Eli’s daughter-in-law was close in her pronouncement, but not close enough. We read her declare that the glory of the Lord had departed because of the ark’s capture (vv. 21–22) and then she named her son Ichabod, which means “Where is the glory?” She was right to lament the departure of the Lord’s glory, but she missed why His glory may have been gone. It was not because of the ark of the Lord’s removal from the people but because of the people’s faithlessness to the God of the ark. 

We, too, should be as quick to recognize the severity of God’s glory – even to the slightest degree – being removed from around us. We, too, should mourn and lament when God is not glorified as He ought to be. But our first response should not be to look outside of ourselves for why His glory has been diminished, but rather within ourselves. We are here to be conduits of God’s glory – ambassadors of the Gospel which has taken hold of us and changed us into the image of Christ. May we earnestly desire to declare the glory of our God in word and deed so that others may join us in basking in its beautiful radiance.

What opportunities do you have to glorify God in the days and weeks ahead? How will you?