1 Samuel 4:19-22

1 Samuel 4:19-22

[19] And his daughter in law,  Phinehas'  wife,  was with child,  near to be delivered:  and when she heard  the tidings  that  the ark  of God  was taken,  and that her father in law  and her husband  were dead,  she bowed  herself and travailed;  for her pains  came  [20] And about the time  of her death  the women that stood  by her said  unto her, Fear  not; for thou hast born  a son.  But she answered  not, neither did she regard  [21] 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.  [22] And she said,  The glory  is departed  from Israel:  for the ark  of God  is taken. 

What does 1 Samuel 4:19-22 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Likewise the news of the loss of the ark is what distressed Phinehas" wife more than the news of the deaths of her husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law ( 1 Samuel 4:21-22). "Ichabod" is usually translated, "The glory has departed," but it may mean, "Where is the glory?"
"With the surrender of the earthly throne of His glory, the Lord appeared to have abolished His covenant of grace with Israel; for the ark, with the tables of the law and the capporeth [1], was the visible pledge of the covenant of grace which Jehovah had made with Israel." [2]
Phinehas" wife"s words may also reflect a pagan viewpoint to some extent, that because the Philistines had stolen what represented Yahweh, the Lord Himself had abandoned the nation. In view of God"s promises and revealed plans for Israel, she should have known that He had not totally abandoned His people ( Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 12:7; cf. Matthew 28:20). Furthermore the Israelites knew that the true God is omnipresent. Israel"s pagan neighbors typically believed that their gods were limited geographically. On the other hand, she may have had Deuteronomy 28:47-48 in mind: "Because you did not serve the LORD your God ... you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD shall send against you ... and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you."
Most of the Israelites evidently thought that since Israel had lost the ark she had lost God. [3] However, because the people had not lived in proper covenant relationship with Him, Israel had only lost God"s blessing, not His presence. They were disregarding God"s Law, so God"s glory had departed from Israel ( 1 Samuel 4:22; cf. Exodus 19:5-6; Ezekiel 10). His people could not enjoy fertility.
Someone has said that if you feel far from God, you need to remember that He is not the one who moved. God has promised that if His people will draw near to Him He will draw near to them ( 2 Chronicles 7:14; James 4:8; Hebrews 10:22).