Whenever a long-running series of Testimony articles comes to an end there are almost always suggestions or requests from readers for the series to be reproduced in more permanent form as a book For a variety of different reasons many such projects remain at the stage of wishful thinking, though others—such as Brother Tony Benson’s “Stormy Wind Fulfilling His Word” and the present writer’s joint effort with Brother Edward Whittaker, “Spirit” in the New Testament—are converted into books by virtue of practical offers of help and finance and after much editorial effort and revision. But Brother David Wood’s `Elisha’ series, published in twenty-five parts in The Testimony between November 1981 and August 1984, was written very much with an eventual book in mind. Indeed, as the author explains in detail in his Introduction, there have been surprisingly few books ever published about Elisha, and this was partly why he set about producing a study of his own. As a result of his efforts, not just the Brotherhood but also the reading public at large have now been provided with a full biography of an important Old Testament prophet, and one who has been rather unjustly neglected hitherto.
Published at the author’s own expense and largely with the expert assistance of Christadelphian friends, the book is, first of all, a creditable achievement as a physical object. With the text set in computer-produced typeface of high quality, a professionally designed and attractive cover, and a most helpful, specially drawn map illustrating Elisha’s life and times, the book is of very pleasing appearance, and all those involved in its production are to be congratulated. But, of course, a successful book depends on the writer’s handling of his subject matter more than anything else, and it is good to be able to recommend not just the format of Elisha but its contents also.
Brother David Wood’s style is lively and colourful. As those who followed the unfolding story in The Testimony will know, the series never flagged, because of the author’s light and often racy touch. The resulting book is not, in fact, a deeply expositional treatment; it tends rather to the devotional and resists the temptation to dwell too long in the bypaths of exhaustive detail. Thus it is, for example, that in comparing and contrasting Elisha and his ‘master’ Elijah, the spotlight is turned on the reader—as it so often is throughout the book: “In our turn, as we submit to the transforming influence of Jesus when we learn of him from the Word, we are and we remain different characters in the service of the Master. . . As surely as God called Elisha to His service, and he was almost as different from Elijah as we could possibly imagine, so it has pleased God to call us in His grace, to form part of the Body of Christ, but members in particular”.
Yet though this is the true flavour of the book, and though the author seeks at almost every turn to draw out those lessons from Elisha’s life which will help today’s disciples to follow in their Master’s footsteps as Elisha did, it would be wrong to give the impression that this is not also a thorough and workmanlike study. In chronological sequence and with a careful eye for the explanation of textual problems, the author casts much light upon Elisha’s background and the historical and geographical context of the Scripture narratives, and is never afraid to venture his own suggestions about dimly understood events and situations. Thus several paragraphs are devoted, in considering the record in 2 Kings 8, to the historical identification of the Ben-hadad mentioned there— an important piece of information, necessary to distinguish him from the Benhadad of 2 Kings 13. Enlightening, too, is the author’s view of Elisha’s enigmatic response to Hazael’s question about the outcome of Benhadad’ s sickness (2 Kgs. 8:10): the king was going to die, but not of his disease. Such details are not, however, allowed to overload the text, nor to slow down the narrative; but they show that the book itself, and the author’s conclusions, are based on careful study.
The book is divided into eighteen chapters of convenient size, the shortest (the ‘Conclusion for the time being’) just a page long and the longest ( about Naaman) having twelve pages. In addition, all the chapters are subdivided into self-contained sections, and this layout makes the contents all the more readable. Indeed, it ought to be possible ( although the reviewer has yet to try it) to use the book alongside the daily readings when 2 Kings comes round in the late summer. This would certainly help to cast much vivid colour on the chapters being read. With the publication of this book the major figure of Elisha now steps, lifelike, out of the long shadow of his larger-than-life predecessor. Thanks to the efforts of Brother Wood, we have even less excuse for neglecting a prophet whose work so often foreshadows that of his greater Lord, and ours.
Review of “The Early Earth” by John Whitcomb (1972)