If you and I changed places, I could say the same things you are saying. I could make fine speeches against you. I could shake my head at you.But what I might say would give you hope. My words of comfort would help you.
Strengthen the hands of those who are weak. Help those whose knees give way.Say to those whose hearts are afraid,“ Be strong and do not fear. Your God will come. He will pay your enemies back. He will come to save you.”
At noon Elijah began to tease them.“ Shout louder!” he said.“ I’m sure Baal is a god! Perhaps he has too much to think about. Or maybe he has gone to the toilet. Or perhaps he’s away on a trip. Maybe he’s sleeping. You might have to wake him up.”
The people on the islands have seen that king coming. And it has made them afraid. People tremble with fear from one end of the earth to the other. They come and gather together.They help one another. They say to one another,“ Be strong!”One skilled worker makes a statue of a god. Another covers it with gold. The first worker says to the second,“ You have done a good job.” Another worker smooths out the metal with a hammer. Still another gives the statue its final shape. The one who hammers says to the one who shapes,“ You have done a good job.” Then they nail the statue down so it won’t fall over.
Did the Lord have to ask anyone to help him understand? Did he have to ask someone to teach him the right way? Who taught him what he knows? Who showed him how to understand?
