Recent Reads - To Dwell Among Cedars

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To Dwell Among Cedars by Connilyn Cossette -  One of my very favorite authors is back with another novel exploring the ancient history of Israel, during one of the time periods about which the Bible doesn't offer much detail. We have the familiar story of how Israel took the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines, was soundly defeated, and the Ark captured by the enemy. Later the Philistines return the Ark on a cart drawn by cows, and the Ark is kept by a Levite family for many years before the Biblical narrative picks up again.

In Cossette's telling, two Philistine children follow the ark in obedience to the last words of their Hebrew nurse, and are adopted into one of the Levitical families. Eliora (formerly Arisa) and Natan (formerly Lukio) are welcome additions to the large family of Elazar the Levite. Eliora is especially drawn to the Ark, wanting always to stay near to it. About eight years after this escape from Philistia, Ronen, the young Levite musician who originally found the two children, returns to the mountain and the two are reacquainted. 

Ronen has spent the years trying to get over the death of his father and brothers who had been killed in battle, and his bitterness has been fed by the radical ideas of his uncle and cousins. They have a plan to remove the ark from its mountain resting place and bring it back to what they believe is a more suitable place. Ronen is expected to help them find the ark, but to do so, he will have to deceive Eliora. Something he grows increasingly uncomfortable with as he gets to know the beautiful young woman she's become.

Trust, obedience, finding purpose in worship and God's plan, and the beauty of adoption are themes of this beautifully told novel. Eliora and Ronen are the narrators of their own tale and each has a distinctive and believable voice and story. The research and the detail paid to history, setting, and evocative description bring a realism to the characters and to the Israel of this time period. 

As always, Cossette delivers a compelling and imaginative story that is firmly rooted in Biblical history. The struggles and even the dialogue of the characters is realistic and sensitive, and the truths they discuss and discover are timeless and inspiring.

If you enjoy ancient or Biblical settings, you will love this novel, and you'll probably want to keep an eye out for the second in this set when it comes out in spring. I know it is already on my wish list!

From the publisher:

Eight years ago, when the Philistines stole and then surrendered the ark of the covenant back to the Israelites, Eliora left her Philistine homeland to follow the ark to the community of Kiryat Yearim. There, the family she was adopted into has guarded the ark at the top of a mountain in seclusion.

Ronen is a Levite musician determined to secret away the ark to a more fitting resting place, watched over by priests who would restore the Holy of Holies. He never expected that the Philistine girl he rescued years ago would now be part of the very family he's tasked to deceive.

As Ronen's attempts to charm Eliora lead them in unexpected directions, betrayal leaves Eliora with strained family ties and Ronen questioning his own loyalties. Ultimately, Eliora and Ronen are caught up in the battle for the soul of Israel and its future under the leadership of Samuel, the last judge before the era of the kings begins.

By the same author: Like Flames in the Night, Until the Mountains Fall, Shelter of the Most High, A Light on the Hill, Wings of the Wind, Shadow of the Storm, Counted With the Stars

This is the third of Three Books by the Same Author for the Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020 Reading Challenge.

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