreads like a tsunami across the globe. We build enormous buildings and make a lot of noise. But can we impress God with numbers, programs, and the size of our sanctuaries? It didn't work for Hophni and Phinehas, and it won't work for us.

God isn't interested in our numbers. He's interested in each one of us. Jesus said there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who feel no need to repent (Luke 15:7). That kind of joy only comes when we take a hard look at ourselves and say what Paul said: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — and I am the worst of them all" (1 Timothy 1:15).

That's a hard thing to say in the age of social media, when we broadcast our best selves to the world and wait for the applause. How do I say "I am the worst" when I've spent so much effort curating my image — showing everyone how much I fast, how much I give, how good I am?

Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, wasn't sleeping around or stealing. His sin was subtler: he believed he could earn God's approval by keeping the law perfectly. It wasn't until he examined himself honestly that he found the real problem — coveting, the tenth commandment. That discovery is what brought him to say, "What a wretched man I am." Hophni and Phinehas never got there. And look at the price they paid.

The Reckoning

Their sin wasn't hidden — everyone in Israel knew. Worshippers had told Eli directly that his sons were scoundrels, but what could a ninety-eight-year-old man with failing eyesight do about two grown men who thought themselves untouchable? They kept performing their temple duties while living a double life in plain sight. Some people have no shame. But as the saying goes, he who dances must eventually pay the fiddler.

The reckoning came in 1 Samuel 4. The Philistines defeated Israel in battle, captured the ark of God, and killed both Hophni and Phinehas. When Eli heard the news, he fell backward and died. Phinehas's wife, pregnant and near her due date, went into labor when she heard that the ark had been captured and her husband and father-in-law were dead:

As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Don't despair; you have given birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay attention. She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel" — because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. (1 Samuel 4:19–22)

Where the Glory Goes

We all know people, families, even churches and nations from whom God's glory has long since departed — where all that's left is show business and pretension. But there's only one way back: God is far more interested in each one of us than in our performance.

Jesus put it this way: "How can you believe, when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44). We need to stop chasing honor from people and start seeking the honor that comes from the God who gives us each new day of breath. That means learning to tune our hearts to the voice of the Holy Spirit — and then obeying what we hear.

Things didn't end well for Hophni and Phinehas. But one thief on the cross next to Jesus had enough sense, in his last hours, to look at himself honestly and ask for mercy: "We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." Absent from the body is present with the Lord — a truth every child of God will one day know.

Life becomes most joyful when we live for God's glory and stop worrying about what anyone else thinks or expects of us. The more we seek His glory, the smaller everything else in this world becomes. But when His glory departs — pushed out by our pride, greed, jealousy, and covetousness — those things only grow larger. Jesus hung on the cross and shed His blood so that none of us would have to remain a slave to the cravings that destroyed Hophni and Phinehas.