Paul writes that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God …” (2 Timothy 3:16). He instructs believers to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
You know something is wrong when people incessantly refer to what it used to be in the church’s glory days. In the Old Testament, 1Samuel chapters 4 records a sad commentary in the life of the children of Israel. The chapter gave an account of a period in Israel’s history when God’s presence was lifted from its place amongst them.
The Bible tells us that the enemy of the Israelites, the Philistines, who had been the antagonizers and oppressors of Israel for years had gathered for battle near Ebenezer at the city of Aphek. As the battle waged on, victory was not in Israel's favour. They began to ask themselves, “Why has the Lord defeated us before the Philistines.”
What they began to recognize was that it was not their good or bad military strategy, full or empty bank accounts, good or bad political leaders in office, or what they do or think about themselves that is the ultimate reason for the calamity or well-being of nations and individuals. According to His sovereign Will, it is the Lord God almighty who raises up and casts down individuals and nations.
Israel raised a question but had already answered it in their hearts. They concluded that the Lord caused them to be defeated, because He wasn’t present with them in the battle.
So, they said “Let us bring the Ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” The orders were given, and the Ark was brought to the battle by Hophni and Phinehas, the wicked sons of the priest Eli. But the enemy's response was in defiance of the presence of the Ark; they told each other, “Take courage, be men and fight.”
Israel experienced a slaughter that day because of their foolishness and presumption; the thought that they could twist the Lord's arm to favour them without having to submit their will to His. As a result, they lost the battle against the enemy.
You see, when Eli the priest heard that his sons Hophni and Phinehas had been killed in the battle, he fell backward from the stool, broke his neck, and died. Phinehas’s wife, who was in labor at the time when she heard the news of her husband's death, recognized the Glory had departed from Israel. Then with her dying breath she named her son Ichabod and asked, “Where is the glory?”
In part this disgrace came upon Israel because of a failure in leadership. Eli and his sons were concerned with pampering and honoring themselves more than honoring God. Therefore, God stripped them of honor and brought judgment upon their heads.
Sin is never a merely private matter. Our personal apathy be it bitterness, greed, gluttony, lust, pride or self-centeredness and self-preoccupation; whatever the personal sin, often affects the lives of those around us, thus bringing disorder and infection, pain and loss to others.
The sad story of Israel was that Eli died when he heard that his wayward sons, Phinehas and Hophni, died in the battle with the Philistines, and the Ark of the Covenant was captured and taken away from Israel. The word Ichabod literally means “inglorious” or “there is no glory.”
The glory of God is used to describe God’s favor and blessings toward His people. In the Old Testament, God’s glory is seen as a pillar of fire and cloud that followed the Israelites during the exodus from Egypt, guiding and guarding them (Exodus 13:21).
Once the Ark of the Covenant was built and placed in the tabernacle in the wilderness, and later in the temple in Jerusalem, God’s glory resided there as a symbol of His presence among His people. When the Ark was captured by the Philistines, the glory departed from the Israel, and Ichabod became a reality.
Jesus referred to the glory of God leaving Israel when He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone (to death) those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate” (Matt. 23:37–38).
In that passage, Jesus indicted their leaders, and by indicting the leaders, He indicted all the people who followed the leaders. He said their house was left desolate, Ichabod, the glory had departed. Notice that He said, 'your house is... desolate'. Not My house, not My Father’s house as He used to call it. Now it’s your house because God was not present, Ichabod! God is no longer there, it’s not the Father’s house; it’s not My house; it’s your house.
In examining himself, the Psalmist said, "Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults" (Psalm 19:12). Then after recognizing God's omniscience, he confessed to God, "You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar" (Psalm 139:2). The prophet Hosea concludes, "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them" (Hosea 14:9).
Therefore, through discernment by the Holy Spirit, we can recognize when the Glory has departed; because spiritual and carnal (dead works) cannot co-exist. There’s no wonder that miracles, breakthroughs and the anointing on God’s Word are so few and far apart, or non-existence. It is a terrible thing to experience the loss of the glory of God. One wonders how many churches today have lost the glory of the Lord, whether willingly or unknowingly.
The same things that caused Ichabod in Israel, sin of disobedience, idolatry and sacrilege are present in many of today’s churches. Christians must never take the glory of God in our midst for granted, lest we wake up one day and find that Ichabod has become a reality among us.
In Revelations 2:5, Jesus admonished the church of Ephesus to “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works.…” The phrase “first works” literally means, “the actions that were indicative of you at the first” or “the things you did in the very beginning of your spiritual journey when you first fell in love with Jesus Christ.”
What were these “first works” that once distinguished the church of Ephesus? Scripture reveals several characteristics of this prominent church in its early beginnings:
- They possessed a great spiritual hunger (Acts 18:20).
- They enjoyed rich fellowship among the brethren (Acts 18:27).
- They had an eagerness to repent and to receive what God had for them (Acts 19:1-6).
- They cherished the Word of God (Acts 19:8).
- They sacrificed their religious reputation for Jesus (Acts 19:9).
- They were committed to applying God’s Word to their lives (Acts 19:10).
Father, You are a God of love and mercy, and You are not willing that I should lose my way. I am deeply convicted by what I have read today.
I recognize that You are calling me deeper and higher, and it is my responsibility to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and to respond positively to what I have read.
I now repent for backsliding, for letting my once passionately intimate relationship with you slip and be replaced by carnal and worldly concerns. I am guilty of being an accuser of the brethren, and for slaying them with destructive words.
I admit that I’ve done this, and I confess my sins and repent according to 1 John 1:9, and according to Your Word, I receive full forgiveness.
Now that I am free, Lord, please restore the Glory! I reclaim what I have lost, and I move forward to obtain what You have for me in the future. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen!
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