The scope of the religious novel is wide and its influence great. They must be few, even among our many readers who “never read novels” in the popular connotation of the term, who cannot recall the thrilling transport of the imagination to the days of Israel coming out of Egypt, or the times of Jesus, or the experiences of the early Christians in the clash between the gospel and the power of Rome experienced by the reading of the type of story popular fifty or more years ago, and a few notable examples of which have reached a wide public in recent years.
One always regretted, however, the blemishes of apostate doctrine; the bias toward superstition and power of “relics”; and the unlawful licence taken with the Biblical text. One often wished that one with a full knowledge of “The Truth ” could exercise a similar gift in the production of a story upon a like theme, which would be free from all these faults, and which, whilst by the story-teller’s art causing the reader really to ” live ” through the experiences of the characters introduced, at the same time would quicken interest in the saving hope and lead toward faith in the promises of God—in other words, stimulate an appetite for the reading of the Word itself.
And now, at last, one’s wish has been granted. Kathleen Joyce has told well her tale of Elijah the Tishbite, in her book Before Whom I Stand. The period upon which she seizes was one of crisis and peril in Israel; good was being overcome of evil; passions ran high; there was murder, apostasy, intrigue. The main characters needed no invention by the authoress; they historically played their part in Palestine in connection with the plan and people of God.
The Phoenician princess Jezebel, really, rules the kingdom, for her husband Ahab, weak and vacillating; is clay in her wicked hands. Proud in her vanity, dominating and self-indulgent, she lives in luxury, an intolerant usurper of power. Herself an idolater, her evil design is to win •over the nation to the licentious worship of Baal and Astarte. Thwarter of her ambition at every turn is this man of God, her implacable foe; against whom her diabolical hatred seeks ever to vent itself.
The title of the book is well chosen, for in those four words, from Elijah’s own mouth, is expressed all the humble dedication of a servant standing in the presence of his Master to obey His every wish; fearless and faithful, stem in his resolve that no Jezebel shall seduce His people from the worship of Jehovah. We see him cool in his courage; or elated with superhuman strength; but also pathetically lonely; a dejected fugitive !
There is jealousy and plotting on the part of the priests of the false religion; there are traps, imprisonment, escape. We are given an account of one of their festivals in Tyre. We see the use Jezebel makes of the priests of Baal in her attempt to stamp out the worship of the God of Israel. The crafty prophet Micaiah, distrusted by both parties, and Obadiah the faithful governor of Ahab’s palace, play prominent parts in this interesting and gripping narrative. The imagination of the writer has played reverently around the inspired record, supplementing in the fashion legitimate for the story-teller, that the vividness of event, and colour of surrounding circumstance, may so bring the characters to life in the mind, that the reader lives and moves with them through their experiences.
One learns much of the customs of both Israel and their neighbours. And one appreciates the graphic description of the countryside and its flowers; of the desert; the grandeur and beauty of the mountains—of both Israel and Sinai—such that they seem to become part of our own heritage and experience. We witness the tragedy of Naboth’s vineyard, and we see God’s way with the widow of Zarephath. The dramatic encounter on Carmel, which settled so decisively the issue between Elijah and Jezebel’s priests, or rather between the living Jehovah and the ” slumbering” Baal, is a high point of this story never to be forgotten. ” The excellency of Carmel ” is a phrase which has gained a new and lasting lustre in our mind. This canvas covers everything from the glory and traffic of Tyre’s merchant princes, to the mixture of misery, hunger and hope, in the hearts of the few faithful; add to this the self-seeking priesthood of an apostate nation, and one sees the parallel in many ways to the conditions of Christ’s own days. It was fitting; on many counts, that the chief character of this story was later closely associated with Jesus in the vision on the Mount of Transfiguration.
There is miracle; but, alas, short memory also. There are several moving domestic scenes set in the palace and court-room of Ahab, and all the while, entwined with just a little human affection, we see the mills of God slowly grinding out His purpose with His people–and their neighbours, until, at Jehu’s instigation, the multiple murderess, unscrupulous in her infamy, meets the terrible fate divinely appointed in predicted detail; and Jehovah’s champion is made the symbol of life and immortality by being taken that he might not see death.
The book, by design, will secure the interest of those who have not yet embraced the Truth, and will increase, in those who have, the incentive to keep the faith and finish the fight, till the coming of him before whom we; also, hope to ” stand.” We trust this worthy work will receive the support it deserves; that we may see more from this able and Biblically enlightened pen.
Review of “The Early Earth” by John Whitcomb (1972)