Customer Reviews

Elijah: A Man of Heroism and Humility

5 star:		(3)
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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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I went into this read with little or no expectations. After all what else can be said about Elijah that hasn't been said already?? Well let me tell you that Swindoll found a way to breathe life into an old story. It was more than a book, more than a read. It was more like a sneaky way of writting a devotional that challenges your soul at the end of every chapter. I hated picking up the book for 2 reasons: It stirred areas in my soul that I had forgotten to take care off. And that with the reading of a new chapter I was getting closer to the end. I will be reading the book again but at a snail's pace so as not to miss a drop from this refreshing book.

Contrary to other reviews, I really enjoyed this book in the Great Lives Series by Swindoll. The book is an excellent encouragement to stand firm in the Lord even when others are compromising.

Among the excellent points Swindoll mentions are:

1. Lessons to be learned from Elijah's life.
2. Principles about God's leading.
3. Trust in the Lord and spend time alone with Him.
4. Reasons why Elijah may have been intimidated by Jezebel.
5. Do not let self-sufficiency replace your dependence on God!
6. Elijah had to learn self-denial and to rely on God instead of himself.
7. Living in sin will make you unsure and indecisive.
8. God will often use tests to shape us into His likeness.

Again, these are just a few of the many excellent points mentioned in the book. An excellent supplement to the Bible, I highly recommend it!

So far I have read Elijah, David, and Moses. All three are excellent, but Elijah has been my favorite. If you are a Christian looking for a way to have more of God and draw closer to Him. Elijah will be of great benefit to you. Elijah was a man with a great annointing on His life and was selfless and dedicated to obedience. Charles Swindoll does show a balanced view of Elijah's weaknesses and strengths. Swindoll has a way of getting into the skin of each person he is studying. It was easy for me to relate to Elijah on a personal level because Charles Swindoll has a way of reflecting the human qualities of this giant for God along with the supernatural nature of God that lives within each of us. I enjoyed reading this book slowly so as not to miss one drop. :}

This could have been such a good book. It is like he just put something together,just to get out another volume. I won't be getting anymore in the series. This one wasted my money.

I don't know what I expected picking up the book, but I certainly didn't get it. It seemed to me that Dr. Swindoll was talking down to me throughout the book. He was repetitive, and, well, boring. Normally, I try to finish a chapter before I put a book down, but I was putting this one down in the middle of a chapter because I would get tired of it. I haven't read any of the other "Great Lives from G-d's Word" series and I probably won't now. Perhaps I was looking for a more lofty discussion of Elijah and the events surrounding him (I would have at least expected a word about Malachi 3:5, but it wasn't there), and instead got a low level introduction. Let's put it this way: the only source he uses is the Biblical narrative. Nothing wrong with that, but the Elijah stoires make up about four chapters. As such, Elijah's a little harder to write about than, say, Ester, who has her own book. However, there are so many wonderful traditions that surround Elijah in Judaism and early Christanity that I was SURE he would at least mention them. Wrong. Actually, what the book amounts to is a drawing out of the biblical narrative with "life lessons" laid over it. Normally, I like Dr. Swindoll. I like his writing, I like his preaching, but this just didn't do it for me.