![]() ![]() In so doing, they enriched the understanding of Scripture and provided another key to its depths. Mary may not have made her appearance in the Old Testament, but through years of meditating and contemplating the story of Elijah, the Carmelite monks and friars came to understand this passage in a Marian sense. Not God, but human, Mary rises from the sea, pure and Immaculate in her conception, formed as a vessel of God's grace and a place of refuge for His people. Mary rises out of this sea, pure and perfect, laden with the water of grace that will pour out through her to all humanity-not the source of Grace herself, nevertheless the container into which all is poured until it overflows out to all people, limitless, and life-giving. The sea is salty, impure, an image of fallen humanity with its admixture of sin. Here we have encountered the mystery of God in most marvelous way. This silence ‘speaks’ to Elijah, drawing Him into itself. The sea is saltwater, undrinkable, a vast body of water, next to which the kingdom can still thirst and die. In our biblical scene, set on a forlorn, storm-ruined mountain, the presence signified by such silence is the presence, God Himself. Join Priscilla Shirer on this 7-session journey through the life and times of the prophet Elijah to discover how the fire on Mount Carmel was forged. Every serious believer longs to summon up that kind of boldness and faith, yet few are willing to go through the process required to get them there. 46 Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. 45 And soon the sky was black with clouds. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you’. ![]() Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Then Elijah shouted, Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. Mary is the cloud that rises out of the sea. And Elijahcalling down fire on Mount Carmel. The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, I didn’t see anything. Verse 44 is the relevant verse, and how one gets the image of Mary from that, I do not know, except that when one understands it in the way of the Medieval Carmelites, it is a most beautiful metaphor. It is hard to imagine that your task and your mission field are more difficult than Elijahs. And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Yahweh, He is God' Elijah 'repairs the altar of Yahweh,' he rebuilds the knowledge and worship of the Lord throughout the land, and turns the hearts of Gods children away from Baal and towards the true God of their fathers. ![]() And at the seventh time he said, "Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising out of the sea." And he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, `Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.'" And he said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." And he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And he said, "Go again seven times." And Eli'jah went up to the top of Carmel and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. In the Carmelite tradition, Elijah and Mary are brought together most closely in the image of the cloud that forms over the sea. ![]()
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