1 SAMUEL 5
The glory may have departed from Israel, but God was still in control and well able to defend His name. If you get depressed because the enemy seems to have “captured” the glory, rest assured that God is still on the throne.
God can reveal His glory even in a heathen temple, and all false gods must fall before Him. How much better it would have been for His glory to be revealed on the battlefield, but He could not give victory to a disobedient people. It would only have encouraged them more in their sin.
Instead of confessing their sin and trusting the true God of Israel, the people of Philistia tried to get rid of the ark. What a great opportunity they were passing by! But then, would you want to trust the god of the defeated enemy? Israel was a poor witness to the other nations, so they rejected Israel’s God.