Has the glory departed from your life? Need some magic?
Some people think religion is magical, about giving you power. They use pictures of what they think Jesus looks like, a Bible verse or fish symbol or cross around their neck or sacraments for magical power. Magical people love images of God or saints (icons) or something holy because if you can control the image, you can control God. They want God’s hand without His face.
It’s common to mistake faith in God for faith in things that represent God.
Listen:
The Question (4:1-3a)
They knew God was in control. Today people think God is a therapeutic god who exists to comfort me.
The Solution (4:3b-4)
They think that if God is not going to bless us, we can make Him do it with the right magic.
The Intimidation (4:5-9)
Those with magical thinking are intimidated by magic they can’t control.
The Destruction (4:10-11)
The magic didn’t work because God will not be controlled.
The Realization (4:12-22)
Eli’s realization as he collapsed was the Lord is holy. But it was too late. His daughter-in-law’s realization was that the glory had departed.
You can have all the symbols — stained glass, icons, dress, sashes, crosses, altars, sacraments — and it can be “ichabod.”
Listen to the message at the YouTube link above.
John B. Carpenter, Ph.D., is pastor of Covenant Reformed Baptist Church, in Danville, VA. and the author of Seven Pillars of a Biblical Church (Wipf and Stock, 2022) ) and the Covenant Caswell substack.