The Mantle Of Elijah

This book provides an introduction to current trends in the study of the biblical prophets. It surveys the growing volume of work that has been on the redactional analysis of individual books and represents the first attempt to bring together these different strands of redaction criticism and to evaluate the effect they have had on our appreciation of the prophetical books as a distinct genre. The opening chapter deals with the methodology of redaction criticism as applicable to the prophetical books. The author then looks at the redactional history of each of the individual books in turn. The closing chapters consider the implications this approach has for our appreciation of these books and the aims of the writers who created them. In particular, the author draws attention to the literary nature of the image of The Prophet conveyed in the books about prophets.

Historian Mark Noll has written that historic Pietism "breathed a badly needed vitality" into post-Reformation Europe. Now the time has come for Pietism to revitalize Christianity in post-Christendom America. In The Pietist Option, Christopher Gehrz, a historian of Pietism, and Mark Pattie, a pastor in the Pietist tradition, show how Pietism holds great promise for the church—and the world—today. Modeled after Philipp Spener's 1675 classic, Pia Desideria, this timely book makes a case for the vitality of Pietism in our day. Taking a hard look at American evangelicalism and why it needs renewal, Gehrz and Pattie explore the resources that Pietism can provide the church of the twenty-first century. This concise and winsome volume serves as a practical guide to the Pietist ethos for life and ministry, pointing us toward the renewal so many long for. The Pietist Option introduces Pietism to those who don't know it—and reintroduces it to those who perceive it as an outdated and inward-focused spirituality, a nitpicking divisiveness, or an anti-intellectual withdrawal. With its emphasis on our walk with Jesus and its vibrant hope for a better future, Pietism connects decisively with the ideas and issues of our day. Here is a revitalizing option for all who desire to be faithful and fruitful in God's mission.

At the time the Lord brought Elijah on the scene, the kings of Israel and Judah were in serious trouble with the Lord. Their many years of worshiping Baal and golden calves, listening to Jezebel, and killing the prophets was catching up to them. Their earthly kingdoms were coming to an end, and the Lord would move quickly when he moved. What appeared to be harmless details to them was, in fact, rebellion in the sight of God. While the kings served the gods of this world, Elijah and Elisha did not. Rather, they were dedicated only to the Word of the Lord, and if the Lord didn’t speak directly to them, they didn’t move at all. When they did move, it was with the power and authority of the Lord, resulting in the dramatic calling down of fire from heaven, a three-year drought, people raised from the dead, and many other miraculous events. But did Elijah and Elisha take any glory? No, Elisha didn’t even accept Naaman’s token of appreciation – so completely was he relying only on the Lord’s provision. The lives of Elijah and Elisha, as well as the corrupt lives of the kings, serve as important lessons for us today. In addition, there are many prophecies in 1 and 2 Kings that are now being fulfilled. In fact, the entire account is filled with living parables that are relevant for today. The last Chapter of 1 Kings ends with the prophetic ministry facing serious jeopardy. The first Chapter of 2 Kings opens with an awesome supernatural vindication of God's prophet. Even Elijah seems to have been unaware of exactly when the timeline went past a tipping point into a new day in which the true prophets were never forced to retreat. We seem to be approaching a similar tipping point today. Your own life will be changed forever if you heed the truth that the Lord reveals to you in this book.

In sharp distinction to the colorfully clad false prophets of Elijah's day, like John the Baptist after him, Elijah stood out singularly and strangely-a different kind of messenger with a different kind of message, wearing a different kind of mantle. Elijah's mantle was not the colorfully embroidered garments of the wealthy, much less the elegant robe of royalty, nor even the typical garment of the average man; neither was Elijah's mantle the soft clothing of false prophets, those reeds forever shaking in the capricious winds of popular doctrine. No, Elijah's mantle was the rough and rare garment of the Divinely-called prophet. Let the true sons of Elijah take heart with Elisha, for God has sovereignly chosen to leave the mantle of Elijah upon the earth, even upon the shoulders of men with like passions as Elijah, men of frailties and fear, failures and foibles, but also men of power through the amplitude of Elijah's mantle. If we would rightly claim the mantle of Elijah, we must wear it as he wore it, our ministries attesting to the same Divine power that the mantle invested upon Elijah our forerunner. So let us ask ourselves: If Elijah's mantle signifies his singular, unique, and divine authority as a God-called preacher, what is the fabric of such a mantle and of such a preacher, and, most importantly, has the mantle of Elijah fallen upon us, and are its threads woven into our ministries? If we would bear Elijah's name and wear Elijah's mantle, we must serve Elijah's God; like the rugged prophet, we must be "very jealous for Jehovah, the God of Israel"; otherwise, no matter how we may array ourselves, we cannot claim Elijah's mantle if we do not proclaim this one truth, the very essence of Elijah's name and the very fabric of his mantle-Jehovah is God. Let us not claim Elijah's mantle if we deny Elijah's God.