Now the children of Israel were ranged in battle array against their longstanding enemies, the Philistines, at Aphek. It however went sore with them, with hard-pressed Israel losing over four thousand men on the battlefield. They wondered why Elohim had let them suffer such a humiliating defeat at the hands of the uncircumcised. However, instead of seeking Elohim's face in sackcloth and ashes, through prayer and fasting, they opted to bring the sacred Ark of God's Covenant into the battlefield!  I submit that they wanted to use it as some sort of talisman, an insurance policy of sorts, or as a way of  arm-twisting Adonai into granting them a victory against their Philistine enemies. To bolster this warped logic, Eli's sons, the priests Hophni and Phinehas, accompanied the Ark to Aphek. These desperate measures did not help matters at all, and the armies of Israel were soundly thrashed by their determined foes! A staggering thirty thousand Israeli foot soldiers lay dead on the killing fields! Both sons of  Eli were killed and furthermore, the Ark was captured by the despised Philistines! Oh what a tragic turn of events!

Back home in Shiloh, the aged High Priest Eli was a very worried man. His primary concern was what could happen to the Ark of God if it fell into Philistine hands. He sat by the city gate, anxiously waiting for any news from the war front. When he learnt that indeed Israel had lost and that both his sons were dead, the old man was stunned. However, it was the news that God's ark had been captured that ended it all for him. He fell from his seat, broke his neck, and died. Meanwhile, Eli's daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife was heavy with child. Upon hearing the calamitous turn of events at Aphek, the shocked young woman went into impromptu labour and delivered a baby boy. As she lay dying - for it all proved too much for her - ,  she named her son "Ichabod", roughly translating to "...the glory has departed" - since Elohim's ark had been captured by the uncircumcised! The episode was truly one of the most tragic chapters in Israel's long history.

But just how did Israel get into this most low of moments? What lessons does this low-tide mark in Israel's history, have for us? Ever since Joshua son of Nun died, Israel had been oscillating between serving Adonai and falling into the idolatry of their Canaanite and Philistine neighbours. They had failed to totally annihilate these heathen peoples as Adonai had ordered (cf Numbers 33:52, Joshua 15:63, 13:14 etc).          And true to Moshe's warnings these idolatrous neighbours proved to be a snare to Israel. Over and over again, Israel found themselves drifting into and participating in the blatantly sexual rites of Baal and Asherah worship. The stringent admonitions in the Torah slowly paled, so that the covenant relationship between God and his people Israel was put under severe strain. Two common refrains appearing throughout the Book of Judges are: "...everyone did as they saw fit..." (Judges 17:6; 21:25) and, "...again Israel did evil in the eyes of the LORD..." (cf Judges 2:11; 6:1; 13:1; 10:6-9; 3:12 etc). Israel had sunk really low.

By the time of Eli's sons, even the priesthood was no longer kosher. Eli's sons were not exactly the epitome of holiness. They were not only treating Elohim's sacrifices with contempt (cf 1 Samuel 2:29; 3:18-19), but also sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting! They were borrowing elements of the sexually oriented worship in Canaan's fertility cults and copy-pasting them into the religion of Adonai! The half-hearted rebukes from their father Eli (cf 1 Samuel 2:22-25; 3:13), fell on deaf ears. Elohim sent several warnings via his prophets (cf Samuel 2:27-36; 3:11-14), but the red alerts were ignored. It was only a question of time before divine wrath, retribution and judgment overtook them.

Thus the "Ichabod phenomenon" (for lack of a better term) is a warning to all of us. We should not cozy up to sin and normalize it in our lives. Had Israel dealt with the Canaanites and Philistines as God had ordered (the total annihilation of the Canaanites), they would not have been seduced into the clutches of idolatry. They were now living in close proximity to their pagan neighbours and slowly became de-sensitized into accepting the Canaanite religious viewpoint. They became inured to the voice of God as he, time and again sent his prophets and judges to them. Israel would take one step forward, only to take several steps backwards as they wrestled with the two conflicting religious pathways.

We ought to remember too,  what happened before the Great Flood of Noah's day. Noah's generation had become steeped in sexual immorality, violence, murder and other debilitating sins. They had caused the Holy One of Israel much grief with their lawlessness (cf Genesis 5:5-6). In his great mercy, God let Methuselah live close to a thousand years. The name Methuselah roughly means: "...after his death, the floods will come". So in a way, Methuselah's long life was testament to God's long-suffering forbearance in the face of a very rebellious world. In the end, Elohim's patience finally ran out: "...my Spirit will not contend with man forever..." (Genesis 6:3). God's waters of judgment came upon the earth and subsequently, man's lifespan was drastically whittled down to a mere 120 years! In all probability, the shortened lifespan was meant to help break man's cyclical dalliance with sin.

The Ichabod phenomenon is again repeated in the life of Samson son of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan. Samson was born a Nazarite. He however had little regard for his special, set-apart status (can you imagine a consecrated Nazarite scooping up and eating honey from the decaying carcass of any animal, let alone an unclean one like a lion?!). But that was Samson for you! His parents, just like Eli, had warned him on several occasions against relationships with heathen girls. But Samson would not listen! The many close shaves with Israel's enemies, the Philistines, only seemed to serve as an adrenaline rush fuelling escapades to him. He became so de-sensitized that "playing Russian roulette" with his own life in the hands of the deadly Philistine seductress, Delilah, was an inconsequential matter to him. When God's almost infinite patience eventually ran its course and Elohim's Spirit left him, Samson did not even know it! According to the passage; "...he awoke from his sleep and thought, 'I will go out as before and shake myself free...' But he did not know that the LORD had left him." (Judges 16:20).

Due to his folly, he lost his eyes, and his freedom, had to go into involuntary slavery, and eventually died a premature death in a pagan temple! The glory had left him!

Ichabod is also the story of Israel during the days of the prophet Ezekiel. Again and again, the voice of Adonai reached the seer's ears: "Son of man, do you see what they are doing - the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will DRIVE ME FAR FROM MY SANCTUARY? But you will see things that are even more detestable." (Ezekiel 8:6, NIV, full caps mine. See also Ezekiel 8:9, 13, 15 and 17). Eventually, after the prophet was taken on a detailed tour of the abominable things that Israel was practicing within the precincts of the House of God, the Spirit of God left Solomon's Heykal (Ezekiel 10:18). The glory departed from the Temple and it was only a question of time before the Babylonians came and reduced the proud edifice to rubble. For Israel, it was Ichabod once again!

We must therefore ask ourselves: to what extent are we cozy with sin? Are we, Nazarites, toying with death like Samson of old did? Are you, like an ancient Israelite, secretly cherishing sin and entertaining idols in your life? Quite often, we read the line: "...however, the high places were not removed..." (cf 1Kings 15:14; 22:43; 2 Kings 12:2-3; 14:3-4; 15:3-4; 2Chronicles 20:32-33). Do you have "high places" in your life too? Things that weigh you down, so that you are unable to make spiritual progress and grow in your relationship with Yahshua? Habits that vie for pride of place/priority vis a vis you dedication to living a set-apart life as a servant of Adonai? Are you a European soccer league addict? Or are you immersed in the popular endless Mexican soap operas? Do you spend inordinately long hours on social media? Are you hooked on pornography? Or gossiping? Or keeping old fruitless friendships with unbelievers? Unless these high places are demolished, destroyed, brought down... the Ichabod spectre looms. The Preacher's warning comes to mind: "He who is reproved often and fails to take heed, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy..." (Proverbs 29:1-3). Eventually, it may cost you eternal life itself! Do not be like fabulous King Solomon whose multiple wives (I suspect his "high places") eventually irredeemably turned him away from his God (cf 1 Kings 11:7). All his stellar wisdom could not help him! For Solomon clung to them in love! (1Kings 11:1-3). Ominously, the name Solomon does not appear on Paul's "roll of fame" as he listed the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11! May the Almighty help us as we each strive to eradicate the"high places" and avoid the Ichabod spectre in our lives. Blessings.

Pst JK Chang'andu