1 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. 2 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. 3 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." 4 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. 5 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. 6 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. 7 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. 8 "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. 9 "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!" 10 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. 11 Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see. 16 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?" 17 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." 18 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. 19 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. 20 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. 21 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. 22 And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."
The Lord wants our heart. This is the core truth of Bible religion, or vital, living religion. “Circumcise your heart” (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4). “This people draws near to me with their mouth, but their heart is far from me” (Isa. 29:13). “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh” (Ezek. 36:26). “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into this world to atone for our sins and rebellious hearts. By his Spirit, he gives us a new heart (John 3:3-8), upon which he writes God’s law with his living finger so that we want to love and serve the Lord according to his word (2 Cor. 3:3). When we do not have vital religion and the church does not preach vital religion, the Gospel of Jesus Christ loses its hold upon our minds and worship. In place of the gospel, all manner of human inventions, ceremonies, movements, and supposed remedies rush to replace it. Man’s heart idolatry is untouched by external religion. If we are to serve God, as our Savior taught us, we must worship him in spirit and in truth. We must not rest in religious traditions and practices, even when these are good, but we must give our hearts to the Lord and seek to please him in all things. Then, he will fight for us. But when vital faith and piety wane, the glory has departed from us. Weakness and defeat are then imminent. We must have the Lord in order to be strong and victorious. We have him when we give him our hearts in faith and love.
When the Glory Departs (vv. 1-11)
God Does not Fight for His People
Israel’s heart was still wandering far from the Lord. It might be hoped that with the birth and early ministry of Samuel, the nation would recover. Samuel’s word came to “all Israel.” The first half of verse 1, however, is actually the conclusion of chapter 3. The Lord’s word was coming to Israel through Samuel, but Israel was not yet listening. In fact, they were about to fall lower. Samson had been dead about 40 years, and the Philistines were sufficiently recovered from their devastating war against him to renew the attack against Israel. Israel assumed victory over the Philistines, but the Lord does not fight for his people when the glory departs. His glory is his greatness, his awesomeness, his faithfulness to his covenant. Eli and his sons had so grieved the Holy Spirit by their wickedness that the Lord would not go fight for his people. He will be merciful to us, but we must turn to him and seek the grace of repentance through Jesus Christ. Otherwise, our iniquities hide his face from us so that he does not hear us (Isa. 59:1-3). This is most dreadful and should motivate each one of us to seek the Lord with a broken and contrite heart.
At the first battle with the Philistines, 4,000 Israelites were killed, and they fled before their enemies. At this point, Israel has the Ark of the Covenant and the priesthood. They had all the trappings of the true religion, a form of godliness, but no power. The glory, however, had departed. The glory did not depart when they lost the Ark and related ceremonies; they lost these visible signs of God’s grace and presence because the glory had already departed due to their unbelief and rebellion against the Lord. They trusted the outward signs of faith but had no vital, living faith in the Lord. Israel wanted the blessings of God’s covenant, but they did not love the Lord himself. His grace received humbly leads us to reverence him, not presumption that he will help us and that all will go well regardless of how we walk before him (1 Pet. 1:17-21).
Instead of Robust Faith, Rabbit Foot Spirituality
In times of spiritual decline, we often ask the wrong questions or give the wrong answers to good questions. Why has the Lord killed us? This is a good question, and Eli could have told them. He was a hider to the end. Hearing nothing helpful, someone yelled out, “Let’s get the Ark of the Covenant.” Men trust ceremonies and symbols when vital religion wanes. Vital religion is when we believe God’s promises, walk humbly with him, and have a broken and contrite heart when we sin. Vital religion trusts the Lord’s promises and examines itself by God’s word. Faith does not demand that the Lord allow us to externalize our feelings and make them our identity and guide. But Israel was in the grip of “rabbit foot spirituality.” Have Hophni and Phinehas repented? Has Eli repented? Have the people repented? No, no, and no. But God dwells between the cherubim on the top of the Ark. This will count for something. If Eli thought this wrong, he said little, and it would be the death of him. Where was Samuel? Evidently he was elsewhere, for he would never have agreed to “a form of godliness while denying the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:5). Over centuries, the church fell into this same evil – of equating God’s blessing with rituals and relics. Romanism made up a whole system of ceremonies and endorsed a false gospel. During the Reformation, the Lord graciously restored his worship, so that instead of worshipping God “according to will worship” and the traditions of men, we worship him in “spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). But the Lord did not give the grace of reformation to Israel. They did not want to repent and did not hunger for his word. It is much easier to trust in rituals and talismans rather than to have sincere dealings with the living God.
God’s Enemies are Emboldened and Prevail
When the Ark came into the camp, Israel shouted so loudly that the ground shook. The Philistines knew something was up, but they were eaten up with superstition. “God is come into the camp” of Israel – many gods (v. 8). These are the gods that destroyed Egypt – forgetting in their ignorance and superstition that Israel did not have the Ark then. Israel had nothing but God’s promises and protection. But some of the older Philistine soldiers perhaps remembered Samson’s demise – maybe the Lord will not fight for Israel. Better to fight like men and die with honor than to become Israel’s servants. When the Lord fights for his people, he fills his enemies with fear; when he withdraws his blessing, he emboldens his enemies to fight and prevail against his church. We do not fight these kinds of battles today, but we have a hard fight against the flesh and for the souls of men. God must fight for us, or we cannot win. Who can change hearts but him? Who can bless his word so that it demolishes strongholds except our exalted Savior (2 Cor. 10:4-5)? When we seek the Lord, turn from our sins, and walk humbly before him, he fights for us. He can turn our enemies’ hearts to butter (Lev. 26:36; Deut. 20:3-4; Isa. 8:13-14). The Lord of the whole earth is with us (1 John 4:4). He dwells between the cherubim. We must trust him, use his weapons, and turn from our sins. But if we are grieving the Spirit, loving the world, and not seeking the Lord, he will not fight for us (Isa. 63:10).
The Bitterness of Departed Glory (vv. 12-22)
Tragedy upon Tragedy (vv. 12-18)
Eli was uneasy for the Ark. He should have been uneasy for his soul, but without true religion, we fret about the wrong things. He sat by the roadside to receive news of the battle and of the Ark as soon as possible. The news was dreadful – Eli heard nearby wailing. The messenger told him all the tragedies – Israel defeated, Eli’s sons killed, and the Ark of God captured. Eli fell over in his chair and broke his neck. He died on the spot. He had judged Israel 40 years. He had been a terrible priest, a corrupter of God’s worship, and a faithless parent. Perhaps we would feel the weight of this if we considered how many days we run into the fray without praying. We can have all the truth and warnings, but the Lord wants our heart. He is our Lord, and we must walk humbly before him and trust his promises. We are defeated because we trust yesterday’s grace and do not seek fresh supplies. We dread the enemy and give up because we have low views of the Lord. And then, we are surprised by tragedy in our lives? Or, if not this dramatic, we grow weaker, unsettled, and fearful at what is happening around us. We begin losing ground to our sins, even old sins that we thought were defeated. Worst of all, we find little joy in our Lord Jesus. This is the bitterness of glory departed – tragedy upon tragedy, misery upon misery, with no light or hope in sight. But when the Lord is with us and we walk humbly with him and trust his promises, he will help us to overcome the world. He will not fail us. Never. Victory may not look like worldly victories. But when the glory is near us in Jesus Christ, we can by his strength endure hardship patiently, love our enemies, and serve the Lord with joyful hearts.
Death Preferable to Ichabod (vv. 19-22)
Phinehas’ unnamed wife went into labor when she heard the news. This miserable woman had a hard life living with an immoral husband. The labor did not go well, and as she was about to die, those attending her told her not to fear. She had a son. But there was no joy in this news. It was a bitter end to a bitter life. Few know what miseries wives endure from heartless husbands, even in the church – men who rule with a high hand, use their God-given authority to belittle and diminish their wives’ person and significance, men who never utter a word of praise but a torrent of constant complaint – or pouting silence. Phinehas’ wife’s last duty was to name her soon-orphaned son. She called him Ichabod – “no glory.” There was no good news in this birth – his name commemorated Israel’s humiliation and defeat. The glory is departed. The Ark is gone. This sober reminder presses us not to trust the signs of the covenant, like Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, or equate them with salvation. They point us to God’s grace in Jesus Christ, but in the absence of faith, they are powerless to bless us. At the same time, not to have God’s word and sacraments is a judgment worse than death. If we have any fear of the Lord and love for him, we will feel like this woman when we see the church ravaged by false doctrine, offering to the Lord false worship, with no heart that passionately loves the Lord. But we live in a different time. The glory will never depart absolutely. We have Emmanuel.
Vital Religion the Only Protection against Ichabod
Vital Religion Explained
The Ark of the Covenant was not a magic box or talisman. It was a visible symbol of God’s presence with his people. As such, to have him with us and fight for us means that we do not trust the outward symbol but the higher reality of God’s covenant promises and his Son. If we are to make good use of the signs and seals of his covenant, we must be a holy people – set apart to him, trusting him, and obeying him with loving hearts. This is vital, living religion. When we receive Christ Jesus as Lord, we recognize his authority over us, adore him, submit to his word, and love him with loyal hearts. Ritualism and relics have been the biggest killer of true piety. No matter how they are justified, the heart of man is a factory of idols. When images and ceremonies are made and multiplied, men’s hearts trust them, rather than receiving and resting upon Jesus Christ alone. This is the reason Paul warned the Colossians against “will worship” – practices and forms of worship and spirituality that originate in man’s mind. If God has not commanded them in his word, they are powerless to subdue the flesh and lead us heavenward (Col. 2:23). In another place, the Spirit warns against those who “have a form of religion, but deny the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:5). When the Spirit is with us, he gives power unto godliness.
This is vital religion and the source of the Christian’s power: “Christ in us, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). To have strength, we must walk in union with our Lord by holding fast to his word (Col. 1:29). We must be humbled by the blessing that the glory now indwells us. We are invited to draw near with boldness (Eph. 2:18; Heb. 4:14-16). Our Lord Jesus brings us near to God. And vital religion continues to draw all its strength, wisdom, and hope from Jesus Christ. This is what our Lord meant by “abide in me.” We live by the faith of the Son of God (Gal. 2:20). In every season and trial, we bring our grief and struggles to the Lord and ask him for strength. We do not doubt his love if he does not answer us the first time we pray, or the hundredth. He asks – do you love me? Will you trust me? Do you delight in me? We keep saying and praying and seeking: “Yes, Lord.”
Burn Your Rabbit’s Feet
Going back to the first part of the chapter, what should Israel have done when the Philistines killed 4,000? They should have called for prayer and fasting. They should have listened to the Lord’s warning through the man of God and Samuel’s vision. They should have called for Samuel and urged him to seek the Lord for the nation. The Lord loves us, but if we walk in disobedience, he will not fight for us. On the other hand, they should have known that the Lord would be merciful to them, if they would turn to him with all their hearts. We cannot fault them too much, for we also take up the rabbit’s foot – let us try this or that. Perhaps this guru has the answers to our present demise. Maybe we should return to Roman Catholicism, or at least to the old Catholic faith. If we are attacked by feminism, we need to fight back with redoubled masculinity. Let’s try tradition, or something we think has worked before. This is the reason that the Christian book mill keeps churning and the internet popes pontificate constantly – looking for something that will keep us from humbling ourselves before the Lord and waiting upon him.
We cannot grasp the depths of pride in our hearts. We would rather try anything than vital religion. Humility before the Lord, taking up the armor he has provided, and coming to him as our helper always beats the devil. Look at our Lord’s life. We do not need something new, or even something old, except the old paths of faith and obedience (Jer. 6:16). We can hardly be convinced of this but let me try again. God is with us. We do not need rabbit’s feet of any form – we need to seek the Lord, confess our sins, and walk humbly with him. Then, we need to continue calling upon him and wait upon him in prayer. This is the way we serve him – when we come to his throne of grace, confess our sins, seek his promised mercy, and then wait upon him to raise us up and guide our steps. He will help us, for our Lord is Emmanuel. The Lord Jesus Christ is with us until the end (Matt. 28:18). His grace is sufficient. We must believe his promises and draw near to him as he reveals himself – and burn our rabbit’s feet.
Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit
When God is with us by his Spirit, we have nothing to fear and can move forward in believing boldness. When we are not walking in the Spirit, all the outward means will not preserve us from defeat and humiliation. Have we grieved the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30)? What about our words? Our unbelief? The Holy Spirit is the great promise (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit is the One who empowers God’s word-weapons so that we can be strong in the Lord and have Jesus Christ indwelling (Eph. 3:16-17; 6:10). The Holy Spirit intercedes for us, comforts us, and sanctifies us (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). There is no devil, no worldling, not violent enemy of God who can do anything to overturn the might and purposes of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason we do not need rabbit foot theology but faith in the Holy Spirit. And we must be very careful not to grieve him, careful not to offend him by our unbelief, nasty pride, and our worldly loves and cares.
How do we walk in the Spirit? We must relate to him as he reveals himself in the Scriptures. Our Lord said that we would know him, for he would be in us (John 14:17). How do we know the Holy Spirit is with us? He forms in us love, joy, peace (Rom. 14:17). If we are rooted and grounded in Christ, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. If we are praying, the Holy Spirit helps us pray, since we are so bad at it. If we are hated and maligned, the Holy Spirit helps us love and forgive. He forms Christ in us. Nothing can stop him, and we must believe the promises and live in their light. The glory will never depart from the church again. Our Savior has risen and reigns. He is pruning away the chaff. He sometimes seems to write Ichabod over the door, but this is so that his true church will repent and seek vital union with him by his Word and Spirit. When that happens, glory returns, and we are strong in Christ again.
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