Jill Eileen Smith

Dear Readers,

Jill Eileen Smith bravely took on the wives of David in her wonderful series that include Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba.  This time she is taking on the father of the Jewish faith.  In Sarai she puts a face on Abram and Sarai.   Biblical fiction of this type helps me relate more to those beloved people of the Bible and puts a face on their stories.

Abram promised Sarai his heart and she promised him a son.  That is the tag line on the back of the book.  I guess I never really thought about it, but one of the things that was part of Sarai’s life is that she was not worth anything if she was unable to produce children, especially sons. Her husband could tell her that he loved her, but if he decided he could take another wife to get those sons.   Abram didn’t.  How very interesting.

I really don’t need to highlight any other part of their story as most of us have heard of Abram and Sarai even if you don’t read the Bible much.  He is considered the father of three of the major religions of the world.  The Jews, the Muslims, and the Christians all claim him as the father of their faith and yet he only loved one woman.   Interesting.

I am going to be honest, I never really thought about that much.  God promised Abram long before Isaac was born that He would make a great nation of him and his descendants.  Abram believed and followed him.  I really do wonder how that conversation went.   Sarai – “You heard what?  From who?  Now you want to leave home and family?”  I know how that would have gone at my house.  J

Anyways, I really did enjoy this story and it is one that makes for a great read.  It is a great way to refresh the telling of an old, old story. 

Happy Reading

P.S. this book is available in the store or by request at bakerbookstore.com

JIll Eileen Smith

Dear Readers,

I have been looking forward to reading Jill Eileen Smith's Bathsheba since I found out Jill was writing about her.  I have to say that I actually like book 1, Michal, better.  I had a terrible time warming up to Bathsheba's character.  I am not sure what I wanted but I feel like she is a bit of a milktoast kind of person. 

 

She seems to not be able to make up her mind about anything.  She is excited to be invited with her family to the palace and then spends the entire time wishing she hadn't come.  She says she loves Uriah but finds herself looking for and trying to meet the King.

She is held captive by the rules of ancient Isreal and I do understand that.  She can't just go out on her own, she can't just say things or do things that modern times allow me to do.  But she just doesn't seem to have an opinion about anything at all.  Which is a personality I struggle with no matter where and how I meet it.

That said, it is an interesting look at one of the most familiar stories in the Bible.  You can ask just about anyone and they know who Bathsheba is and why she is famous or infamous.   But she is also not presented in the Bible as a person of great importance, she is just a bit character in David's most famous fall.  She isn't given any choice in her part.  She has no words to say and I think that is one of the reasons why she is a woman many people are intrigued with, especially fiction authors.

Bathsheba is married, but has yet to produce a child.  She struggles with her barrenness and blames it on her husband's job.  Uriah is a soldier in David's army and is away at war for months at a time.  He is constantly called to the palace to attend meetings and spends nights away at the barracks.  Bathsheba is frustrated with it all and doesn't understand why he always puts his job before her.  Does that sound familiar to anyone? I have heard that complaint from woman in modern times quite a few times.

David is restless and bored with his new wife.  He has suffered great loss, and he just doesn't feel like going to war with his men, so he stays home.  Which turns out to be a recipe for disaster.  When he spots Bathsheba he knows he wants to make her his wife, the only thing standing in the way is that she is married.  He decides that won't stop him and calls her to the palace anyways.

We all know the end of that story, but Jill's book doesn't end there.  We know that David does make her his wife, but is she happy?  Did she go as a willing partner in crime or does she grieve the loss of her husband?  These are all questions that I asked about this story.  I won't tell you whether or not I got them answered as I am afraid it will give away the story. 

Jill does mention at the end of the book that she hopes that if nothing else this book will remind us that God loves us and is ready to forgive us no matter our sin, when we ask. 

Happy Reading

Jill Eileen Smith

Dear Readers,

Michal by Jill Eileen Smith is not a book I would have maybe picked up myself. It is not really a time in history that I am real excited about reading. I have heard the story of David all my life, either at church, home or school. I wasn't really all that interested in hearing about him again. This is not really a story of David, he is a major character of course, but he is not the focus of this book.

Michal is Saul's daughter. She is a princess and believes she deserves to help rule a country with her husband someday soon. It does help that she is in love with David and he seems destined to rise in the ranks of Saul's kingdom. She is ready to do anything to become his wife, even betray her sister to get what she wants.

I will admit that I really had very little sympathy for her throughout this whole story. She is very much a princess, and feels she is owed the world. She kind of just rubbed me the wrong way. David is written as a guys' guy. He is not written as perfect, just a 20ish guy who isn't quite sure how his life is going to go.

Michal on the other hand is written very much as a control freak. 'If this happens I can make this happen.' As she learns that isn't always true. The one thing I hadn't thought about, but she was horribly hurt and angered by the lost of her family. Saul, Jonathan, sisters... they were all eventually killed. She was the last left, except Jonathan's son, but she didn't seem to care for him. She grieved the lose of the others, sometimes when someone is an evil or bad person we forget there is a family who will grieve that person. To Michal, Saul was still her father, no matter how evil he was. I did put more of a human face on her and even him.

I would recommend this book to any one who enjoyed the story of the OT kings that Lynn Austin wrote. It is another good look at a part of that time in history that we know so much about and yet can still learn from it. I am looking forward to the next one. I am not sure which wife that will be, I guess I will have to wait and see

Happy Reading