The Strangeness of a Prophet

I was sitting at Super One Deli this morning early and the thoughts of how strange prophets were kept going through my mind. Of course when that happens, one must write it all down. Here is what I came up with to peak your thoughts.

When you see a person in your church who

1. dresses in an unusual way, or
2. says very different things and
3. has an unusual way of acting to communicate, or express himself,
you can guess this might be a prophet.

Most prophets have been abused somehow or other. They are oftentimes abused by the religious people in the church. They are misunderstood by their families and can even be abused by them. An example of this would be the father who expected his son to be a football player, but the kid turns out to be a delicate child who writes and creates poetry so the father rejects him.

The Bible is full of examples of strange prophetic people. Abraham was a prophet who was fearful. He heard God's voice (that was really strange in his time). He was also a very fearful man who allowed his wife to be placed in a harem to protect his own skin.

Jacob was a prophet. He was so conniving that he wrestled with the angel of the Lord to get a blessing when he was already blessed.

Elijah wore camel's hair and a leather belt. He dressed just like a caveman in a time when people did not dress like that. He also did unusual actions like his exposure of the prophets of Baal.

David took his clothes off and danced in his undies before the Ark of the Covenant. He also wore an ephod and went before the mercy seat even though he was not a priest, nor was he from the tribe of Levi. Strange!

Isaiah and Jeremiah both did weird things like lying on one side, pointing toward the city, walking around in their undies, walking to a river miles away to put a piece of cloth under a rock and many more other strange actions.

John the Baptist dressed just like Elijah and ate weird food. He walked around hollering for people to make way for the kingdom of God.

If you run into someone today who does not seem to fit in the box of "Normal Christianity," stop and consider that this person may just be created by God for a special purpose, and their life might be saying something to you that God wants you to know.Be nice to a prophet today... God will love you for it.