1 Samuel 4:19 - Meaning and Application

Here we have another sad story that continues the ruin of Eli’s house, along with the grief caused by the news that the ark had been captured. The woman here is Phinehas’ wife, one of Eli’s unworthy sons who had brought this trouble on Israel. She died young, while Eli himself had died old. Many young people, as well as many old ones, have been brought to the grave by sorrow, for sorrow can kill.

From what is said about her, we can see, first, that she was a woman of deep feeling. In God’s providence, she was close to giving birth at just this time. Our Lord said, “Woe to those who are pregnant or nursing in those days” (Matthew 24:19). In such times there is so little joy, even in the birth of a son, that people can say, “Blessed are the wombs that never bore” (Luke 23:29). The terrible news came at the worst possible moment, and it threw her into labor, as sudden fear and strong emotion often do. When she heard of the death of her father-in-law, whom she respected, and her husband, whom she loved despite his wickedness, and above all the loss of the ark, her pains came on strongly (1 Samuel 4:19). The news hit her spirit just when she needed support most. She had enough strength to bear the child, but soon afterward she fainted and died, as one willing to let life go after losing life’s greatest comforts. Those who are nearing that hard hour need to gather comfort from the covenant of grace. That will help balance not only ordinary grief, but any sudden sorrow they may not expect. Faith at such a time keeps a person from fainting (Psalm 27:13).

Second, she was also a woman of real godliness, even though she was married to a wicked man. Her grief over her husband and father-in-law shows natural affection. But her much stronger grief over the loss of the ark shows her love for God and for holy things. The first sorrow helped bring on her labor, but her dying words show that the second sorrow was deepest in her heart (1 Samuel 4:22). She said, “The glory has departed from Israel,” not mourning mainly for her own family, but for the nation’s loss in the capture of the ark. This was her grief, and it was also her death.

This made her give little thought to her child. The women who attended her, likely women of high rank in the city, tried to comfort her. Since they thought her main concern was the pain of labor, they said, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” Perhaps it was her firstborn. But she answered nothing, and she did not care. If she had had no other sorrow, the pain of labor would have been forgotten in the joy of a son born into the world (John 16:21). But what joy is that to someone who feels death near? Only spiritual and heavenly comfort can help at such a time. Death is too serious to leave room for earthly joy. What good is it to someone who is mourning the loss of the ark? A child born in Israel, in Shiloh, could give little comfort while the ark was gone and held captive in Philistine land. What pleasure can we take in ordinary gifts and comforts if we do not have God’s word and worship, and especially if we lack the comfort of his gracious presence and the light of his favor? Trying to cheer such a heart with songs is like pouring vinegar on soda.

She also gave her child a name that would keep the memory of the disaster alive and show how deeply she felt it. She said nothing else about the child. Since it was now her place, after her husband’s death, to name him, she ordered them to call him I-chabod, which means, “Where is the glory?” or, “Alas, for the glory,” or, “There is no glory” (1 Samuel 4:21). She explained this with her dying words: “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been taken” (1 Samuel 4:22). In effect she said, “Call the child inglorious, for that is what he is. Israel’s beauty is gone, and there is no hope of getting it back. Let no Israelite, much less a priest, bear a name that suggests honor now that the ark is gone.” The purity and fullness of God’s ordinances, and the signs of his presence among them, are the true glory of any people. They matter far more than wealth, trade, or power among the nations. Nothing cuts deeper into a faithful Israelite than the loss of these things. If God leaves, glory leaves, and all good things leave with him. Woe to us if he departs.