I. Introduction

Today, I want to share with you a very interesting topic called The Tragedy of Ichabod. If you don't know who Ichabod is, let me add a few more words: The Tragedy of Ichabod (The Glory of God Departs from Israel). The tragedy of Ichabod comes from the first to fourth chapters of 1 Samuel. Know that in this generation, we often lose the glory of God. Why do we lose the glory of God? Because we simply do not understand the glory of God. We always think that a certain religious ritual will bring power, but it brings a lot of confusion.

When we were kids, we watched movies, especially Western movies, where a priest who seemed to believe in Jesus, wearing a big black robe, held a cross and went into a haunted house saying, Ghosts, you must retreat. They thought the cross was very useful. Later, after I believed in the Lord, I realized this was a strange practice. I always thought Christianity was about doing this: wearing a big black robe, holding a cross, and filling the church with crosses. Is this thing useful? It doesn't seem to be.

I saw a very interesting thing. A company boss who was a Christian found that his company's products were not selling. Later, he gathered a group of Christians to pray in his company. Some people received prophetic words called Return to Glory. We thought that this company should be doing better and better, right? It doesn't seem to be the case. Later, we found that many companies run by non-believers were doing better than those run by believers. What does this have to do with the glory of God? Actually, it has nothing to do with it. Later, when we read the history of Israel, we found that Israel fell and Judah fell, and these were God's chosen people. God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and six hundred thousand Israelites were all killed and died in the wilderness, either by plague or by old age. They could not enter God's promised land. I call this kind of tragedy the tragedy of Ichabod.

Last time, we mentioned that Aaron's two sons, Nadab and Abihu, were killed by God for offering strange fire. The words God said next make us very confused: This is how I will be glorified among them. This is the glory of God, that God killed Nadab and Abihu. Who's mouth did Ichabod come from? It was from the mouth of Eli's daughter-in-law, who had a difficult childbirth and named her child Ichabod before she died, meaning the glory has departed from Israel. Don't believe this, this is what Eli's daughter-in-law said. In fact, the glory of God is still there, but Eli's family was cursed. So we have always had a myth about the glory of God. The more we look at it, the more confused we become, and that's the reason. Recently, I have done some research, and I want to share the results with you today.

Later, I concluded that people must be filled with the knowledge of God in their understanding. If people are not filled with the knowledge of God in their understanding and do not know the works of God, they like to use religious rituals to obtain the glory of God, which is very dangerous. Curses come from God. It is not that God's glory is diminished, but that we ourselves are diminished. If we do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, God will be with us, and we will become vessels to manifest His glory; if we do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, God's glory will also depart from us, and curses will certainly not be absent. So if a person is cursed and then performs a lot of religious rituals, takes out Moses' bronze serpent, or takes out the Ark of the Covenant, it is useless. I woke up relatively early. Before, when we prayed, we thought it was very useful to shout loudly: Devil, retreat, cut off the big tendon of the old horse. We shouted for a long time, and our throats were almost hoarse. Was it useful? It seemed useful, but it seemed useless.

Later, I discovered that there is only one thing to do when fighting against these spiritual forces of darkness: do what is right in the eyes of God, and then you must be filled with the knowledge of God in your understanding. The tragedy of man, living under a curse, being defeated, being killed, and suffering shame, that is a curse, that is the work of God, and it has nothing to do with the glory of God. God's glory has not been diminished at all, it is we ourselves who have suffered the loss. So after Chinese Mingding Destiny has sorted out these things, today I give you a suggestion: never think that we have been defeated and God's name has been diminished. In fact, it is we who have suffered the loss; never think that you want to help God do something. In fact, God does not need our help very much. It is a tragedy if people do not know these things in their understanding.

Recently, I have been talking about these foolish things one by one, but there is still a problem, that many people hear these foolish things as if they have nothing to do with them, but in reality they are still living in this foolishness. Don't turn Chinese Mingding Destiny into a religious ritual. It doesn't work. Don't turn Chinese Mingding Destiny into a tradition. It is useless to become a tradition. That's why some people burp during prayer and deliverance, but I have never made burping an important part of our Chinese Mingding Destiny. That's not theology, that's just a phenomenon. So the tragedy of man lies in man's lack of knowledge of God, and they are full of myths about the glory of God. Today, I really want to remind everyone that religious rituals cannot manifest the glory of God.

In the past, they sent me a video to show off their sense of ritual. The church was very large, and many people were sitting inside. The leaders they had chosen were wearing clothing that resembled that of the Israelites, with glittering shoulder straps and holding staves and flags, marching in formation to the sound of the organ. When people went in, they felt it was amazing. After watching it, I felt a little emotional. Why emotional? This kind of thing has been done a lot in the Old Testament, but this is not the point. What is the point? The point is to do what is right in the eyes of God, to serve God with our hearts and in truth, not to engage in religious rituals. Why do these people engage in religious rituals? It is a kind of ignorance, to make the congregation feel a sense of ritual. But what is the use of those things? They are of no use.

You will find that Chinese Mingding Destiny basically doesn't have this stuff. Can our hearts turn to God? Can we really understand God's will? If we don't understand God's will, like Eli's daughter-in-law living under a curse, we think that the glory of God has departed from Israel. No, the death and tragedy of their whole family were because of the glory of God. The glory of God has nothing to do with whether the Israelites win or lose battles. It is normal. The glory of God can cause Israel to fall; the glory of God can kill Nadab and Abihu; the glory of God can cause the Israelites carrying the ark to be defeated. The Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines. We thought we had to protect the Ark of the Covenant, but in fact God can protect His own Ark of the Covenant, and He doesn't need your help.

Later, this chapter talks about the ark being captured, and it lasted for several decades. Adding it up, it should be about seventy or eighty years. Let me give you a calculation. At this time, Samuel had not yet appeared. Eli was still in power, and the ark was taken away. Later, after the Philistines returned the ark, it remained in the house of Abinadab until Samuel became the judge and head of Israel. Let's say Samuel was a judge for twenty years, and then Saul reigned for forty years, and then David reigned in Israel for another seven or eight years. It adds up to at least seventy years. During these seventy years, Israel did not have the Ark of the Covenant. Did David win battles? He won battles. Did Samuel govern well? He governed well. During that time, Saul also wanted to take the Ark of the Covenant to fight, but before he could take it, he fell out of favour. So we must completely get rid of something called ignorance, and become a smart person, and be a faithful priest, not a religious priest. Religious priests are useless.

II. Scripture

Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard after Saul and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together. And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were beyond Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa. (1 Samuel 4:10-22)

III. Prayer

God! Let us have a clearer understanding of Your glory; God! Today, let us come out of the myths of Eli's family; God! Let us abandon this ignorant way of thinking; God! May Your glory always be with us; God! May we do what is right in Your eyes, may we imitate David, Samuel, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and become faithful priests after Your own heart; God! May we all become vessels to manifest Your glory. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

IV. Scripture Background

Why are we talking about this topic today? Because it is too ignorant! It is both ignorant and ignorant. I want to tell everyone that as a Christian, you must not live in ignorance. You say, Teacher, I can't read. Then start learning to read. I will teach you, I will arrange for someone to teach you if you want. In any case, you must not be an ignorant person, especially if you do not know God, that is the tragedy of a person's life, and that is the tragedy of Ichabod. She thought that the glory had departed from Israel, but in fact, they were killed by the glory.

The background of this chapter is very interesting. From the first chapter of 1 Samuel, it describes how Samuel was born, and then the second and third chapters describe Eli's family. God sent a prophet to remind him that they were living under a curse, but Eli did not change. Why? The reason is very simple, he cannot change his two sons. What he says does not count. If it is a family matter, what to eat, what to drink, and the education of the children, it is okay for his wife to manage, but this is the house of God, this is the Ark of the Covenant, and Eli is still responsible as a judge. Should he manage it? Yes, he should. If you are the head, public and private are not the same thing. This head is in charge of managing the people of Israel.

His two sons thought that the Ark of the Covenant belonged to their family, that the temple belonged to their family, and that these things belonged to their family. They behaved recklessly in the temple when sacrifices were being made. You must know that people bring meat hoping to burn it as an offering to God, but Eli's two sons snatched the meat from the pot, dipped their fingers in it, licked it, and then put it back. It was probably a disgusting situation. Can God accept such a sacrifice? People sacrifice to God just like we all come to church. If you are getting everything you want, why would you come to church? You definitely wouldn't come. It is harder for you to to believe in the Lord than climbing to the sky, unless you are specially chosen by God and have a destiny. People come to church because they have problems. They come to the temple to sacrifice because they have a lot of problems. When people come to sacrifice, they see: Oh no, oh no! God will definitely not accept this sacrifice, because it has the saliva of Hophni and Phinehas. They continue to do this, and as a result, the prophet comes to warn them that they will be cursed.

Hophni and Phinehas are still complacent, Look, Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire and were burned to death by the fire of God. We do this and nothing happens. We are living well. Sometimes people are confused here. Some people offer strange fire and are burned to death all at once, but some people, like Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas, offer strange fire and nothing happens. The prophet comes to declare that you will be cursed, and you listen and say, No, there's no problem, everything is fine. God is also very helpless. He tells you that doing this will lead to death, just like someone who drives and runs red lights frequently. It's okay once, it's okay twice, there's no problem, but I tell you, judgment will always come, and tragedy will always come.

As a result, when the Philistines fought against the Israelites, Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas led tens of thousands of Israelite soldiers to fight against the Philistines. Of course, they were still quite glorious when they were not fighting but when the two armies were fighting, the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines. I ask you: Does the defeat of the Israelites at the hands of the Philistines have anything to do with God? No, it doesn't. Do you think God's name will be shamed? No, it won't. Today, I must remind everyone that if you are a Christian and you have not done a good job, that's normal. No one can guarantee that you will definitely do well. There is only one reason why you don't do well, and that is because God made it not good. If your business is not doing well, it is because God made it not good. Don't live in myths, there is only one reason: are we doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord?

Don't be like Hophni and Phinehas who don't know anything. They went to the battle and were quite glorious before the battle, but when they got to the battlefield, four thousand people were killed. It would take eight thousand people just to carry these four thousand people. Thirty thousand people were immediately reduced by twelve thousand people. Then the remaining people had to dig pits to bury people, hey, life was not easy. As a result, Hophni and Phinehas had a very ignorant and foolish idea in their heads. This foolishness is how it came about: I will bring the Ark of the Covenant. I know I cannot do it, but I can morally blackmail God. In my heart I thought, God, I have brought Your Ark of the Covenant, let's see what You do. Hophni and Phinehas thought that God cared about that ark, but God did not care. Many Christians think that God cares about the cross in the church, but when has God cared about that thing? He doesn't even care about the Ark of the Covenant, how can he care about a cross? This is all ignorance!

Hophni and Phinehas were about to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of hosts. Eli was at home watching the ark. He made money on this ark. Why? People came to sacrifice and gave offerings to Eli's family. Eli was still making money on this ark. Eli said, Son, you want to take the ark away? What are you going to do? His son said, What's it to you? Take it! Eli had been afraid of these two sons since they were born. I tell you, usually when a father is afraid of his son, the father is first afraid of his wife and then afraid of his son, because I have seen such pastors. Then they took the ark away, and Eli could not stop them. Eli's daughter-in-law also thought this was a good thing. How was it a good thing? I morally blackmail God. God, You must appear, You must make me victorious. If You don't make me victorious, Your Ark of the Covenant will be ashamed. She didn't know what God was thinking. She thought God cared about the ark, but God didn't care about that thing.

God said, Does it have anything to do with me? No, it doesn't.

Eli's two sons took the Ark of the Covenant to the battlefield, only to have it captured by the Philistines. Was it that the glory of God was ineffective? It was the glory of God as perceived by Hophni and Phinehas that was ineffective. Actually, 1 Samuel chapter 4 is about God's judgment and curses finally bearing fruit. The curse on Eli's house was deep, and they dared to go to war with such a profound curse. I find this somewhat tragic. Losing a war is one thing, but to morally blackmail God shows ignorance and a lack of understanding. They thought the Ark could hold God hostage, but nothing can hold God hostage.

There are many who are ignorant of God. Even today, we strive to train our brothers and sisters to have a clear understanding of God. After the Ark was captured, the Philistines realized it was too powerful and they couldn't handle it. God Himself protected His Ark. Does God need Hophni and Phinehas to protect His Ark? No. Later, when the Ark was returned, it was taken to the house of Abinadab's son, Uzzah. Years later, Uzzah was struck dead by the Ark while moving it. We must understand the background of this passage. Taking the Ark to the battlefield is useless; it all depends on the heart of man.

The fall of Israel did not diminish God's glory. The capture of the Ark did not diminish God's glory. The fall of Judah did not diminish God's glory. The failure of a church does not diminish God's glory. The removal of a cross from a church building does not diminish God's glory. The death of a pastor from cancer does not diminish God's glory. These things are not due to God's problems, but due to man's ignorance. Brothers and sisters, do not be ignorant and fail to know God. It’s like in the movies where people use a cross to exorcise demons. Do you think demons are afraid of your cross? You’re lucky if you are not exorcised by the demon.

A soldier returned from the battlefield to report that the Ark had been captured and Eli's two sons had been killed. Eli cared about the Ark because it was his cash cow. Upon hearing that the Ark was captured and his two sons killed, he fell backward from his chair and broke his neck because he was too heavy. His daughter-in-law, upon hearing of her husband's and father-in-law's deaths, and most importantly, that the Ark had been captured, concluded that the glory of God had departed from Israel. She died in childbirth, naming her son Ichabod (the glory has departed from Israel). The entire fourth chapter is filled with ignorance. Eli's family, from Eli to his wife, his two sons, and his daughter-in-law, were all ignorant of the glory of God.

V. Ignorance Leads to Tragedy

Ignorance leads to tragedy. I am working hard to train everyone, but I don’t know when I can train everyone, and the result of the training amazes me. Why does ignorance lead to tragedy? People have too many assumptions. They thought bringing the Ark to the front lines would help them fight. What kind of thinking is that? Eli's family lived under a curse, but they didn't think so. Why? Eli was the top leader in Israel, and his two sons were powerful. Eli’s daughter-in-law was not ordinary, much like today, when the son of an African king marries a Chinese wife, how glorious!

In Israel, if you were in a lawsuit, do not to run into Eli's family. You will not win, because Eli's family is in power. What law? Eli is the law, Hophni and Phinehas are the law. That family swaggered around in Israel. Does swaggering prevent curses? No. But it's so strange, people are so confused and do not fear God.

Eli began to rule at the age of fifty-eight and ruled until he was ninety-eight, ruling Israel for forty years. He was stable unlike others, who were overthrown after a few years. Eli ruled for forty years, so Eli felt that God had approved his rule. Hophni and Phinehas committed adultery with women at the entrance to the temple. They thought: Why hasn't God's fire come out? Nadab and Abihu were unlucky and were burned to death so quickly. God probably does not care about this matter?

When God’s men came to their family giving them the prophetic warning about judgment they said, “Should not be happening right?” Do we have such people among us? Should not be so strict right? I work very hard. I lead the Israelites to war. I honor God with the Ark, so God will like that me, right? When the war is lost, I carry the Ark from the alter so God will honor that, right? Of course our God is great. The uninformed views are futile. Neither Hophni and Phinehas knew how they died, nor did Eli understand the circumstance for his death. What a tragedy!

Tragic endings are caused by people's ignorance. People do not know God, they have no reverence. They know many stories, but these stories are useless to them, a tragedy! Today, I really want to remind everyone not to live in ignorance and foolishness. The tragedies in your life are related to your past ignorance. Your future tragedies are related to your current ignorance. If you do not know that you are ignorant, you better know that you are somewhat self-righteous today. Our knowledge of God is endless. How much do we know about God? There are often some truly ignorant people. May God have mercy. I especially hate ignorance and foolishness, and I hate my own foolishness and ignorance. That is why I still strive to seek God today.

Once I said, I always feel like I have not done things right. Then someone said, If you feel like you have not done things right, why should we follow you? You better follow those who think they are doing things right. Hophni, Phinehas, and Eli felt they were doing things right, and the Israelites followed them closely. Because I always feel like I have not done things right, I strictly compare myself to God's words. What does God's word say? So today our Chinese Mingding Destiny is built on certain aspects that are counter intuitive.

VI. Taking the Ark to the Battlefield Is Useless

Taking the Ark to the battlefield is useless. What's the use? People who worship idols put idols in their offices, and their businesses boom. If you put a cross or Jesus in your office, your business may not necessarily be good. Idols lead people into religious rituals, but our God leads people to have a heart that fears God and does what is right in His eyes. What our God wants is different from what idols want. Taking the Ark to the battlefield is useless, as history has proven.

Many people think and act this way. Eli's sons did this, and decades later, Saul wanted to do the same as king, wanting to bring the Ark to war, which is ignorance. Hanging crosses high is useless. What's the use? Religious rituals are useless. Being a faithful priest who is pleasing to God is key, that is what God cares about. God does not care whether your business is good or bad, nor does He care whether you do a good job. God cares whether you are pleasing to Him. If a person does not understand God's will, he often lives under a curse but does not know it, being ignorant of his displeasure to God, that is a tragedy! A person's tragedy is closely related to ignorance. So, taking the Ark to the battlefield and having a lot of rituals in the church is useless.

For example, when I attended their Holy Communion, people were crying. I didn't know why they were crying. It was like someone had died and a group of people were hired to cry. They thought it was very ritualistic. Because they invited me to minister, I asked how many were sick? Many people were sick. People make Holy Communion so ignorant. Holy Communion is just a ritual. Can this ritual replace whether a person's heart is turned to God? Crying loudly is for show. If you really have this heart, then fear God and know God well.

Many people deify Holy Communion, many people deify the bronze serpent Moses held up, and many people deify the Ark. Brothers and sisters, today our hearts must turn to God. Whether we have religious rituals or not is not important. What is important is whether our hearts are turned to God? God is a God who examines the hearts of men. Samuel never used the Ark. The Ark was taken away in front of Samuel and captured by the Philistines. Later, Eli died and Samuel took over. He did not use the Ark, but served God all his life, being a faithful priest who was pleasing to God. Samuel was amazing!

Christianity has a strong sense of ritual, which is easily deceiving. The lights, stage, drums, and sound in the church, and the singing is so moving, but I think it is better to be a faithful priest before God. Originally, people who went to church did not take God seriously, but just wanted to sell insurance, do direct sales, or date, which is a tragedy. We promote understanding, bringing people out of foolishness. Don’t laugh at me today. I really hope that you will not do these ignorant things because you know God in your heart, and then avoid the tragedies of life. Today, I give you Mingding Destiny, dedicating yourself completely as a disciple of Jesus Christ. What do I want from you? It is not that we lack a disciple and need you to make up the number, but that we really need you!

VII. God's Judgment Will Surely Come

Since people live before God, they need to rely on carefully observing and following God's words. If people do not carefully observe and follow God's words, even if you are Hophni, Phinehas, or Eli, it is useless to be the leader of Israel for forty years in the position of judge. When judgment comes, people will surely experience tragedy. When people experience tragedy, Eli did not know he was an ignorant person until the moment before he died, not knowing how he died. Hophni and Phinehas were killed on the battlefield, also confused. Is that not a tragedy? Eli's daughter-in-law named her son Ichabod, meaning the glory of God has departed from Israel. As for whether it is the glory of God or not, they do not know, but they just do not know that one day God's judgment will come.

So, we reap what we sow. Brothers and sisters, wake up and be fully aware of God in your understanding. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote so many epistles, so that we can walk the path of faith that Abraham opened up. So we all have to think about how ignorant we still are. Indulging in the flesh, loving the world, discerning good and evil, and being critical are all ignorance. Even if you hold up the cross high there, it is useless. People must know their ignorance.

VIII. To Know God's Actions

The Israelites were in the wilderness for forty years and did not know God’s actions. The Israelites saw God's glory, the manifestation of God's power, and God's salvation when they left Egypt, crossing the Red Sea as on dry ground, and eating the manna God gave them in the wilderness, and drinking the water God gave them, but they watched God's actions but did not know them. Today, reading this, do we know God's actions? Today, in Chinese Mingding Destiny, this sickness is healed and that sickness is healed every time you pray, do you know God's actions? Stop living in ignorance and make up your mind to be a person who is pleasing to God, which will help you avoid many tragedies. The tragedy of Ichabod is a lesson we must learn. Today we must learn the lesson of Ichabod: the glory of God departs, not from Israel, but from the cursed.

IX. Summary

I call heaven and earth to witness with you that we should know God's actions from now on, come out of religious myths, and completely reject the curse that Eli's family committed, because he did not be a faithful priest. He may have a thousand and one reasons, but I tell you, if we take on the office of the priesthood, then today we will be a faithful priest before God, like Samuel. Let us sing a hymn to prepare for today's offering. If you do not understand the meaning of offering, please do not offer. Even offering is a grace!

Raise your hands and declare with me: God, may You grant me wisdom and understanding, may You personally reveal to me so that I can know You more; God, let me forsake the foolishness and ignorance of Eli's family; God, save me from the tragedy I have created; God, today I will come before You to seek You, to seek to know You more, and to look up to Your face, so that we can all be vessels to manifest Your glory; God, this is my cry, this is my prayer. I know that Your meaning is for us to live and not to die, and Your will is not to judge us, but to give us more mercy and grace, so let us come out of ignorance, not offend You anymore, and do what is right in Your eyes. In the name of Jesus Christ, I will completely reject all religious bad habits and be determined to do what is right in God's eyes. Pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for the kingdom, power, and glory are all Yours, forever. Amen!

May God bless everyone!
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