Day 21 – 52 Books in 52 Weeks

The current book on the agenda is Elijah: A Man of Heroism and Humility by Charles Swindoll. I’d picked this book up a year or so ago because Elijah is one of my favorite people in the Bible and because Chuck Swindoll is one of my favorite Christian authors.

In his introduction, he talks about Robert E. Lee, the Civil War general and how he was a “marvel of unimpeachable character” a “gentleman” and that he remains, “a magnificent model of at least two character qualities rarely blended in one body, especially that of a strong leader: heroism and humility.”

Elijah’s story begins in the book of 1 Kings, chapter 17. Before Swindoll starts discussing Elijah’s ministry, character, etc., he discusses (briefly) the history leading up to Elijah’s arrival on the stage so that the reader understands the context in which Elijah appeared.

He goes on to list the various rulers of Israel and Judah and how each successive ruler was even more evil than the one prior to them (with very few exceptions). As he states on page 9, “Bloodshed and assassinations, murder and malice, intrigue and immorality, conspiracy and deception, hatred and idolatry had prevailed for six uninterrupted, dark decades in Israel. This reign of evil began in the heart of the one on the throne, and poured down into the very core of the people of the land. And then, of all things, they turned the throne over to Ahab, who married Jezebel, which is a little bit like going from Jesse James to Bonnie and Clyde.”

This not only sets the scene for Elijah’s entrance, but it also made a statement about leaders that is as true today as it was back then. Evil, if it’s in the heart of the one on the throne, will spread out and infect those he rules over. Having just read When a Nation Forgets God by Erwin Lutzer, you can see it as plain as day. Hitler had evil in his heart. That evil spread out to those closest to him then eventually consumed an entire country. And yet there were very few who actually stood up and opposed the dictator. (If you haven’t yet read that book… pick it up!)

Anyway, back to Elijah. The scene is set: Ahab and Jezebel, the worst of the worst, are ruling, then out of nowhere comes Elijah. There’s no introduction, no description, nothing said about Elijah other than he was, “Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead” (1 Kings 17:1). Boom. He’s just there. And what does he do? He walks into town, walks right up to the wicked king and says, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

Swindoll describes Elijah as “a man on a mission, declaring himself a servant of the Lord the God of Israel”…then “without preparing his audience for the warning, he makes the ominous pronouncement: no rain – not even dew – for years, unless I say so” (page 14).

Can you imagine? You’re just a little lone traveler, a servant of the Lord, and you walk up to the most evil king to ever sit on a throne and shake your fist in their face and tell them it isn’t going to rain unless you say so! Ha! Take that!

As Swindoll describes it, “God looked for somebody who had the backbone to stand alone… someone who could stand toe to toe with an idolater and proclaim, “God is God” (page 15).

He makes two more statements at the end of the chapter than really made me stop and think. First he says, “If your Christianity hasn’t put that kind of steel in your spine, that quality of marrow in your bones, there’s something terribly wrong, either with the message you’re hearing or with your heart” (page 16). And finally, on page 17 he says, “No matter what role you fill in life, you’re not unimportant when it comes to standing alone for truth.”

I love Chuck Swindoll. Not only does he make you think, make you ask questions about yourself, but here he took just one sentence, 1 Kings 17:1, and expounded an entire chapter of a book on it. Seventeen pages about one sentence, and I’ve only touched on a couple of his points.

Chapter two is entitled, “Boot Camp at Cherith.” Swindoll talks about his time in boot camp as a Marine and how the disciplines learned changes everyone. Then he compares it to Elijah’s time at Cherith. The second verse of chapter 17, right after Elijah just confronted Ahab, God tells Elijah to leave and go to Cherith.

As Swindoll points out, that is kind of odd, for us. We’d probably want to keep in Ahab’s face – be relentless in our warnings, but God had other plans. He tells Elijah to go away. Elijah obeyed, without hesitation. It was time, as Swindoll suggests, to turn the spokesman into a man of God: a man who would trust the Lord for each and every need.

During Elijah’s time at Cherith, God sent ravens with food for Elijah, and his camp was near a brook. He had his food and water. But God knew that the solitude was essential for Elijah’s spiritual well-being. Swindoll goes on to discuss how Elijah was always ready to serve the Lord, then he talks about how at the end of his time in Cherith, the brook started to run dry… as it does in most lives… and we think to ourselves, “How could God forget about me?” But that is part of God’s boot camp for us.

The chapter concludes with Swindoll discussing the four things we must overcome in order to benefit from the lessons of God: pride, fear, resentment and habit. “He does all this so that He can mold us into the person that we otherwise never would be” (page 40).

I got a couple more chapters read this afternoon, but tonight’s blog is long enough… so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out more.

Happy reading!