Ichabod Toward Home: The Journey of God's Glory

In todays confused and confusing world it is good to be shown once more that God is never absent. That is the heartening message of Ichabod toward Home. In this volume one of todays most respected biblical scholars explores the nature of Gods glory using the engaging story of the ark of the covenant to illuminate the meaning of Gods presence - not only for the ancient Israelites but for the whole world. Offering a unique entry into Old Testament theology Walter Brueggemann examines 1 Samuel 4-6 the biblical text in which the ark of God is captured by the Philistines seen to be a dangerous threat and finally returned to Israel. In looking anew at what this story reveals about Gods glory - or kabod from which the name Ichabod derives - Brueggemann builds a powerful new theology of Gods sovereignty. Additionally Brueggemann demonstrates that this ancient story of the ark has profound relevance today. The three-day story of the arks capture detention and return is transposed first into the three-day Christian story of Easter and second into the three days of the modern consumer weekend. In a provocative contemporary application of Old Testament theology Brueggemann shows that the Ark narrative in its rendering of Gods glory strongly contradicts the dominant narrative of our own culture with its strident emphasis on self-indulgence narcissism and self-sufficiency.