Robin Mark – Days of Elijah

When I was growing up, my grandfather, himself a guitarist and lead singer within the family band which will remain unnamed, played this particular tune on several occasions.  Though mostly it was to lead worship, I occasionally requested a private audience to his delightful acceptance.  This song has a special place in my heart.

Robin Mark’s Days of Elijah is one of his most successful songs ever recorded.  Though he has released other successful albums with hits including Revival, All for Jesus, and The Wonder of The Cross, it is this song that he is well known for.  ON at least one occasion, he won the GMA’s international award.

Now that I have “grown up” (much to my wife’s belief to the contrary), I never took the time to evaluate my favorite church songs, including this one.  This review is for both my benefit and (hopefully) those of you who choose to read it.  Enjoy!

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Robin-mark-days-of-elijah-lyrics.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

Robin Mark himself gives his own explanation as to the meaning of this song.  This makes sense as the flow of thought throughout this song has eschatological thought at the forefront.  All the verses attach aspects of Christ’s second coming in a cohesive narrative that paints a picture of preparation.  We should spread God’s word.  We should help one another live righteously and bring order to the chaos.  Mark brings a message of hope in tumultuous times.

I have two major criticism of the message.  The first is that such figurative usage of historical events has the tendency of listeners to forget that these are actual, historical events.  For example, many preachers talk about the “giants” in our lives in reference to David and Goliath, morphing an event in history into a figurative point not intended from such an event.  Both verses in this song are littered with examples of such usage.  Still, if we can acknowledge its historicity and understand the point made, this will help aid my concern.

The second criticism is that some of what Mark writes quotes Scripture inaccurately to make use of figurative language. This greatly weakens the integrity of the message.  See section 2 for more details.

Score: 6/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Some of it does; however, I have some major contentions.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1 and 2: The entire account of his life starts at 1 Kings 17 and ending in 2 Kings 2:3–9 when he is taken up in a chariot of fire.  The phrase “The word of the Lord came to him” shows up on numerous occasions indicating that Elijah is a Prophet of God.  He is the representative of all Old Testament prophets during Christ’s transfiguration in Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, and Luke 9:28–36.  This line is appropriate given his actions.

Lines 3 and 4: His account starts at birth in Exodus 2 and ends with his death at the end of Deuteronomy.  Exodus 1 gives us some background as to what transpired since the events at the end of Genesis.  Moses is given what is now known as the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and thereafter, the rest of the 613 laws encompassed throughout the Mosaic Covenant.  For the sake of brevity, I will not list all the references.  For those who are a glutton for punishment, you may examine all 613 Laws for yourself.

The biggest issue with this line is that Moses did not accomplish that which Mark refers.  The Israelite people that he lead were constantly complaining, about food (Exodus 16:1-3), water (Exodus 17:1-3), and Moses’ leadership (Numbers 12:1-12), among other things.  An entire rebellious generation had to die out, wandering in the desert for 40 years before the next generation could even attempt to receive the promised land.  I see nowhere in Moses’ account that would support this line.  Also, see Deuteronomy 9:7 for a single verse summary.

Lines 5 and 6: Since we are within an eschatological context, this section closely resembles the second seal: war (Revelation 6:3-4) and the third seal: scarcity (Revelation 6:5-6).  The exact timetable is debatable: has this been fulfilled?  Will it take place during the tribulation?  Will it occur between now and the tribulation?  Regardless, war, poverty, and gloom are events that have transpired, exist now, and will most likely develop in the future.  We should be vigilant and prepare ourselves should these occur during the tribulation period and pre-trib rapture happens to be incorrect.

Lines 7 and 8: A direct reference to John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1-3 and Mark 1:1-3, quoting from Isaiah 40:3.  Just like John, we too should point others to Christ through our example.

[Chorus]

Lines 1 and 2: as referenced in Acts 1:9-11 and prophecied in Revelation 1:7 and Revelation 14:14, Jesus will come back the same way that He left.  However, the second line is nowhere in the context of these passages.  Perhaps it fits more with lines 3 and 4.

Line 3: A specific event that occurs once every 49 or 50 years, depending on how one interprets the sabbath of sabbaths in Leviticus 25:8-24.  Although I understand where Mark is going with this, that there will be rejoicing, salvation, and instruments sounding when Christ returns, there is a specific set of rules in place that are not applicable: rules around property redemption, debt cancellation, and sowing/reaping crops.  The context of the passage does not fit within this line.

Line 4: Meaning “fortification”, this specific mountainous area is first mentioned in 2 Samuel 5:7 and has over 150 references in the Bible.  Though it has multiple meaning depending on context, for the purposes of this review, we will utilize the end times context, which is God’s Heavenly Kingdom referenced in Hebrews 12:22.  More information on this topic can be found at https://www.gotquestions.org/Zion.html.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: Many people do not know that this is a vision given to this particular prophet in Ezekiel 37:1-14 and not a historical event. This passage has salvific undertone written all over it, a point Mark intended to make.  Given that us gentiles are grafted in as part of Israel (Romans 11:17), we could apply this concept to Christians.

Lines 3 and 4: Although David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22).  It was Solomon who built the physical temple (1 Kings 6:1, 1 Chronicles 22:7, and 2 Chronicles 2:1).  Therefore, this line is of figurative usage that has no basis in Scripture.

Lines 5-8: Referenced in Matthew 9:35-38 and Luke 10:1-2, though there are plenty of unbelievers, yet few who do the active work of evangelism.  We are to pray for those who are not Christ followers and be an example to them, telling them about Jesus and showing Him through good works.

[Bridge]

A declarative as expressed in Exodus 8:10, Exodus 9:14, Deuteronomy 3:24, Deuteronomy 33:26, Jeremiah 10:6, 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 7:22, 1 Kings 8:23, 1 Chronicles 17:20, Psalm 86:8, Psalm 89:6, Psalm 113:5-6, Jeremiah 10:7, Isaiah 40:18, and Isaiah 46:9.  However, the repetition can become dull, especially since it occurs 15 times!

Score: 6/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Aside from the Chorus, unless an outsider is familiar with the plethora of characters within these lyrics, they will be completely lost in terms of its symbols.

Score: 2/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Given the wealth of biblical verbiage, not unlike the listing found in Hebrews 11 in regard to faith, it glorifies the eventual return of Christ, the same way that He left at the end of most Gospels and beginning of Acts, calling us to be vigilant, always prepared for our reunion with Him.  However, taking Bible verses out of context is not good stewardship of the Scripture and is contrary to 2 Timothy 2:15.  God is not glorified in error.

Score: 4/10

Closing Comments

Days of Elijah leaves much to be desired.  Though it has a great overall message and has some accurate basis in Scripture, it also takes other Bible verses out of context, makes figurative usage out of events that did not exist, and leaves unbelievers bewildered and confused.  It is a tough sell to think that God is glorified through that.

I really enjoyed this song growing up; however, given what I know now, it is more difficult to justify my continued enjoyment of it.  Perhaps I could eat the meat and throw away the bones.  Or, better yet, I could look elsewhere.

Final Score: 5/10

Artist Info

Track: Days of Elijah (listen to the song)

Artist: Robin Mark

Album: Days of Elijah

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 1996

Duration: 6:30

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Update:

11/12/2019 – As part of the post-review announcement, I updated this review to align with my changed mind on figurative usage of historical events.  Thanks to commenter Kevin for finding a straggler!  Having said that, my commentary remains largely unchanged given that I direct my criticism towards the inaccurate Scriptural usage rather than using historical events figuratively, except Verse 2, lines 1 and 2.  I changed my commentary on that section, slightly bumping up my score from 4.5/10 to 5/10.