Glory Departed!

Previously I discussed the name “Ichabod” – the glory has departed because of three things that Phineas’ wife reports in 1 Samuel 4:21: (1) the Ark of God had been captured, (2) because of her father-n-law, and (3) because of her husband. For a mother that dies in the birth of her son and for that son’s name to be “Ichabod” indicates more than a disappointment that Israel has lost “market share” in their community, or had lost cultural relevance. The glory of God departing was a serious game changer for God’s people. 1 Samuel 2:12 states the Eli’s sons were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.

Worthless men leading the house of God! Notice that scripture does not retreat to a defense of their sincerity as though good motives excuse bad morals. Even though they were temple leaders the scripture declares they did not know the Lord of the Temple! Since they were serving in the house of one they did not know, they ended up serving themselves. This is not to say that the selfishness that we all battle from time to time condemns us to unsaved, but at least it should cause us to question our sincerity.

Perhaps the real error of Eli was that he put the feelings and preferences of his sons ahead of the holiness of God. Eli feared injury to the horizontal agenda more than loosing God’s favor on the vertical plane. Consequently he slipped into “shallow service” because he traded transcendence for relevance. Church leaders for the most part get the idea that Holiday Inn should not offer better service than the church and that Wal-Mart greeters should not out-perform church greeters. We also understand that music is a moving target that must be adjusted from time to time. Yes, there is a sense of relevance in what I just stated. However, remember the old maxim; “What you get them with is what you’ll keep them with!” If we build our church upon circus chicanery then we will raise “high-demand” disciples. But if we build our church on a hunger for the transcendent encounters with the holiness of God, then we will raise Word-centered saints who are passionate about their Savior.

Your response will indicate whether you are pursuing the horizontal or the vertical!