The
two battles with the Philistines had left Israel devastated. Their fighting men
were scattered on the battlefield. A total of thirty-four thousand of them were
slaughtered in the two battles. The Ark of the Covenant that they thought would
bring them the victory was captured. Hophni and Phinehas as foretold paid dearly
for the contempt they had shown to the Lord’s altar and their roles as priests
entrusted to them. They had abused their position and dishonored the Lord. Not
only had these two sons of Eli died for their disregard for God but Eli their
father was also disciplined harshly. When he heard the Ark was captured and his
two sons died, he fell backward and broke his neck and died.
While
all that was going on, Eli’s daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife was pregnant and
was near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the Ark was
captured and that Eli and her husband, Phinehas and her brother-in-law Hophni,
had died she went into labor. She was seized by great labor pain, so she knelt
to give birth. Hoping to comfort her those women attending to her said, “Do
not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” When those comforting
words were said, she had no response. Neither did she pay attention to them. For
sadly, she didn’t survive the delivery, she died in the process of giving
birth. She must have named the child Ichabod with the last breath that she
gasped. Ichabod means “inglorious” or “there is no glory.” Truly the glory of
God had departed from Israel. How could there be glory when the people, whom
the Lord had established a covenant with, suffered such a humiliating defeat at
the hand of the Philistines. Where is the glory when the Ark of the Covenant
that reminded them of their unique relationship with God, and should have
brought them the victory, was captured? What a disgrace!
As we come to the end of this chapter, we need to reflect on the name
Phinehas’ wife gave to her son, Ichabod, meaning there is no glory. “Where is
the glory” is not only a question for Israel to ask, it is one that we too must
ask. God has sent us Jesus His only begotten Son to reveal His glory. And
through Him, we are called into a relationship with Him so that we can live a
life bringing glory to Him. Anything we do can either cause His name to be
glorified and praised, or despised and maligned. The Eli family had chosen to
live for the latter. What about us? Will we choose to live for the greater
glory of Christ our Lord? As we near the end of yet another year, we must take
time to reflect and recalibrate our steps. We need to identify where we have
fallen short of the glory of God, and by His grace and strength seek to do
better in the coming days. May the searchlight of the Holy Spirit enable us to
do what is needful so that our lives will truly bring glory to His
name.
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