Elijah The Prophet By Elijah

In this paper, I will review Charles Ryrie’s book The Holy Spirit. I will detail what I feel the book is about. I will emphasize various points given by the author that stood out to me. Finally, I will give my personal evaluation of the book.

Change is constant with a society that is always recreating itself. From the Enlightenment period to the Industrial Revolution there is a massive difference when comparing these two societies of their norms and daily life.

Palestinian identity has lasted the test of time through exile, diaspora, and attempts at cultural white-washing. It is through these situations that Palestine has created a unique sense of identity, unlike many nation-states. The Palestinian identity has come to transcend borders, nationality, and mediums. It is not only represented in politics and protest, but in personal expression and the arts. This paper argues that both national identity and cultural productions of Palestine represent the diaspora through noticeable adaptation based on location and support the idea that Palestinian identity isn't singularly definable.

Martin Luther, born in 1483, grew up in a devout Roman Catholic household, where the church stood at the center of his world. However, he suffered at the hand of his parents’ harsh criticism. His father had emerged from the feudal system into the new middle class as a successful Coppersmith. His desire was for his son to also climb the social ladder. To assist with his son’s success, Luther’s father was a fierce judge of the character of his son, and often punished him severely for his failures. From these experiences, Luther developed a low self-esteem and fear of failure, which encroached on every aspect of his life, including his theology.

Jesus and the Disinherited begin the first chapter with the interpretation of Jesus. Dr. Thurman explained that Jesus was a poor Jew and was a minority in the midst of a dominate society. Dr. Thurman gives his analysis on how the world views Jesus. People around the world have their own interpretation of Jesus; yet, people have an orthodox view of him being fully God and fully man. In chapter one, the author references the nonviolent resistance approach, which is a tactic Dr. Martin Luther King Jr used in the civil rights movements. He interprets Jesus as a black man who lived his life as an outsider in the world. Jesus was the disinherited and oppressed like African Americans.

Jeremiah may be one of the most intriguing and revealing of the Old Testament prophets. With his continual return to god and the constant struggle between his heart and the voice of god. This elevates him as a human being and not just as an instrument of god (Paterson 144). He is one of the most human of prophets mentioned in the Old Testament and at the same time most Christ like in aspects of his sermons and works. His story has intrigued many for it is of human weakness and strength (Paterson 139). Let us now take a look at his life and at his works.

The book of Amos is the earliest preserved example of classic prophetic writings. It consists of nine chapters, but Amos did not write the entirety of them. “A majority of scholars think that not all of the material in Amos goes back to the prophet himself but was added later by ancient editors of the book.” The anthology contains a variation of materials: prophecies, visions and addresses from Amos to the people of Israel. Two major themes of the book are the social injustice in Israel, and the impending doom in Israel’s future.

Looking back, we can see glimpses of the lives of those who lived in the Ancient Near East, known as the ANE, through their stories and myths that have survived over centuries of time. Many of these stories contain unique elements that make each one personal to the civilization that they belong to, but there are common themes and ideas that are virtually shared between the traditional stories stemming from this region of the world. In fact, these parallels even extend into Old Testament literature; laced within the stories that we’ve come to know and love. It is not surprising that the Old Testament contains similarities found within ANE tradition, seeing that

The last book in the Protestant Old Testament, Malachi, details the Day of Judgement in its final verses. On this day, it is said the righteous will be resurrected and the ashes of the wicked trampled. However, before the “great and terrible day of the Lord,” Elijah shall come and invoke harmony, turning “the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents,” (Malachi 4:5-6). Throughout the Protestant New Testament, Elijah’s character is strongly linked to motifs of renewal and God’s benevolence. In 1 Kings, Elijah encounters the widow of Zarephath and, so long as she shares with him, her family is blessed with flour and oil in a time of famine. Then, when the widow’s son dies from illness, Elijah’s appeal to God resurrects the son. Likewise, Elijah carries the word of God to the court of Ahab and Jezebel and, once they reject the teachings of the prophets of Baal, their kingdom, Samaria, is saved from drought. The Gospel of Mark states plainly, “Elijah does come first, and restores all

John H. Walton’s Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible is broken up into fourteen chapters. Those fourteen chapters are each part of one of five sections. This book also contains over twenty historical images. Before the introduction, the author gives readers a full appendix of all images used in this published work. The author then gives his acknowledgements followed by a list of abbreviations.

R. Nathan met Elijah and asked him: “What did the Holy Blessed One do in that hour?” “He laughed,” he replied, “saying, ‘My sons have defeated Me, My sons have defeated Me.’”

Paul Moses does a brilliant job of painting the picture he did in the book by synthesizing information and even elaborating on it like he did. He relied on the records of the times he was writing about this can be seen in the block quote above as this is an analysis of the descriptions that he analyzed from written records around that time. He interweaved the material into the story at points to convey a stronger storyline. He found the right kind of support by incorporating these elements in the book, as they make for it to be more detailed in capturing the time period. By doing this he was able to strengthen his analysis which in turn strengthened his argument that there was more to saint Francis then just a saintly figure. All of the texts

Before I begin to unpack the principle I found in the story of Elijah, I want to provide you with some background. Elijah was a northern kingdom kind of guy. He was a prophet to Israel and I want to share with you what I found to be one way that God was shaping Elijah into a man of God found in 1 kings 17. Elijah is called to point out the evil during this time in history, God called Him to be the one that would tell the people of his time to retreat from their way of living.

The Old Testament ends with the Minor Prophets. These prophets provided insight on many issues the Jews were facing. All of the prophets had the same ideas of a warning of impending judgment because of the nations’ sinfulness, the coming judgment, a call for repentance, and a promise of future deliverance of God’s grace. Idolatry, social injustice and religious ritualism are three issues that the prophets emphasized on in their teachings and can be inspired in the minds and hearts of believers today. The prophets’ teachings are just as important today as they were in the past. The teachings about God, the way man lived, social issues, and religious rituals are all relevant in the today’s society.

King Balak took the prophet up to a mountainous terrain overlooking the entire Israeli camp west of the Jordan River. Burnt offerings were made upon seven altars at three different locations and, after seeking the word of Lord, Balaam opened his mouth and blessed Israel each time, much to the Balak’s dismay. The first prophecy spoke of Israel’s divine favor, expansion and her distinction as a separate nation. Within this utterance, Balaam revealed his inward intent to curse Israel.