Bathsheba: Bathed in Grace by Carol Cook (Review)

After sipping my last drop of tea in Starbucks, I nodded in agreement to my friend who had been sharing how she had been through the wringer recently. Yet even through the pain, loss and disappointment, a glimmer of hope still shone through in her conversation. Filled with the presence and the Word of God she was holding firm to the promises of the One whom the Bible says sticks closer than a brother. She shared with me a sermon she was inspired by about certain obscure women of the Bible.

Bathsheba, for example. We generally hear her name and cringe. This woman ruined a king. A godly man who feared the Lord. But what about her side of the story? Have we ever stopped to think about how she must have felt. My friend shared from this sermon about how it showed her Bathsheba's side of the story and the pain and fear she must have been experiencing when her husband was murdered by the king and she was then married to the man who had her husband killed!

The conversation with my friend still fresh in my mind definitely swayed me to choose this book when I saw it up for review a few weeks later.

This work is historical fiction. Taking real historical figures from the Bible and bringing them to life. The author writes each chapter from the perspective of a different "scandalous woman" from the Bible. It reminds me of Hebrew midrash which takes characters from the Bible and writes stories about, "what it could have been like" for them in their everyday lives. Clearly this is not a Biblical resource to be taken literally or word for word historical documentation but it is interesting to think about what these women may have experienced.

Eight women are described in this book:

Bathsheba

Sarah

Hagar

Rebekah

Leah

Rachel

Tamar

Eve

My favorite was Rebekah. I enjoyed reading about her story from a fresh perspective. The chapter on Rachel was well written and an easy read as well. Some of the other chapters didn't capture my attention or were a tad too graphic for my taste. Some details were just a little much for me and would be better if they just went unsaid.

Overall I see this as a good book for someone who enjoys historical fiction and/or love stories.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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