1Sa 4:21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.
1Sa 4:22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
Just before Samuel, the greatest prophet in the history of Israel there was Eli and his sons. Eli may have at one time knew the Lord, but his sons knew nor feared God. They had grown in wealth and privilege and had never knew the God of their father.
They had stolen from God, used the tithes and sacrifices for their own interests, used their positions to seduce women and were all around bad guys.
In chapter 2 of 1 Samuel God declares to Eli that He will take the office of High Priest from Eli and his family.
God has decided enough is enough.
Israel goes to war with the philistines and they are losing, so they decide to bring The Ark of the Covenant to the battlefield and then they lose that.
Eli's sons are killed, the Ark of the Covenant is taken and Eli upon hearing the news falls off his chair, breaks his neck and dies.
Phinehas, Eli's son has a wife who goes into labor at the news. She has a son and calls Him Ichabod.
The Glory of the Lord has departed Israel.
I see some similarities here in the passage with today's "priests".
The people are being led astray, or are starting to ignore God because of the ones in leadership positions in the church.
They are taking the tithes and the sacrifices and using it for their own good.Too few are true men of God, out to do His Will. To make His name Holy, to preach and teach of the One who loved them enough to die for them.
Hophni and Phinehas, were sons of Belial according to the Bible, Not men of God.
They served at their own pleasure, for their own enrichment. Not for the people, not because they had the calling of God, and certainly not to the honor of their father Eli.
Now the question this brings to mind is why did God allow this, and let it go for so long when it was His name that was being dragged through the mud?
The name of God, the reputation of God, and the Ministry of God suffers due to these dishonorable, Dis-honest children of Belial standing in places that they have no understanding of.
Why did God allow these men to make a mockery of Him and His Law, His nation and His People?
God does not act in our ways, in our time, or in our understanding. We know this.
Yet when we see men who call themselves pastors or priests or preachers or evangelists or prophets or what have you doing that which is completely and totally against the Will and Word of God why does He allow it to be so?
Why does He allow His Name to be used under false pretenses? Why?
Is it to allow them time to learn the truth?
Is it to test those who listen to see if they truly are searching for Him?
Is it because the free will option He has given us is so very important to Him?
There is an old saying that says for those who are not born again this world is all the heaven they will ever know, for those who are born again Christians this is all the hell we will ever know.
Perhaps that is why He allows it. Perhaps because we must all give answer for our own actions on that day of Judgement.
Perhaps it is because He knows His sheep know His voice and listen only to that voice.
Joh 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
But is it because of the false messengers, false preachers that the Glory of the Lord has departed?
Is it the fault of a few men?
No.
The Glory of the Lord has departed because the Lord God has removed His blessing from their households and His nation.
Why?
Because the people followed these false prophets, these sons of Belial.
Because the people who knew the Law, the customs, the ceremonies, the Words of the Lord followed the false prophets.
You say "these men were authority, the people had to listen".
Act_5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
The people became enamored of the men, or they forgot God or they just became indifferent to the Lord, I don't know. I do know they allowed themselves to be led astray.
No matter how many false prophets arise, no matter how many sinners lead in the pulpit, no matter who says they speak in the name of the Lord, It is the people of the Lord that determine how the nation goes.
Never in the Bible does it say God judged the people because of the Leaders, it says every man did that which was right in his own eyes and God judged Israel.
In the New Testament Jesus did eviscerate the "religioius" leaders on a regular basis because they led the people astray, He accused them of making the Law so onerous so it kept the people in submission, but He did not let the people get away from the blame.
He repeatedly told them to go and sin no more. He repeatedly forgave sins.
He held the people He encountered responsible for their sin.
He came to seek and to save that which was lost.
He came that all might come to repentance.
He came to give us the way to God through His shed blood.
He denounced the false "religious" leaders but He was here for the people.
The people are what God cares about.
The people are what make or break a nation.
Ichabod - the Glory of the Lord has departed.
The people of the nation are what makes the Glory of the Lord, They are what brings honor to the Lord.
When the people leave the Lord, stop worshiping, stop remembering Him, then is the Glory of the Lord departed.
1Sa 4:22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
Just before Samuel, the greatest prophet in the history of Israel there was Eli and his sons. Eli may have at one time knew the Lord, but his sons knew nor feared God. They had grown in wealth and privilege and had never knew the God of their father.
They had stolen from God, used the tithes and sacrifices for their own interests, used their positions to seduce women and were all around bad guys.
In chapter 2 of 1 Samuel God declares to Eli that He will take the office of High Priest from Eli and his family.
God has decided enough is enough.
Israel goes to war with the philistines and they are losing, so they decide to bring The Ark of the Covenant to the battlefield and then they lose that.
Eli's sons are killed, the Ark of the Covenant is taken and Eli upon hearing the news falls off his chair, breaks his neck and dies.
Phinehas, Eli's son has a wife who goes into labor at the news. She has a son and calls Him Ichabod.
The Glory of the Lord has departed Israel.
I see some similarities here in the passage with today's "priests".
The people are being led astray, or are starting to ignore God because of the ones in leadership positions in the church.
They are taking the tithes and the sacrifices and using it for their own good.Too few are true men of God, out to do His Will. To make His name Holy, to preach and teach of the One who loved them enough to die for them.
Hophni and Phinehas, were sons of Belial according to the Bible, Not men of God.
They served at their own pleasure, for their own enrichment. Not for the people, not because they had the calling of God, and certainly not to the honor of their father Eli.
Now the question this brings to mind is why did God allow this, and let it go for so long when it was His name that was being dragged through the mud?
The name of God, the reputation of God, and the Ministry of God suffers due to these dishonorable, Dis-honest children of Belial standing in places that they have no understanding of.
Why did God allow these men to make a mockery of Him and His Law, His nation and His People?
God does not act in our ways, in our time, or in our understanding. We know this.
Yet when we see men who call themselves pastors or priests or preachers or evangelists or prophets or what have you doing that which is completely and totally against the Will and Word of God why does He allow it to be so?
Why does He allow His Name to be used under false pretenses? Why?
Is it to allow them time to learn the truth?
Is it to test those who listen to see if they truly are searching for Him?
Is it because the free will option He has given us is so very important to Him?
There is an old saying that says for those who are not born again this world is all the heaven they will ever know, for those who are born again Christians this is all the hell we will ever know.
Perhaps that is why He allows it. Perhaps because we must all give answer for our own actions on that day of Judgement.
Perhaps it is because He knows His sheep know His voice and listen only to that voice.
Joh 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
But is it because of the false messengers, false preachers that the Glory of the Lord has departed?
Is it the fault of a few men?
No.
The Glory of the Lord has departed because the Lord God has removed His blessing from their households and His nation.
Why?
Because the people followed these false prophets, these sons of Belial.
Because the people who knew the Law, the customs, the ceremonies, the Words of the Lord followed the false prophets.
You say "these men were authority, the people had to listen".
Act_5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
The people became enamored of the men, or they forgot God or they just became indifferent to the Lord, I don't know. I do know they allowed themselves to be led astray.
No matter how many false prophets arise, no matter how many sinners lead in the pulpit, no matter who says they speak in the name of the Lord, It is the people of the Lord that determine how the nation goes.
Never in the Bible does it say God judged the people because of the Leaders, it says every man did that which was right in his own eyes and God judged Israel.
In the New Testament Jesus did eviscerate the "religioius" leaders on a regular basis because they led the people astray, He accused them of making the Law so onerous so it kept the people in submission, but He did not let the people get away from the blame.
He repeatedly told them to go and sin no more. He repeatedly forgave sins.
He held the people He encountered responsible for their sin.
He came to seek and to save that which was lost.
He came that all might come to repentance.
He came to give us the way to God through His shed blood.
He denounced the false "religious" leaders but He was here for the people.
The people are what God cares about.
The people are what make or break a nation.
Ichabod - the Glory of the Lord has departed.
The people of the nation are what makes the Glory of the Lord, They are what brings honor to the Lord.
When the people leave the Lord, stop worshiping, stop remembering Him, then is the Glory of the Lord departed.
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