Heading to Mount Horeb
Prophets are like painters. In their lifetimes they are loved intensely by a small group of friends, family and followers, live inspiring and uncompromising lives and fully give themselves to perfecting their craft or to pleasing God; and yet they are either considered irrelevant, reprehensible, unnecessarily extreme, or even downright evil by many people.
Being a prophet is a lonely road, an uphill battle and often with a destiny -- like that of a painter -- that will only really be seen for its true value long after the man has fallen asleep on gone on to be with the Lord. Van Gogh died penniless at age 37, having only sold one painting in his whole life -- and that to his brother. A similar fate befitted Herman Melville, the famed author of Moby Dick, a man who also had very little to show for the genius that had come from his life.
Likewise, the prophet Isaiah certainly didn't die with the honor that we credit his writing -- he passed into glory after he was sawn in half by wicked king Manasseh. The same is true of John the Baptist, who after a life of faithfulness was beheaded at the request of a vengeful old maid who thought his life to be less valuable than her desire to feel like the decision that she had made to marry whoever she wanted was alright in the eyes of God.
Enduring Resistance
The life of a prophet is one that will encounter resistance. A prophet will be maligned and often times will not be popular. If someone thinks they are a prophet and they never encounter resistance from the world they likely aren't a true prophet.
Elijah the Tishbite knew a little bit about resistance. After taking a stand for God and ushering in a great miracle that turned the hearts of many Israelites back to God, instead of finding himself on the cover of Christianity Today, he found himself on Jezebel's Most Wanted posters. And though he had just seen a great breakthrough, discouragement and fear took hold of him and he fled and headed for a famous mountain -- Mount Horeb.
Going back to the Beginning
Its interesting to me that out of all the mountains that Elijah could have traveled to when fleeing Jezebel, he chose Mount Horeb. Whereas he could have taken a much shorter trip to Mount Zion and gone to where the Tabernacle of Moses and the Ark were, but he chose instead to go to Mount Horeb.
Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai, was the place where God first encountered Moses and called him to deliver Israel and where God laid the cultural foundations of Israel by audibly speaking the 10 Commandments along with other laws and values that were to be followed by His people.
It could be said that all of Elijah's trouble revolved around the words that God had spoken to his descendants on that mountain. Not only in the fact that God had spoken them, but because unapologetically stood by them. So now here Elijah was, compelled to return to that mountain -- what he declared to be the "mountain of God".
Sometimes when we face resistance we need to return to the place where it all began. It might not require a 40 day journey to a mountain in the wilderness, but its important that we find that place where God first shaped us -- where He first spoke to us.
It was at this place that God spoke to Elijah and gave him the direction that would shape not only the remainder of his earthly life, but also give guidance to the entire prophetic movement of the nation of Israel.
So if you are taking a stand for God and you are catching resistance for it, return to the place where God first touched you and began to shape you. Maybe there you will get revelation that will fuel and direct you for this next season of your life.
Being a prophet is a lonely road, an uphill battle and often with a destiny -- like that of a painter -- that will only really be seen for its true value long after the man has fallen asleep on gone on to be with the Lord. Van Gogh died penniless at age 37, having only sold one painting in his whole life -- and that to his brother. A similar fate befitted Herman Melville, the famed author of Moby Dick, a man who also had very little to show for the genius that had come from his life.
Likewise, the prophet Isaiah certainly didn't die with the honor that we credit his writing -- he passed into glory after he was sawn in half by wicked king Manasseh. The same is true of John the Baptist, who after a life of faithfulness was beheaded at the request of a vengeful old maid who thought his life to be less valuable than her desire to feel like the decision that she had made to marry whoever she wanted was alright in the eyes of God.
Enduring Resistance
The life of a prophet is one that will encounter resistance. A prophet will be maligned and often times will not be popular. If someone thinks they are a prophet and they never encounter resistance from the world they likely aren't a true prophet.
Elijah the Tishbite knew a little bit about resistance. After taking a stand for God and ushering in a great miracle that turned the hearts of many Israelites back to God, instead of finding himself on the cover of Christianity Today, he found himself on Jezebel's Most Wanted posters. And though he had just seen a great breakthrough, discouragement and fear took hold of him and he fled and headed for a famous mountain -- Mount Horeb.
Going back to the Beginning
Its interesting to me that out of all the mountains that Elijah could have traveled to when fleeing Jezebel, he chose Mount Horeb. Whereas he could have taken a much shorter trip to Mount Zion and gone to where the Tabernacle of Moses and the Ark were, but he chose instead to go to Mount Horeb.
Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai, was the place where God first encountered Moses and called him to deliver Israel and where God laid the cultural foundations of Israel by audibly speaking the 10 Commandments along with other laws and values that were to be followed by His people.
It could be said that all of Elijah's trouble revolved around the words that God had spoken to his descendants on that mountain. Not only in the fact that God had spoken them, but because unapologetically stood by them. So now here Elijah was, compelled to return to that mountain -- what he declared to be the "mountain of God".
Sometimes when we face resistance we need to return to the place where it all began. It might not require a 40 day journey to a mountain in the wilderness, but its important that we find that place where God first shaped us -- where He first spoke to us.
It was at this place that God spoke to Elijah and gave him the direction that would shape not only the remainder of his earthly life, but also give guidance to the entire prophetic movement of the nation of Israel.
So if you are taking a stand for God and you are catching resistance for it, return to the place where God first touched you and began to shape you. Maybe there you will get revelation that will fuel and direct you for this next season of your life.
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