Ichabod | The Institute for Creation Research

Ichabod

“And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband” (I Samuel 4:21).

Many people today give their children Biblical names, but few ever name a child Ichabod, which means “no glory.” We know little of Ichabod, but his name must have been a detriment to him all his life. The day he was born was a sad day for Israel, because the holy ark of God’s covenant was carried away by the conquering Philistines, and Israel’s judge, Eli, was dead, and his two evil sons, Hophni and Phinehas, Ichabod’s father, had been slain. Furthermore, Ichabod’s mother also died in childbirth, just after she named her son. It was indeed a tragic day.

God had met with His people in the Shekinah glory cloud, at the mercy seat on the ark each year, but now the glory had departed. God still cared for them, however, and had already raised up Samuel as His prophet and their judge.

Although neither babies nor institutions are named after Ichabod today, it would surely be an appropriate name for many a backslidden Christian or apostate church. What a tragedy to see believers once happy and fruitful set aside because of sin in their lives, or once-sound churches become cold and dead because of compromise, with the glory departed.

This is a real danger. Even Paul said: “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (I Corinthians 9:27). And Christ warned even such a fine church as that at Ephesus: “I will . . . remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (Revelation 2:5). May God keep each of us from ever becoming modern Ichabods! HMM

The Latest
NEWS
''73-Million-Year-Old'' Alaskan Salmon
Fish evolution remains an enigma. Evolutionists can only say fish first “appeared” over a half-billion years ago.1 Creationists...

NEWS
God's Memorial Day
“And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of...

NEWS
How Did Earth Get Its Water?
Earth’s oceans contain 321 million cubic miles (1.335 billion cubic kilometers) of water. The moon causes ebb and flow of tides twice in a 24-hour...

NEWS
The Origin of Eukaryotes
Eukaryotes are multicellular organisms that contain diverse differentiated cell types. Within almost every cell there are subcellular compartments called...

CREATION PODCAST
Water vs. Wind: The Controversial Coconino | The Creation Podcast:...
Welcome to the sixth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Fossil Fish Finally Filmed
The bizarre lobe-finned coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) “that flourished some 350 million years ago”1 continues to be a thorn...

NEWS
The Mosasaur: A Giant Sea Dragon
Mosasaurs (order Squamata) were massive marine lizards that were common in the pre-Flood oceans. Therefore, it is not surprising that their fossils...

DAYS OF PRAISE DEVOTIONALS
Summer 2025
...

NEWS
Was Life Detected on a Distant Planet?
There was celebration, albeit briefly, for the discovery of potential life on a planet called K2-18b, which is 124 lightyears away from Earth. The...

NEWS
Ichthyosaur Graveyard Explained by the Flood
Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that occur globally in the same rock layers as dinosaurs. Specimens with babies support the idea that they gave live...