Reveiw of Bathsheba

 

From the back cover...

 



One of Ancient Israel's Most Famous Women--As You've Never Looked at Her Before

One of the Bible's most misunderstood and misjudged women, Bathsheba comes to life in this new biblical reimagining from Angela Hunt. Combining historical facts with detailed fiction, this is an eye-opening portrait that will have you reconsidering everything you thought you knew about her.

After receiving God's promise of a lifelong reign and an eternal dynasty, King David forces himself on Bathsheba, a loyal soldier's wife. When her resulting pregnancy forces the king to murder her husband and add her to his harem, Bathsheba struggles to protect her son while dealing with the effects of a dark prophecy and deadly curse on the king's household.

My thoughts…

I absolutely LOVED this book! Out of all the books I’ve reviewed lately, this is my favorite so far!

As the story of Bathsheba and David can be somewhat controversial and hotly debated in the Christian world, I would recommend reading the author’s note at the end of the book, before diving into the story. Here Angela Hunt explains why she wrote certain aspects of the story the way that she did (I'm trying not to give away any spoilers, but if you've read the Bible, then you've already got a pretty good idea. ;) ). Bottom line to keep in mind with Biblical fiction is that we have no way of knowing the real thoughts, emotions, and driving forces behind their decisions. This is one person's take on the story, as well as the lessons God revealed. It's always best to keep an open mind with Biblical fiction unless the author is not following the Biblical account. That being said, anything that was told a specific way in the Bible was absolutely, 100% written that way in this story.

The story is told through Bathsheba's and Nathan the prophets perspectives, and it is written in first person, which I absolutely love! I think a part of me was expecting this story to be much sadder then it was, but despite the heavy subject matter, I found it to be quite uplifting. The pages overflowed with Biblical insights that just blew me away!

Personally, I think I've always romanticized the story of David and Bathsheba. In a, "the king falls in love with a peasant girl" kind of way, in an attempt to ignore the harsh reality of the story. I love what Angela Hunt said in the author's note at the end of the book: "Are we so enthralled with the man 'after God's own heart' that we cannot see that he was as fallible as any other human?" Angela did an amazing job of capturing David's imperfections, lusts, and failings, as well as his love for God, repentant spirit, and passion. I walked away from this book with a new look at David.

Nathan's story was very intertwined with not only David, but with Bathsheba as well. It was an interesting twist that added so much depth to the story. It was the perfect way to write some of the scenes instead of everything being from Bathsheba's perspective.

Bathsheba was an amazing character. I could relate with her, cry with her, and learn with her. As a baby, Bathsheba had a powerful prophecy spoken over her in the story. It made Bathsheba the perfect heroine who struggled with God's call, fought God's call, and worked towards God's call - something I think all of us can relate to ourselves!

I was desperate to read Bathsheba after reading Esther, book one in the Dangerous Beauty Series. This novel did not disappoint, and I can't wait to read the last book in the series, which is about Delilah. What else can I say? I loved this book! Before I even finished reading it, I was recommending it to friends and family. Buy this book!!!

I received a copy of Bathsheba by Angela Hunt from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

See you guys on October 1st! God bless! :)

V. Joy Palmer