Elijah: A Prophet of the Lord (Understanding the Old Testament)

This volume is one of a series of Old Testament character studies for which Hamilton Smith is probably best known. As the major events in the life of Elijah are traced, the ups and downs of his experience as a prophet unfold. Elijah was no super-servant. He knew only too well from experience the inadequacies of his own humanity: elation one day, dark despair the next. But he knew the living God, he was conscious of being constantly in His presence, and he was aware that prayer brought him into contact with the power that made and sustained the universe. Slowly but surely, he comes to understand that the God of creation, the God of ultimate power, the God of judgment, is supremely the God of grace.

At each step, the author presents clear, practical lessons for Christians today as they too present God's word with authority to an indifferent or antagonistic world.

The Author's Preface:

Meditating upon the path of Elijah through the apostate world of his dark day, we may well exclaim with another, "What a course was thine, Elijah! fraught with trials and death-struggles, but still more fraught with instruction in the heart of Him whom to serve was thy joy and glory; a course entered on in secret prayer and waiting on God, and ended in a chariot of fire to bear thee to Himself!" As we move on to glory, through a world already darkened by the lengthening shadows of the great apostasy, may we too catch the spirit of Elijah and learn to walk in separation from evil, in dependence on God, and devotedness to God; while waiting to be rapt to glory at the coming of the Lord.

About the Author

Hamilton Smith (1862-1943), born in Barnes, Surrey, started work in the office of his uncle's building firm. By 1901, married and with a young family, he had retired from the building trade and entered full-time upon the task of building up the church of God. His personal ministry was delivered in the United Kingdom, but his written ministry is still read worldwide. His writings are brief, clear and very much to the point.