Getting Back the Glory

 

June 13, 2021                NOTES NOT EDITED
Getting the Glory Back
1Samuel 4:19-22

SIS—Losing the glory of God has devastating effects on individuals, families, churches, and our nation.

One of the greatest preachers in the 20^th century was a Southern Baptist by the name of Adrian Rogers.  His impact continues through the media ministry, Love Worth Finding.  In regard to America’s glory Dr. Rogers said this:

Apart from Israel, no other nation has had such a God-directed beginning as America. Under the blessing of God, Israel began with a glorious heritage. Like Israel of old, God’s blessing rested upon early America. We were founded as a Christian nation to the very core. Yet like Israel, America has not only forgotten our heritage, we’ve forgotten God and abandoned the Gospel’s influence on our national life. America has lost her glory. How did this happen? The same way it happened in Israel. 

How far has America slipped into the abyss of ungodliness?  It is hard to imagine how we can slip much further.  It is now legal to kill a baby while it is being born.  That’s the law.  It is now legal in a couple states for a medical doctor to legally end a person’s life.  It is now legal for a man to marry a man and woman to marry a woman.  Mass murders are almost a daily headline.  Our national debt has spiraled to well over 28 trillion—that’s trillion dollars.  That’s almost double what it was only 8 years ago.  The government has been caught spying on citizens, the IRS has been caught targeting conservative citizens, and our borders are wide open flooding our streets with all manner of mayhem.  As of this moment, as with the last 15 months, you cannot buy food in a grocery store without a mask—maybe this is not the “Mark of the Beast,” but certainly the mark of an emerging tyranny in our government.

At the beginning of the 20^th century America was the number one lending nation in the world.  We are now the number one debtor nation.  At the founding of our nation, the literacy rate was over 95%.  Today, one out of five American adults are illiterate. 

Glory is defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary as a great beauty and splendor : magnificence. It can refer to, a height of prosperity or achievement.

Certainly, this describes our nation’s glorious past:  beauty, splendor, magnificence, prosperity and achievement.  Doesn’t apply as well to our present.

The Hebrew word for “glory,” kavodh, refers “heaviness, or weight”.  Working from the Hebrew idea of “weightiness,” I describe God’s glory as “the affect of the full weight of God’s nature—His goodness, providence, mercy, love, and other eternal attributes—resting on a person, family, church or nation.

Our nation no longer manifests the glory as described in the dictionary because it no longer enjoys the weight of God’s Person.  The “glory of God has departed from our nation.”  But, as we will see, long before God’s glory departed from our nation, it departed from our families, our churches, and our own individual lives.

Our text revolves around the naming of a newborn baby by a mother who experienced the effects of God’s glory being lifted from her and her nation.  The wife of one of the high priest’s sons, Phinehas, has died along with his brother, Hophni.  Her father-in-law has died.  The Ark, the holy vessel of the very Presence of God, has been mishandled and now lies in the hands of pagan Philistines.  It is a terrible day for the wife of Phinehas, when it should have been a day of rejoicing.  She died giving birth to a son, but before she did, she expressed a sad prophecy in regard to her life and the life of her nation.  Read the text along with me:

1Samuel 4:19-22.

Ichabod:  the “glory of God has departed.”  The results are devastating as we have briefly sketched in regard to our nation in my words above.  Now, I want to sketch the loss of God’s glory in our nation, our churches, our families and our own individual lives, as they parallel those of this wife of Phinehas and the nation of Israel.  Then, I will summarize what we can do to “Get the Glory Back.”

1.  First, we sketch the loss of glory in our Nation Verse 22c

Now, I take this first but it is not of first importance.  The troubles in our nation rise from the loss of glory in the lives of individuals, families, and churches.  But, we will start here because it is the most obvious application of what takes place when the Glory of God departs. 

Recall how we defined, glory from a human perspective:   beauty, splendor, magnificence, prosperity and achievement.  And, think again about how we defined, glory, from a Biblical perspective: God’s goodness, providence, mercy, love, and other eternal attributes.

Israel in her founding, as with our nation, exhibited both the human and Biblical manifestations of glory.  Ichabod applied to Israel and verse 22 explains why:  “The glory has departed from Israel because the ark had been captured.” 

What was the “ark?”  The Ark of the Covenant was the central piece of the tabernacle, and later the Temple.  It was a “holy chest” that contained reminders of God’s Presence and Providence as Israel’s God.  It contained, Aaron’s rod that he had carried throughout the wilderness, a jar of manna miraculously kept from spoiling, and a copy of the Torah, or law of God.  The lid of the Ark was very special.  It had two opposing angelic beings, cherubim.  The very Presence of God was said to reside between these Cherubim, or upon this “Mercy Seat.”

The Ark was kept in the “Holy of Holies,” and could only be approached once a year by only one person, the High Priest.  When they Israelites travelled, they had specific instructions on how to transport the Ark.  Under no circumstances could human hands touch it without the penalty of death.

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution founded upon it’s principles, is in many ways, “The Ark of America.” I don’t say this in a way that makes patriotism our civic religion, but in a very real way to show the similarities between God’s “Glory” upon Israel and God’s Glory upon our nation.  The Declaration establishes this intersection in the words, ““We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  Our history, like that represented by the items in the Ark of the Covenant, demonstrates that God has a special Hand in our Founding. 

The significance of the Ark is hard for us to grasp today.  It literally was the Presence of Almighty God—His Glory if you will—among the people of Israel.  It was not just a symbol of God’s glory, but the actual manifestation of God’s glory.  As I said, this is a hard concept to grasp.  But the Ark was God’s personal relationship with His people, and not just a religious piece of furniture.

The Philistines migrated to the coastal lands of Palestine about 1200 years before Christ.  They would become the perennial enemies of the Israelites.  David would fight them many years later.  Goliath was a Philistine.  They were a barbaric, warring, pagan people who God considered unclean, and they were a menace to His people.

The background to this verse is in chapter 4:1-18.  The Israelites went out to fight the Philistines and were nearly annihilated.  The people decided what they needed was the most holy artifact in Israel, the Ark of the Covenant.  They would carry it into battle and like a magic bullet, it would slay their enemies.  They secured the help of Eli, the High Priest, and his two sons, Hopni and Phinehas.  This whole family was a disgrace to the priesthood.  Chapter 2 includes God’s prophecy of the fall of the house of Eli.  God had had enough.

The camp of Israel erupted in celebration when the Ark arrived like a giant “lucky charm.”  The Philistine camp heard the celebration, thought the God who delivered Israel from Egypt had entered the camp and they were afraid.  Rather than run, however, they fought fiercely and overcame Israel, capturing the Ark in the process.  Eli’s two sons were killed.

Eli would hear of these events and be gravely stricken with grief.  The holiest artifact in Israel was not being carried about by pagan hands.  His sons were dead.  Eli was blind and old (98 years old) and had to ask what all the commotion and crying was about.  A man from the battlefield related the facts.  Here is what took place next (vv 16-17)

“When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate, and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died.  Eli had judged Israel 40 years.”

The writer used a play on words to describe how nations, “fall from glory.”  Eli, who fell off his chair, or throne is said to have been “heavy,” overweight.  The word is kabed in Hebrew.  When the wife of Phinehas names her son Ichabod, it is a form of the word, kabod, which means, “glory, or weight” as we learned above.  Ichabod, means “no weight, or no glory.”  Eli was “overweight” and his grandson was “no weight.”  Eli sought his own “glory” and the result is Israel is left with “no glory.”

Eli failed God because he sought to throw around his own weight as a judge and priest—the weight of religious tradition.  When man seeks to take God’s place and seeks the glory God alone deserves, God withdraws and the results are devastating.  Our nation is following the foolishness of man rather than the foolproof truth of God through His Word. 

Every nation that has taken this path has been destroyed.  Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome, and Germany just to name a few and there are many more.  The Israelites put their trust in a man-centered, ritual-driven religion instead of a personal relationship with God and the result was disaster.  Nations can lose their glory.

2.  Churches can lose their glory.

What is true of nations, is true also of churches.  Israel was not simply a “national entity,” or geo-political construct.  Israel was specially selected to carry God’s message and demonstrate God’s glory to the nations around them.  Israel’s purpose was always spiritual.  God choose them to reveal Himself to the nations through a nation.

Genesis 12:3 tells us Israel was to Bless others:  I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed  through you.

Exodus 19:5-6 tells us Israel was to be the Priest to other nations:

⁵ Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant,  you will be My own possession  out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, ⁶ and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.’

It is the duty of “priests” to be the bridge that connects man with God.  Priests are God’s “ambassadors reconciling the world to Him” (2Cor. 5:20).

Third, Psalm 67, declares Israel was to display God’s purpose and plan of salvation to the nations”

¹ May God be gracious to us and bless us; look on us with favor Selah ² so that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.

Israel is like the “church” of the O.T.  It was the missionary force through which God intended to manifest His glory and offer His salvation to pagan nations.  But, Israel failed miserably in this task as the priestly family of Eli demonstrated.  In chapter two God gives His evaluation of Eli, and by extension, the entire congregation of Israel (2:29-30):

1Sam 2   ²⁹You have honored your sons more than Me, by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of My people Israel.’ ³⁰ “Therefore, this is the declaration of the Lord, God of Israel: ‘Although I said your family and your ancestral house would walk before Me forever, the Lord now says, “No longer!” I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disgraced.

Israel abandoned her spiritual mission and received the pronouncement of “Icahbod,” the “glory has departed.” There attitude became self-centered and their religion, mere superstition. The became “man-centered,” not “God-centered.”

Churches can lose the glory of God.

3. Homes can lose the glory of God (vs 21).

In fact, the fate of a nation rises or falls on the strength of the “family.” When families are strong, churches are strong, and the nations is strong.  Likewise, when families are in chaos, churches will be in chaos, and soon the nation is in chaos.

The poet understood the connection between an empire and the home, or family.  Lord Byron wrote: Far as the breeze can bear and the billows foam//survey our empire, and behold our home.

There was indeed trouble in Eli’s home.  Notice again the utter devastation and heartache wrought by godlessness in the home:

verse 21:  The glory has departed from Israel,”  referring to the capture of the ark of God  and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband 

The mother dies in childbirth, her father-in-law, husband, and brother-in-law die in disgrace, and a nation is plunged into chaos and decay, all for the want of godliness in the home.

Survey the decline with me:  the home drifts from God, the church drifts from God, and the nations drifts from God resulting in absolute devastation and decay—pure misery.  But the root of the problem lies closer than we might like:

4.  Individuals lose the Glory of God (21a).

Please note the words, “the boy” in v21.  Ultimately, the story is about the nation, Israel, but it is also about a “little boy.”  Can you imagine what kind of life that little baby would lead as he went through life?  “Hi! What’s your name.”  My Name is “No glory!”  Everywhere this little child, one day a man, would go his name would be a reminder of the “glory departing from Israel” because of apathy, and then, outright rebellion against God and His teachings.  We cannot ignore the devastating affect the sin or our nation has had, and is having on our children.  Schools have become indoctrination centers for the most vile, anti-God teaching you could imagine. Every perversion imaginable is being taught and supported by government schools.

When we look to the cause for all the great evil, devastation, and chaos in our nation, church, or home, let us first take a good long look in the mirror.

God’s glory can depart from one who has once received it.  Oh, you cannot lose your salvation once it has been received but make no mistake about that—you can, however, lose any and all the glory associated with God’s salvation and be plunged into total chaos and devastating decay.  A great preacher described the loss of God’s glory more eloquently than I:

“Just as light departs from a candle that has no oil, or fruitfulness departs from a tree that has no sap, or strength from a house that has a faulty foundation, or as power departs from a locomotive when there is no steam in the boiler” so it is with a life from which God’s glory has departed.

No light, no fruit, no strength, and no power; no blessing—such marks the life without the Glory of God resting upon it.  Therein lies the cause of all the nations ills, all the church’s ills, all the families ills—it is “I.” 

Well, that is the survey of the problem of “Ichabod,” or “why the glory departed.”  But, how do we get it back? There is a measure of which the glory returned in regard to Ichabod. We see mention of Ichabod again in 1 Samuel 14:3 ^(CSB) after Israel recaptured the Ark:

³ Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod, was also there. He was the son of Ahitub, the brother of Ichabod son of Phinehas.

Icabod’s nephew became a good, distinguished prophet and priest in Israel. Ichabod, at least for a time, broke the chain of sin in his family.  We can infer from the virtue of his nephew that Ichabod overcame the “shame of his birth” and lived as a righteous example to his family. 

Through repentance, we can “Get the Glory Back.”  Let me offer these proposals. Getting the glory back is a matter of:

1. INDIVIDUAL REVIVAL

Examine your individual heart to see if there is some attitude, or some habit that is displeasing to God.  Take a long, hard look at  yourself and adjust your life accordingly.

2.  FAMILY REVIVAL

In your home, do your lifestyles and practices glorify God?  Do you have family devotion time each day in which all those in the family gather for Bible reading and prayer? Do you have channels on your T.V. or movies on your shelf that you would be embarrassed to watch with Jesus—clean house.

3.  CHURCH REVIVAL

Is our worship and service to God driven by a personal relationship with Him, or is it more like a superstitious habit or empty ritual. Do we keep God in a “Holy Box” and take Him out only whenwe want, or need something?

4.  NATIONAL REVIVAL

We need to pray daily for our nation.  We need to vote.  We need to write letters.  We need to attend rallies.  Most of all:  we need to “take the gospel to the streets,” anywhere, all the time.  But, we also need to realize our nation’s future is bleak.  The end of the world is near, and America isn’t a major force in God’s plan for Last Days.

So, we can get the Glory of God back in our life if we really want it.  Revival can come if we really seek it. 

The words of Habakkuk the Prophet have long been the heartbeat of my life (3:2):  ² Lord, I have heard the report about you; Lord, I stand in awe of your deeds. Revive your work in these years; make it known in these years. In your wrath remember mercy!