1 Samuel 4:19-22

Ken McIntyre
July 04, 2024

¹⁹ His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. ²⁰ 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 any attention.

²¹ She named the boy Ichabod,^[^a^] 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. ²² She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

1 Samuel 4:9-22

What would happen if God decided to take a vacation? What if He just took a week off from His responsibilities? There is no one else like Him so He couldn’t get a substitute to fill in. The universe would collapse.

Since God holds the universe in His hand, the consequences of Him letting go for just a brief second would be catastrophic. Everything that is held together by Him would fall apart. But rest assured: He won’t let go because He’s God.

Even if He just took a break from ‘some’ of His responsibilities as God, life would be a nightmare. But He wouldn’t do that either because He is God.

What if God withheld a part of His power from us? That is what happened when Israel sinned, and the ark of the Lord was taken by the Philistines. The word that was used for this experience was ichabod which means “Israel’s glory is gone.” God was still there, but He let them feel the consequences of their sin.

The Israelites forgot about God. They neglected their relationship with Him. As a result, the people felt distance between themselves and God.

Sometimes we can feel distance from God. We might think that He has abandoned us. Often it is because we don’t seek Him. When we feel like He is gone, we should follow the formula that James gives us, “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” (James 4:8 NIV).

What can you do to draw close to God today?