Life Around "The Fire"
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Life Around "The Fire"
When God's Glory Departs: Lessons from 1 Samuel
The consequences of our actions echo through generations—nowhere is this more evident than in the sobering account from 1 Samuel 4 explored in this episode. When Israel treated the Ark of God as a magical talisman rather than a holy vessel, they faced devastating defeat at the hands of the Philistines.
This fascinating journey through ancient Israel reveals what happens when God's people embrace privilege without responsibility. The story unfolds dramatically—30,000 Israelite soldiers slain, the Ark of God captured, and the deaths of Eli and his corrupt sons. Perhaps most poignant is the birth of a child named Ichabod ("the glory has departed") as his mother dies in childbirth, overwhelmed by the national catastrophe. This name captures the spiritual reality: God's protective presence had withdrawn from a people who had turned their backs on Him.
The narrative provides powerful lessons on leadership through Eli's tragic example. Despite his position as high priest, he failed to discipline his corrupt sons who abused their sacred office. As we discuss, "What we do in moderation, our children will do in excess." This serves as a stark reminder that leadership positions—especially spiritual ones—carry greater responsibility and accountability. True leadership in God's kingdom isn't a vocation to satisfy our ego; it's a divine calling requiring faithful stewardship.
These stories from Scripture aren't merely historical accounts—they're multifaceted revelations containing wisdom for today. The hand of God doesn't withdraw suddenly but "lifts off ever so slowly," giving opportunities for repentance before consequences arrive. We invite you to dive deeper into these ancient yet timeless narratives and discover what God wants to unveil to you personally through them. Connect with us at lifearoundthefire@gmail.com to continue the conversation.
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Shalom to you and your home.
For the past 10 episodes, including this one, we've been covering the book of 1 Samuel and stated earlier it's been one of my favorite books because it carries so many stories, so many stories, and not only do I love stories, but stories that come from the scriptures carry some additional weight. They give us a view as to what took place, but they also have an ability to show us what is going to be taking place, and they speak to situations right now because they have an eternal quality to them due to the fact that they have been really breathed out and breathed upon individuals by God. God breathed, and so a smart man and a smart woman did not come up with the scriptures and the stories within them. They are meant for not only our entertainment, but really for our instruction, but really for our instruction, and I love the stories specifically in the book of 1 Samuel, but we're in a portion of this book right now that are really the 12 chapters that we're going to be looking at are somewhat hard because they show another side of the life of Israel, a little darker side and kind of the demise of Israel, and I want to go on record right up front and say that I believe. We believe that Israel is still God's chosen people. Yes, we Gentiles myself being one have been grafted in, but it's not the Gentiles to the exclusion of the Jews, it's one new man. Gentiles to the exclusion of the Jews, it's one new man. And so Israel is God's chosen people. And, being God's chosen people, there are privileges and there are responsibilities, the balance. And when the responsibilities have been neglected, consequences come into play.
Speaker 1:And some might look and say, well, israel is just man. Their story is so sordid, they've done so many things wrong. It's like they're just troublemakers. Yeah, I mean, you might look at it that way, but how would you like it? How would you like it if every aspect of your life, everything, good and bad, were recorded for everyone to read and see and talk about? It would be I mean, some would be you'd say, yeah, I wouldn't mind people seeing that. Others, you'd say, man, I don't want people seeing that. Others, you'd say, I don't want anybody seeing that. Well, israel did not have that comfort. Both the good and the bad were disclosed, and so we've been looking at some of the difficulties that Israel faced and we can learn from them.
Speaker 1:Now, these people lived it out. It wasn't just them reading about this. They lived this out and what they did. I mean, they paid the price for what they did, and some of the prices that they paid were pretty severe. We're going to be looking at it. So the balancing point, though, is this that Israel remains to be God's chosen people, and we are grafted in. Those of us who believe in Jesus have been grafted into the one new man of both Jew and Gentile, but not to the exclusion of the Jew, so it's very important, not to the exclusion of Israel. I am one who is a believer in defending Israel and praying for the peace of Jerusalem, and I do. We do so with that being said, we're going to be looking at the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 4, verses 12 through. Let's see verses 12 through 22. But we're going to back up a little bit, just as a kind of a lead-in, because it helps us see some things that are developing here.
Speaker 1:Okay, so, in 1 Samuel, chapter 4, starting at verse 10, we read so the Philistines fought and the Israelites were defeated, and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great. Israel lost 30,000 foot soldiers, the ark of God was captured and Eli's two sons, hophni and Phinehas died Verse 12. That same day, a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry. Eli heard the outcry and asked what is the meaning of this uproar. The man hurried over to Eli, who was 98 years old and whose eyes were set so that he could not see. He told Eli I have just come from the battle line. I fled from it this very day. Then Eli asked what happened? My son the man who brought the news replied when he mentioned the Ark of God, eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty years.
Speaker 1: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 sons were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. As she was dying, the woman attending her said Don't despair, you've given birth to a son. But she did not respond or pay any attention. So she named the boy Ichabod, 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. She said the glory has departed from Israel for the ark of God has been captured.
Speaker 1:Talk about a series of events. Israel is defeated. They brought the ark of God out into the battle. Now that situation was really not called for by God. These people took the Ark of God and when they brought it into the battle against the Philistines, they were defeated and the Ark was captured While Israel right and the Ark was captured While Israel right.
Speaker 1:While Israel carried the Ark during the successful battle of Jericho, they mistakenly treated it as a talisman rather than a holy object during their later battle with the Philistines, leading to their loss and the Ark's capture. You get that when they took the Ark by instruction of God during the conquering of Jericho, they led the Ark in procession around Jericho and the walls of Jericho came down at the appointed time. But it wasn't the Ark that did that, it was the holy presence of God, it was the power of God, but they treated the Ark as some sort of talisman, some sort of object that was magic. And you see, folks, that's just not the way it works. We can't take artifacts of God and turn them into holy magic. It's wrong. In fact, in the Dark Ages, some of these things were practiced on a regular basis, where people would take different things that were considered to be artifacts and they would use them to bring about blessings on people. But if the people would pay money for the blessings to take place, indulgences is what it was called A very ungodly practice. All done in the name of Jesus. Godly practice, all done in the name of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Israel did something similar in the fact that they took the ark, which represented the mercy seat of God. What was a symbol of what was the authentic version in heaven. This was a picture of it on earth and it was where God would meet with Israel at given times, sitting above the mercy seat on the ark, but without God's presence. The ark is not the thing that generates power. It's a golden piece of furniture, precious, holy meaning set aside, but nonetheless a piece of furniture.
Speaker 1:Israel was defeated because God did not provide protection due to the fact that Israel had turned their back on God and were treating his things with contempt. Hophni and Phinehas were leading the procession the two priests and Israel was on a decline and, as a result, things began to change. And one person said this about the hand of God. He said the hand of God when it lifts off of someone or something, a group of people, when the hand of God lifts off, it lifts off, but it lifts off ever so slowly. It's not like all of a sudden. There are chances that God gives. He's not interested in our demise, but we will experience consequences when we cross over certain boundaries, certain defined things, specifically the heart, the will of God, if we defy it, knowingly and sometimes unknowingly, but we defy it. There are consequences Kind it. There are consequences Kind of like. There are consequences in society when you cross over certain boundaries. If you're a thief, you get caught, you're going to be incarcerated.
Speaker 1:Consequences Disobedience. I used to tell my kids disobedience brings pain and I would rather you see a little bit of pain by being disobedient right now, by me giving you a spanking, than by you being disobedient and having the police officer arrest you and you go into jail, because disobedience has a consequence and Israel found out the consequence. Eli paid a price for not handling his home life properly. He let his sons live an ungodly life while holding a godly position. They had the privilege, but they did not take any responsibilities for what they were doing and, as a result, the consequences came. Consequences are not God picking on people, they're consequences. Are not God picking on people, they're consequences. If you throw a brick up in the air and it's thrown over your head, even if you smile when that brick is coming down, if you throw it up over your head, the consequence of gravity is this is going to hit you. Did the brick pick on you? Nah, of course not. It's a consequence. Eli now granted.
Speaker 1:Eli was a recognized leader and he deserved was a recognized leader and he deserved to be honored for the position. The position deserved to be honored. His actions were not. And if you're a leader, it's important that you understand the qualifications necessary and the conditions within which you're to function as a leader. You violate them. You actually experience more consequence because, with greater privilege and greater responsibility, greater consequences. To whom much is given, much is required, and so it's not really wise for a person just to barrel into a position because you think it's really going to provide for you some sort of sense of fulfillment in your life, where you can get some sort of recognition, a felt need to feel important.
Speaker 1:Leadership is a calling. It's not a vocation. It's a calling. In the kingdom of God, being a servant leader is a calling. Being a person who is an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, it's a calling, not a vocation. And Eli had qualities that were good. I mean, he spoke, blessing over Hannah and Hannah conceived and bore Samuel. He raised Samuel up. So Eli was not an evil man, that says, but he just didn't have control of his household. And it's important because there's a ripple effect in leadership and what we do in moderation our children will do in excess.
Speaker 1:So lessons to be learned from this particular portion of the scriptures, this story. There's quite a few of them. Some of them you'll find out for yourself. I just highlighted a few of them. That's the good thing about stories, man, it's not limited to what I'm saying. They're multifaceted. You can look at them from different angles, see different things. Same story, same God, but it has a different slant to it. My encouragement is to dive in and see what God will unveil to you.
Speaker 1:Let's pray, father, thank you that you faithfully teach us. You show us your ways. You want us to know. You love us and I love you. You love us and I love you. Holy Spirit, I honor your leadership. I want to be led by you. I thank you for your patience, for the way that you do things. And, jesus, we exalt your name. You are our Lord, you are our Savior. You are our Savior. We honor you as Messiah. We look for your soon return and we stand here and declare these things to be true and real and we say amen, amen, amen. In the name of Jesus. We stand here, amen. All right, folks, we love you. If you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, please feel free to drop us a line at lifearoundthefire, at gmailcom. That's our email address. Or if you just want to type in lifearoundthefire and look us up on the web, we would love to check it out. Man, some cool stuff. We'd love to hear from you In the meantime. God bless you. Adios amigos.