“The Washtub Vision”
February 25, 2005
Friday
1 Kings 17:1 ~ “And E-li-jah the Tish-bite, who was of the inhabitants
of Gil-e-ad, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before
whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but
according to my word.”
I Kings 18:1, 41-45 ~ “{1} And it came to pass after many days, that
the word of the Lord came to E-li-jah in the third year, saying, Go,
show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
{41} And E-li-jah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there
is a sound of abundance of rain.
{42} So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And E-li-jah went up to the
top of Car-mel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his
face between his knees,
{43} And 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.
{44} And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold,
there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he
said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down,
that the rain stop thee not.
{45} And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black
with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain…”
1 Kings 19:11-13 ~ “{11} And he <God> said, Go forth, and stand upon
the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a
great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the
rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the
wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
{12} And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire:
and after the fire a still small voice.
{13} And it was so, when E-li-jah heard it, that he wrapped his face in
his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave.
And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou
here, E-li-jah?”
**************
Several months ago, I felt impressed of the Lord to read repeatedly
the above quoted verses of Scripture. As I wondered and pondered
why these verses of Scripture seemed so compelling to me, my
attention was once again drawn to 1 Kings 18:1; in particular, where it
reads: “And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord
came to E-li-jah…”
As I finished reading this verse of Scripture, the Lord began to speak
to my heart.
“Did Elijah stop being a prophet when My word wasn’t coming to
him?” The Lord asked me.
This question from the Lord struck my heart and took my breath away.
I myself had been enduring a time of great silence from the Lord. Yet
even though the silence from the Lord was distressing in many ways, I
continued to feel the Lord’s presence with me.
Over the past several months, it was as if one tragedy after another
was striking my family and loved ones. There were numerous stressful
situations occurring at the same time. A spirit of intense weariness
settled upon my heart. I usually felt as if I were bracing myself for the
next blow to strike.
As I continued to seek the Lord for answers and direction, I had a very
strange vision. This vision was so strange to me that I almost
dismissed it as silly and unimportant. Yet, it haunted my thoughts.
After some time, I felt clarity from the Lord in regard to this simple,
“silly” vision.
I would like to share this vision, and what the Lord spoke to me in
regard to this vision, with others; especially those prophets of the
Most High God who also may be enduring tragedies and/or a time of
silence from the Lord.
****************
In the vision, I saw a long line of silent men and women. Each of the
men and women had on a brown cape that touched the ground and
they were staring ahead intently. I glanced in the direction the men
and women were looking to see what they were staring at. To my
surprise, I saw a large washtub such as was used in bygone days to
wash clothes. Hovering over the washtub, I saw an immense hand.
I watched as each of the men and women approached the washtub.
The large hand plucked up each man and woman one by one, and very
deliberately placed that person (still wrapped within their brown
cape) inside the washtub. Then began what I can only describe as a
“wash cycle.”
During this time of being “washed,” each of the men and women were
being swirled madly around within the washtub. Soap and water were
in their eyes, ears and even in their mouths. The hand also “scrubbed”
each of the men and women on a scrubber, then would place them
back into the soapy, turbulent water.
As I continued to watch all of this, I became aware of the soft
murmuring of a voice. I couldn’t make out the words that were being
spoken, but the sound of the voice was gentle and soothing.
At the end of the wash cycle, the men and women appeared
absolutely exhausted.
Then began the “rinse cycle.” The wash water was drained from the
washtub, and clean water added. A bucket appeared grasped in the
large hand. I watched as the large hand repeatedly poured bucketful
after bucketful of water over each of the soapy men and women.
The voice continued to murmur gently and soothingly to the men and
women, but with the soap and now the water in their ears, they didn’t
seem able to hear the sound of the voice.
At the end of the “rinse cycle,” I watched as the large hand set the
bucket aside, grasped each of the men and women one by one, and
placed them into an old fashioned wringer. I gasped with dismay as I
saw each of the men and women being completely flattened and
having the water pressed from them as they were put through this
wringer. Then, the men and women were placed gently into a basket.
By the time this entire process was completed, the men and women
were totally limp and exhausted.
Then another hand appeared so that there was now a set of large
hands. The hands reached into the basket and gently removed the
men and women one by one. The set of hands carried each man and
woman to a clothesline and began to “hang” the men and women on
the clothesline.
As I stared at the men and women hanging on the clothesline, I saw
that each of them had their eyes closed; almost as if they had fallen
asleep after the ordeal they had just endured.
I then began to faintly hear the sound of a gentle breeze. This breeze
seemed to envelope each of the men and women, and they were
gently swaying back and forth on the clothesline. As the breeze gently
blew on the men and women, the soft voice continued to murmur to
them.
Gradually, the men and women seemed to become aware of the
sound of the voice. They opened their eyes, began to slowly look
around them, and became more alert.
The hands then took each of the men and women down from the
clothesline. The men and women stood silently, as if waiting for
something to happen. I realized that during this whole process, not
one of the men or women had resisted, or even spoken.
As I stared at the men and women, I saw them become quietly
animated. I noticed they were each staring off into the distance at
something. I turned to see what it was they were gazing at, and saw a
small cloud. The small cloud appeared as if from over the horizon.
Then, each of the men and women set off towards the small cloud,
and the vision ended.
************
As I continuously thought upon this vision, the Lord began to speak to
me about it.
“Do you know who the men and women are?” The Lord asked me.
“No, Lord,” I replied.
“They are My prophets,” the Lord replied. “To one degree or another, I
have been taking My prophets through a time of being purified and
cleansed. For some of them, this process is quite open and apparent.
For others, it is hidden and is being accomplished in secret and in
isolation. For all of them, though, it is painful; for all within them that
is impure or unclean is being laid open and is being dealt with and
cleansed.”
“Why, Lord?” I asked.
“For the coming days ahead,” the Lord replied. “As I have been
dealing with My prophets, so will I also be dealing with each of My
children. When this cleansing process comes upon each of My
children, My prophets will be there to aide in this process.”
“What is the purpose of this process, Lord?” I asked.
“I am moving in a different manner than I have before,” the Lord
answered. “I am speaking differently. Each of My prophets, and also
each of My children, must be attuned to the changes in the way I am
moving and speaking. If they are not attuned to these changes, they
will overlook and miss My purpose and My will, and what it is I desire
to see accomplished.”
“And what is it that You desire to see accomplished, Lord?” I asked.
“I desire for My prophets to not only speak My word,” the Lord replied.
“I desire them to also have a solution to the word I give them to
speak, and to know through My Spirit how to apply the interpretation
of My word to them.”
I felt confused by this answer.
“You do not understand, child?” The Lord asked me. I admitted that I
did not.
“When I speak a word of warning or of coming calamity to one of My
prophets,” the Lord explained, “not only do I desire that prophet to
speak forth the word of warning, I desire them to also have a solution
to the coming calamity. Speaking forth My word is no longer totally
acceptable to Me,” the Lord said. “I would also have My prophets to
become so mature in Me that they will also have clear direction for
others in regard to the word I speak to them. Now do you
understand?”
“Yes, Lord,” I replied.
“The cleansing process for My prophets and also for My children,” the
Lord continued, “is for them to come to maturity. When they are
mature, then will I arise with total strength and glory in the midst of
My people.
“The danger, though, during this process is that of My prophets and
My children becoming dejected and overwhelmed by the situations I
will and have been bringing upon them, and for them to quit.
“Another danger is that of not restoring and strengthening those who I
will expose during the cleansing process. Before there is a cleansing
of the flesh, there is first a decaying of the flesh. Whenever the flesh
is decaying, there is a stench. The stench of the flesh decaying for
many of My prophets and My children will be offensive to many
others, yet it is not My desire for their backs to be turned upon those
who are going through the decaying process.
“This is a very delicate time spiritually for My prophets and eventually
for My children,” the Lord continued. “Souls hang in the balance, and
it will be through the maturity of My prophets and then of My
children, that the fate of these souls will be decided.”
***************
When the Lord ceased speaking to me, I was amazed and
tremendously humbled by this simple, at first glance almost
seemingly silly, vision of a washtub that the Lord had shared with me.
I began to grasp the enormous magnitude of how the Lord is currently
moving and speaking to us.
It is my sincere desire and hope that others of the prophets and God’s
children who are enduring a cleansing and also a decaying to the
flesh process may be encouraged and strengthened through this
vision.
In Him,
~~ Hollie L. Moody