Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Today's reading, titled Flight of Iqabod, was written by Tim Gustafson.

In the legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving tells of Iqabod Crane, a school teacher who seeks to marry

a beautiful young woman named Katrina.

Key to the story is a headless horseman who haunts the colonial countryside.

One night, Iqabod encounters a ghostly apparition on horseback and flees the region in terror.

It's clear to the reader that this horseman is actually a

rival suitor for Katrina, who then marries her. Iqabad is a name first seen in the Bible, and it too

has a gloomy backstory. While at war with the Philistines, Israel carried the sacred Ark of the

Covenant into battle.

Bad move. Israel's army was routed and the ark captured.

Hoffnai and Phineas, the sons of the high priest Eli, were killed. Eli would die too.

When the pregnant wife of Phineas heard the news, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains.

With her last words, she named her son Iqabod, literally no glory. The glory has departed from

Israel, she gasped. Thankfully, God was unfolding a much larger story.

His glory would ultimately be revealed in Jesus, who said of his disciples in John

Chapter 17, I have given them the glory that you the Father gave me.

No one knows where the ark is today, but no matter, Iqabad has fled. Through Jesus, God has given us

his very glory.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 1 Samuel chapter 4 verses 12 through 22.

That same day, a Benjaminite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head.

When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching because his heart feared for the ark of God.

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