The Sorrows of Disobedience: The Glory Has Departed (1 Samuel 4) - 10/26/25

INTRO

• Chapter 2: Hannah praises God for Samuel’s birth. Meanwhile, Eli and his sons sin before the Lord, even as Samuel grows in faithful service.

• Chapter 3: Samuel receives his call from the Lord, and the message of coming judgment on Eli’s household.

• Chapter 4: That judgment is carried out: Israel is defeated, Eli’s sons die, the ark is captured, and the glory departs.

  
  

Defeat – God Will Not Be Mocked – vv. 1–11

• Israel suffers defeat (4,000), then grabs the Ark instead of grieving and repenting.

• They seek external ritual over internal obedience—wanting God’s help without God’s holiness.

• Second defeat (30,000) and the Ark captured: God will not be mocked; His power never operates apart from His purity.

  
  

Death – God’s Word Comes to Pass – vv. 12–18

• News arrives: defeat, Ark taken, Hophni and Phinehas dead.

• Eli hears of the Ark’s capture, falls, breaks his neck, and dies—the Word is fulfilled.

• God’s warnings are never empty; do not mistake His patience for forgetfulness.

  
  

Departure – God’s Glory Is Removed – vv. 19–22

• Phinehas’s wife names her son Ichabod: “The glory has departed.”

• Glory leaves when worship is hollow and obedience disappears.

• Yet judgment is not the end—repentance restores what ritual ruins (chs. 5–7).

  
  

The What Now

• Repent of disobedience. Israel’s defeat, death, and departure warn us: God’s glory will not dwell among an unrepentant people.

• Rest in Christ’s presence. Through Jesus—the true presence of God—the glory has returned; His Spirit indwells all who worship in holiness and truth (John 4:24).

• Look to Christ, our true Ark. In Him, God dwells with us—Immanuel (John 1:14; Heb. 9:11–12).