Odd for God?
When you think of OT prophets – men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Jonah, Elijah – what words come to mind to describe them?
I’ve asked around this week, while in Malta, where I’m preparing to share from God’s Word to some incredible women serving from all over in the Mediterranean (I’ll sprinkle some pictures throughout this post to give a “flavor.”)
Some of these gals agreed that they were all bold.
Others used words like “fiery,” still others gave me a smattering of descriptors:
Courageous.
Weird.
Different.
Hard to understand.
Stubborn.
Unpersonable.
Feisty.
Goofy.
BIZARRE!
Probably the word “weird” is the one that resonated most with me.
Think about it (here’s a short list):
Isaiah walked about naked for a season as he prophesied.
Jeremiah hid his underwear under a rock by the Euphrates River, dug it back up again, then used it as a metaphor for a prophesy of judgment.
Hosea married a prostitute, and if that wasn’t strange enough, do you remember the names of his children?
Of course, we all recall Jonah, who ran from God, allowed himself to get swallowed by a large fish, who then vomited him back on land after he finally repented.
Ezekiel ate a scroll…
Balaam chatted with a donkey…
Just downright strange.
Then after 400 years of silence, enter John the Baptist, who came eating locusts and wild honey, and dressed in “sack cloth.”
Sack cloth! Camel’s hair.
Anytime someone wore sack cloth (made of camel’s hair, sometimes goat hair, it meant they were in grieving mode, lamenting the loss of something or someone.
He was a wild looking man, and, as one author wrote, “clearly poured from the prophetic mold of the Old Testament).
His message bridged the distance between those dark years and the New Testament.
He would be the last in the long line of prophets who would speak for the Lord God…and, he would be just as odd.
Yet, we can no more dismiss John the Baptist than any other of the Major or Minor Prophets whose words, actions, and deeds are recorded for us in Scripture.
Every one of these men, strange as they might be, were God’s mouthpieces, sent to stir the hearts of the children of Israel, that they might return to the Lord and be restored to Him.
Each oddity God used to speak a truth so bold that His people might find themselves repentant and able to avoid the wrath and judgment to come.
All of them spoke one message: Repent!
And if there is a message no one wants to hear it is that one.
I’ve pondered this a lot during the week, especially as I traveled from Colorado to Frankfurt to Malta. ??
When I sensed God asking me the question if I were willing to be a “pre-Advent” to the Lord’s second Advent, a John/Johanna of sorts, to prepare the way for our coming King, I wondered what that might look like practically speaking?
I’ve come up with a few thoughts…but the first one revolves around this consideration:
Am I willing to be considered odd for God?
For those He calls are often misunderstood.
Those He seeks to step into roles of ministry don’t fit the everyday mold of American acceptance.
As one of our women said today – the world is looking of us (as women) to be “Taylor’s, Sabrina’s and Rhianna’s,” but that’s not what God is looking for at all. He’s seeking women who will serve not seek to be served. He’s looking for women who will speak up for His truth; not women who promote immorality and ungodly values. He’s looking for women who aren’t desiring popularity, but women who desire intimacy with the Almighty.”
Women like this will be ostracized, called strange, different, bizarre, and, yes, odd.
We can anticipate it.
Am I prepared for THIS as one being called to prepare the way of the Lord?
It’s a serious ask.