"Keepers of the Covenant"

It's so easy to read Scripture and not emotionally interact with it. I am guilty of it. How many times have I read the book of Ezra including the chapter on when they sent away their foreign wives without thinking about what that meant for the couples who were in love, for the children, for newlyweds as well as those married for decades?

I suppose this is why I love fiction based on Scripture (provided it stays true to the text); it makes me stop and think about how difficult life was. In "Keepers of the Covenant" author Lynn Austin does a great job of making you think about what life must have been like for the Jewish people before Purim as well as right afterwards. To my embarrassment, when I read in the book of Esther that the Jews gave gifts and celebrated, I assumed that meant life was peachy afterwards. Not likely. Some likely struggled with post traumatic stress, others with guilt and fear.

I do enjoy Lynn Austin's writing. It's easy to envision and flows. This is book number 2 in the Restoration Chronicles. "Return to Me" being the first. In my opinion, "Keepers of the Covenant" is better. "Return to Me" took awhile to get moving in the story line. The one part of Ms. Austin's writing that I wish she would back away from a little bit is the ever present preaching. Don't get me wrong; it's not horrible. I just think the book could be 2/3 in length. Sometimes I feel like I'm reading the same thing over and over. We get it - Ezra's upset by them not holding firm to the Torah.

Having said that, I hope there are more books to follow in this series. They are a great reminder of the awesome grace of our incredible God as well as the importance of remembering that this life isn't about us.

BTW, I got a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishing in exchange for an honest review.