“She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.”

1 Samuel 4:21

Sometimes names bear a great sense of meaning. Parents will name their child(ren) after someone whose name they want to honor and pass on. I am named after my father, and thus carry on that family name. Others may be named after some well-known celebrity or other type of personality whose name they want to in some way memorialize.

In the Bible, it was a common thing for parents to name their child with the hopes of that child living up to the lofty name given at birth. For example:

“What is the importance of name in the Bible? A biblical name could record some aspects of a person’s birth. Biblical names sometimes expressed the parents’ reaction to the birth of their child. Biblical names were sometimes used to secure the solidarity of family ties. Biblical names could be used to communicate God’s message. Biblical names were also used to establish an affiliation with God.”

Reference: get.bible/blog/post/names-in-the-bible-have-meaning

One such name of significance is found in the passage quoted above: Ichabod. The story, as recorded in 1 Samuel, tells of an incident in the history of Israel in which they had turned their backs on God, and, as a result, experienced the judgment of God at the hands of the Philistines. The Israelites were defeated by the Philistines in battle, and the Ark of the Covenant was captured. When news of this horrific event reached Eli, the priest, he immediately fell over, broke his neck, and died. His two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, had died in the battle. News of these events reached the wife of Phinehas as she gave birth to a son. She, too, died upon hearing the news that her husband and father-in-law were dead and the Ark had been taken by the Philistines. As she was dying, she assigned the name Ichabod to her son, signifying that the glory of God had departed from Israel.

I, along with most Americans, have been awaiting the results from the senate race in Georgia. As I write this blog, those results are in, and both seats have gone to the Democratic party. Thus, as it stands at the moment, we have a Democratic President-elect and Vice President-elect, and a house and senate which have a Democratic majority.

As I heard the results of yesterday’s election in Georgia, the words of our focal passage immediately came to mind: the glory has departed. Now, I certainly realize that there are many who would disagree with my personal perspective on these political issues, but let me explain why I feel the way I do. My feelings can be summed up succinctly in the following news item copied from CP Politics on line:

“During a short invocation to mark the swearing-in of the 117th Congress, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., finished his prayer that was filled with scriptural and Christian-themed phrases by invoking other gods and concluding with the phrase “amen and awoman” instead of the traditional term “Amen.”

“We ask it in the name of the monotheistic God, Brahma, and ‘god’ known by many names by many different faiths. Amen and awoman,” Cleaver, the former mayor of Kansas City, offered. 

If you’ll remember, it was at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC, that a vote was taken to take the name of God out of the Democratic Parties platform. Let that sink in for a moment: a major political party in a nation that was founded on the principles of the Christian faith actually votes to remove God! And now, in a prayer opening the 117th Congress, the prayer is offered in the name of the monotheistic God, Brahma, and ‘god’ known by many names by many different faiths.

ICHABOD! The glory has departed. God is a jealous God, and will not share His glory with any other so-called god. When a nation that has identified with Him, then decides to walk away from Him by embracing the teachings of other religions, He will allow that nation to suffer the consequences of its own actions and decisions.

Let me conclude this blog with a reference to the following quote from Benjamin Franklin at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It was at this convention that the Constitution of the United States was passed, at the urging of Franklin. Read the following slowly, carefully, with thoughtful deliberation:

On the final day, as the last delegates were signing the document, Franklin pointed toward the sun on the back of the Convention president’s chair. Observing that painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising sun from a setting sun, he went on to say: “I have often … in the course of the session … looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know it is a rising and not a setting sun.”

I wonder if his sentiment would be the same if he were present today, witnessing the direction of our elected officials as they turn their backs on our rich Judeo-Christian foundation, while embracing “the monotheistic God, Brahma, and ‘god’ known by many names by many different faiths. Amen and awoman.”

I can’t help but believe, with a great sense of sadness, that the sun is now setting over America. God, please, in Your grace, remember mercy. Turn our hearts back to You, as You are our only hope.