PEARL IN THE SAND by TESSA AFSHAR is a beautifully written novel telling Rahab's story. We start with Rahab being forced into a life of prostitution at the age of fifteen in order to save her family from starvation and financial ruin. We see how this devastated her, especially as she felt betrayed by her precious"Abba". We see how she felt unworthy and unloved, and how this affected her relationships with others and also how these feelings nearly destroyed her relationship with Salmone. We come to know Salmone too, as he struggles with his feelings for Rahab and we see how his pride as a leader of the Hebrews is nearly his downfall, thinking at first that a Canaanite prostitute is far beneath him. We see how he follows the letter of the Law as opposed to Rahab who has come to love the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and longs to be accepted by His people.
Joshua sees Rahab's hunger for God and believes that the Lord has a special plan for her. She and her family are taught the many customs they need to follow and are accepted into the Israelite camp.
Salmone's sister Miriam befriends Rahab. Rahab feels she will never be as good as she is but Miriam says that no-one is perfect but the Lord God, and that she has learned much from Rahab about faith and the desire to be righteous in His sight. Rahab comes to understand that the Lord offers the same forgiveness of sin to the stranger taken in by the Israelites as He does to them, and this gives her great joy.
We see how beautifully the author brings in the lost pearl earring, slightly damaged, but still valuable in Rahab's eyes, to show her how valuable she is as a person, not only to her husband, but also to God.
There is so much scriptural truth in this book. The author has based the story on biblical events and has used the interaction of the characters to bring out the importance of forgiveness, humility, hunger for the things of the Lord and the joy of belonging in a body of believers. We see how important it is not to judge others and to show mercy even as we have been shown mercy by the Lord. We are reminded of the importance of the Passover, of obedience to the Lord's instructions and of a person's heart attitude when offering a sacrifice. The scarlet rope that covered Rahab and her family gets new meaning for her when compared to the blood of the sacrificial lambs. We see the miracle working power of God the Redeemer, not only in the miraculous victory at Jericho, but also in His redeeming power in the lives of His people. Nothing is too hard for the Lord!
I don't find that the poetic licence the author has used in this novel detracts in any way from the truth of the Bible, In fact I find she has brought it to light in the sensitive way in which she has told the story. I feel we can all take a great deal from this book to help us in our Christian walk - I know that I have!
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Moody Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.