SDfAoWOP: Ichabod

Day Seventeen

I Samuel 4:20

And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

It is a dark moment to hear the words, “do not be afraid” not from an angel bearing good news, but from the women, the women who cluster around in the moment of grief and life. Do not be afraid, 'for you have borne a son'. So many women, hearing that they have borne a son, long for that son to save. But this woman is slipping out of life. Her grief is a tidal wave of death. She does not answer or pay attention. As her soul goes down to death, to Sheol, she names the child Ichabod. The glory has departed from Israel. The Lord has gone, as surely as her own life is gone. Ichabod, a tiny imprint of despair and hope. Despair because Israel is under such devastating judgement. Hope because he is a shadowy type of the savior, the announcement of his birth, the glory of God being taken outside the camp by the enemies of Israel, to die.