About noontime Elijah began mocking them. "You'll have to shout louder," he scoffed, "for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or he is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or he is asleep and needs to be wakened!" So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out.
They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no reply, no voice, no answer. (I Kings 18: 27-29, NLT)
This is such a fascinating story that I am moving right to it . . . our own story can be seen within it . . .
At first glance, the description of the people seem . . . well . . . crazy . . . we need to move from the viewpoint within our context and culture to the ancient times. Elijah not only claimed his faith in God, he taunted and mocked the prophets of Baal. Mocking was used as a weapon in ancient warfare.
Why did the prophets of Baal respond by slashing themselves?
This apparently was a response of grief, a mourning ritual.
How can we understand this event?
Review verses 20-21: So Ahab summoned all the people and the prophets to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How long are you going to waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" But the people were completely silent.
Now think on this . . . King Ahab had summoned all the people as well as the prophets. Elijah challenged that the people were not solely worshipping one or the other . . . they were middle of the road . . . they did not follow God (Yahweh) . . . their heart did not belong to Yahweh . . . but they were aware of His presence. God had placed Elijah before all of Israel to win their hearts . . . to become fully devoted.
Okay . . . now studying this gets fun . . . the verb used for dancing can mean limp. Picture the prophets limping in an attempt to dance. Their lack of whole-hearted relationship with Yahweh created deprivation . . . they were constrained . . . disabled . . . because they refused to engage with the enabling power and presence of God.
And before . . . we judge the limping prophets . . how many times do we limp in the dance of life? How many times are we deprived and disabled because our heart is just not in it?
Our participation with Christ Jesus, who is Life, can be likened to a dance. One of my first encounters with Christ as a child was through the imagery that all I needed to do was stand on his feet, let Him hold on to me, lean back, and feel the wind of freedom as He led me in the dance of life.
Think about what causes you to limp in the dance with Life . . . what distracts you from being fully engaged and participating in Life?
Surrender.
Be freed of your limp.
Dance all day and night.
Learning with you to dance,
Shalom,
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2008 All Rights Reserved)
