PEARL IN THE SAND
(10th Anniversary Edition)
Tessa Afshar
Moody Publishers | October 6, 2020
Christian Fiction, Biblical Fiction, Biblical History
Can a Canaanite harlot who has made her livelihood by looking desirable to men make a fitting wife for one of the leaders of Israel? Shockingly, the Bible's answer is yes.
Pearl in the Sand tells Rahab's untold story. Rahab lives in a wall; her house is built into the defensive walls of the City of Jericho. Other walls surround her as well--walls of fear, rejection, and unworthiness.
A woman with a wrecked past; a man of success, of faith...of pride. A marriage only God would conceive! Through the heartaches of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another's worth and find healing in God.
Pearl in the Sand tells Rahab's untold story. Rahab lives in a wall; her house is built into the defensive walls of the City of Jericho. Other walls surround her as well--walls of fear, rejection, and unworthiness.
A woman with a wrecked past; a man of success, of faith...of pride. A marriage only God would conceive! Through the heartaches of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another's worth and find healing in God.
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I received a complimentary copy of this novel via Netgalley through Moody Publishers, in exchange for my honest review.
WARNING: Possible Spoilers!
THE BASICS
I've always marveled & admired Rahab's story. And this novel made all my imaginings come to life! Everything in this story fit so well into the brief biblical account we know of this mysterious woman, which showed some amazing research into the real historical evidence & the true accounts found in God's Word.
Liberties are taken to fill in Rahab's background---how she came to be a zonah of Jericho, how she met & harbored the spies of Jericho at risk to her own life, how she & her family were saved from the destruction of their homeland, and how they may have been treated by the people of Israel once adopted into their tribes.
I loved her personality in this story, and I can definitely imagine this to be what she was like---gentle, meek, strong when necessary, organized, jumps to any task, not afraid to get her hands dirty, and all with a thirst for a God she never knew existed. Her faith, and how it was portrayed, was amazing!
Salmone was not quite who I expected him to be. But that was a good thing. He was a leader in the tribe of Judah with a gazillion responsibilities, not to mention his role as a warrior in Israel's army---respected by all, and still not without his flaws & pride. Actually, he ALMOST reminded me of Mr Darcy...
VIOLENCE
Young children pelt a beggar with stones & obscenities; one stone hits his forehead, drawing blood.
At one point, Rahab helps lower a man by rope out of her window & down the side of a massive wall. His body weight (certainly double her own) causes the rope to chafe her palms & arms, drawing blood & peeling away skin where it was wrapped around her arm. She struggles greatly, but ignores the pain, focusing on seeing the men to safety.
A child (toddler) was sacrificed to the god Molech for his blessing---burned in fire. (TT_TT this was HEARTBREAKING to read)
Mention of all the Israelite men being circumcised & waiting until they were healed & had regained their vigor before taking the next steps in conquering their Promised Land.
When the walls of Jericho collapse, we see the carnage---limbs sticking grotesquely out from debris; the odor of burning wood, flesh, & blood; a headless body blocks the threshold as a group of people exit an inn (the head in a few feet away---a horsefly flies out from the mouth). *gags*
A man is found guilty of thieving---the punishment death by stoning (we do not see the stoning, but hear that his death was carried out as the Law demanded).
A large battle ensues at Ai; men stab, slash, pound, & war with each other with swords, daggers, javelins, axes, etc. A knife throw hits a man in the back. Another man is hit by a thrown knife in the abdomen---we later learn the severe wound penetrated his stomach & nearly severed his liver in two. Due to that injury, his complexion appears quite orange. The ladies administering to him are given lessons in how to care for & change the dressings (which had to be done multiple times a day & at night). Fresh & old blood is seen, as well as a nasty yellow pus.
A woman is hit in the cheek by a solitary stone thanks to a mob's rising anger.
SPIRITUAL CONTENT
Obviously a Christian, biblical history, fiction!
Rumors run rampant in Jericho of the god of the Hebrews parting waters & their numberless army's growing reputation. At one point, Rahab prays to the Hebrews' God, and feels a near-tangible peace rest on her.
Joshua, divinely appointed leader of the Hebrews, is met by an otherworldly warrior before the walls of Jericho. He falls to his face, realizing this being is a Messenger from his God. The warrior bids him remove his sandals for he stands on holy ground.
LANGUAGE // ALCOHOL & DRUGS
None.
An anonymous person calling out the phrase "filthy dogs" to a family adopted into the Israelite camp.
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Men & women share barley water & fig wine. Medicines & poultices, including a kind of wine, are used in the sick tent to treat the wounded after battle.
ROMANTIC CONTENT
A desperate family struggling to survive a severe drought sells their 15 year old daughter into prostitution, saying she must earn money by the "...way of women. The way of our gods." She, however, sets high terms for her years as a harlot, and to her credit (in this novel at least), has only been "with" a dozen men.
At some point, Rahab speaks of her lovers & her choice to accept them. She still maintains a modest fashion of clothing, believing it to be far more appealing than the skimpier ones.
During a certain time of the month, ladies retire to the women's tent for seven days.
CONCLUSION
All told, I really enjoyed this book & the fictional take on Rahab's character. I could easily imagine this being who she was before & after Jericho's fall. And the bits & pieces of history woven in between was simply marvelous!
Salmon's character, as mentioned earlier, was not quite who I expected him to be. I suppose I imagined him as an accepting, gentle sort of man, rather than the firm, Mr Darcy-stern-like, leader of an entire tribe would most likely have been. So good! And the romance was very well written, in my opinion. These were two, very broken, very flawed people, and even with all their failings & mistakes & misunderstandings---which is seen in any marriage---when they turned back individually to the very One who brought them together, they were then brought closer to each other themselves. Such a beautiful example of an imperfect, yet lovely marriage. <3
Due to the themes of prostitution---though everything is MARVELOUSLY well written & NEVER graphic in any way---I would certainly recommend this to a more mature reading audience.
FIVE out of FIVE stars
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Ages: 18+
Oh, this sounds gooood! I've always loved the story of Rahab! It's so amazing.
ReplyDeleteI'm always intrigued by Biblical fiction but for some reason I've never read any of it. So I will definitely have to keep this one in mind! Thanks for the great review! ^_^
And happy 4th of July!!!
So have I! And this one really surprised me by how much I truly did enjoy it. :]
DeleteYes, I've read a few, but they all seem to have a similar feel in the stories & themes within---this one makes an exception, in my opinion.
Thanks, girl! Hope you had a lovely 4th of July weekend!!!