When famine visits Bethlehem, Boaz holds out hope for rain while his relative Elimelech moves his wife Naomi and their sons to Moab. For a while, it appears the Lord is blessing Elimelech’s family, and his sons marry two lovely Moabite women. But calamities strike, one after another, leaving Naomi alone in a foreign land with only her childless daughters-in-law for comfort. When news reaches … Naomi that the famine in Bethlehem has lifted, only Ruth will hazard the journey to her mother-in-law’s homeland. Destitute and downhearted, Naomi resigns herself to a life of bitter poverty, but Ruth holds out hope for a better future. And Boaz may be the one God has chosen to provide it.
Combining meticulous research with her endless imagination, Jill Eileen Smith gorgeously renders one of the most beautiful stories in Scripture. Readers will adore this third installment of the inspiring Daughters of the Promised Land series.
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Hope – that was the feeling that remained throughout Redeeming Grace. The hope of another child, less hunger, safety and a brighter future traveled among the hearts of Boaz, Naomi & Ruth.
The supporting role of Ezra was used well to remind the reader of customs of the Israelites. My favorite part was at the beginning of the book as the relationship between Boaz & Adi and Elimelech & Naomi was developed. This created a realistic connection for their later relationship when Naomi & Ruth returned to Bethlehem.
I would have enjoyed reading a bit more fiction about the fictional bond between Boaz & Ruth. Boaz was established as a wise & knowledgeable man of God. His humanness was revealed in a way that created empathy. Ruth was an excellent example of a sweet & tender person who was hurt by the actions of others but not emotionally injured beyond healing. I wonder if their marriage was as sweet as I like to imagine.
Enough history of pagan practices around Chemosh was given to create an understanding of why Naomi was reluctant to move to Moab as well as why she would return to Bethlehem and want to change her name to Mara. The evil intent of men certainly was evident in the leaders & priests of Moab to cause Ruth to desperately flee and take a chance at life with Naomi.
The Hebrew meaning of the name Obed means servant or to serve. I believe like all parents that Boaz & Naomi were hopeful that their son would be a servant to the Lord. I was unable to believe that Boaz would proclaim that because he was from the line of Judah that his son would redeem his family and all Israel. For Boaz to continue to say that “he will be in the line of the true Redeemer” was far beyond what I could envision.
Redeeming Grace inspired me to go back to the Old Testament to read Ruth again for myself. I also read parts of Genesis that Ezra referred to when trying to convince Boaz to consider marrying again. The Bible is the best foundation for creating Biblical Fiction. When an author can use the Scriptures to weave a story that helps me picture what isn’t told in the Bible, I consider that a blessing.
Earlier in the year I read Sarai by Jill Eileen Smith and really enjoyed it, so I decided to dig into another one of her books, Redeeming Grace. The Biblical story of Ruth is my favorite. I’ve always viewed it like an ancient Cinderella, where loss and heartache turns into true love and the couple lives happily ever after. For me, Smith’s interpretation of the story added a whole new layer to this short book of the Bible, and I loved everything the author did with it! Let me give you some examples…
From the first page, we’re thrust into the community of Bethlehem. We see Naomi among the women of the village helping women with births and things like that. Life was good until the famine hit. Then we see the little family pack up and move to Moab, a place where they were the only Israelite’s in town. I appreciated how the author stayed with the original text and started the novel with Naomi’s family in Israel. From the beginning, we’re introduced to the characters who would become dear friends once Naomi and Ruth returned.
And not just that, the author kept returning to the life of Boaz and the struggles he faced during the famine throughout the book, while also covering what Naomi’s family faced in Moab. The whole story felt connected and I liked the compare and contrast between those who stayed in the land (Boaz) and those who left (Naomi/Elimelech).
In addition, while Naomi was in Moab with her husband and sons, I learned things about the Moabite culture that added depth to the story I already knew. In Moab, the people practiced child sacrifice, and the author used the horror of this pagan practice to attract Ruth to the God of Israel. It never occurred to me that a woman would leave the gods of her culture because she despised the practice of killing babies, but the author used this as an example of what could’ve possibly caused Ruth to change religions. Though the Bible doesn’t give specifics in this area, after reading this novel, it wouldn’t surprise me if that were one of the reasons Ruth embraced Jehovah and was okay with leaving her homeland.
Conclusion: I really enjoyed this novel! At first, I wasn’t too sure what I would think of the story. Because Ruth is my favorite Old Testament story, I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case I didn’t like the author’s rendition. Well, no worries there. The story was wonderful! One thing I have learned is that Jill Eileen Smith does a great job of giving you the whole picture when it comes to a Biblical person’s life, and I loved how that worked out in Ruth’s case. When we first meet Ruth, she’s around 14 years old, and we get to see her grow into a woman of faith. The novel covers over ten years of her story. By the time she and Boaz are wed, you really feel like you’ve walked through her life. On the other hand, as much as I liked Ruth’s story, I also liked how the author portrayed Naomi. I don’t know why, but all the Bible commentaries/Bible studies seem to be a little hard on Naomi. We hear so many good things about Ruth and so many, “Naomi left Israel and her God” comments. I guess that’s because Elimelech wasn’t mentioned as much as Naomi was, but still, it’s always bothered me that so much criticism has been made of a woman who probably didn’t have a say in the matter. That’s what I liked about the angle Smith took, she put the burden of responsibility on the husband and then showed the effects of a hard life and how that influenced Naomi’s faith. We see Naomi at her best, as her faith falters and then her restoration. To me, this story was about Naomi as much as it was about Ruth. Redeeming Grace was a great novel and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in Biblical Fiction!
Jill Eileen Smith brings a fresh perspective to the book of Ruth through her latest work, Redeeming Grace. We learn from the Bible (Ruth 1:1-5) that Naomi, her husband, and their two sons sojourned in Moab during a famine in Israel. Smith’s decision to expand and dwell in this 10-11 year period is what sets Redeeming Grace apart from other stories written about Ruth.
The first half the book is set in Moab, allowing the author to draw a stark contrast between Israel’s God and the false god Chemosh, portray how Elimelech and his sons may have been seduced by the depravity of the Moabites, and extol the benefits of living in biblical community. In the second half, set in Bethlehem, Smith’s depth of knowledge about Old Testament law shines through Naomi’s conversations with her daughter-in-law. My current reading plan has me in Leviticus, so reading detailed explanations about ritual cleansing, the Sabbath, kinsman redeemers, and the Passover Feast in a narrative format has been both interesting and rewarding. I could see where it may weigh the story down for some, but I got a lot out of it!
To have an author as skilled as Smith pen flesh, bones, and heart to Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz was a delight. I felt she remained true to the character they display in scripture and by the end of the book I felt as if I’d walked a mile in their shoes. As it is biblical fiction, there are some characters who come from the authors imagination, of them Hamul is my favorite! His story is artfully interwoven with the overarching theme of redemption.
If you haven’t read the first two books in the Daughters of the Promised Land series, don’t fret. Due to the gaps in time between each book, this book and the others can stand alone. Redeeming Grace released February 14th from Revell which means you can start reading today!
Christian Shelf-Esteem received a book to facilitate this review. The views and opinions expressed are 100% honest and my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255 Guidelines, concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising.
I didn’t like this book nearly as much as I’d hoped. Some of that I’m sure is personal preference, since Ruth is my favorite book in the Bible and the account of Ruth and Boaz has long held a kind of romance for me. Even outside of that, though, I think there were some issues with how the author handled this retelling.
The author spent so much time on some things and not enough time on others, in my opinion. For example, not to be too flippant about it, but the story doesn’t really get going until Naomi’s husband and sons have all died. This is covered in 5 verses of the 4 total chapters of Ruth in the Bible, but by 130 of the 350 pages of the book. Some of that time was spent introducing Ruth’s character, but a lot of her personality and loyalty can easily be seen in her actions later in the story. Some of those pages were given to Boaz, too, during which he had a wife of more than 10 years. If you’re like me and would have thrown the book across the room if this account had made Ruth a 2nd wife to Boaz (while the 1st wife was alive, a common practice in those days), don’t worry. I still don’t care for how it all worked out, romance-wise, but at least it wasn’t that.
What I wish the author had spent more time on was showing and explaining some of the customs that might seem strange to us modern folks, like why Ruth uncovered Boaz’s feet on the threshing floor. And this leads to my other main issue with the story, the blending of the fictional with what is directly out of the Bible. Though Smith does do a decent job of making the dialog seem like something from back then most of the time, when the characters say words that are taken directly from Scripture, the difference is a bit jolting to me. And I believe that Boaz’s first marriage in this story is likely a way of explaining why he is an older man, yet unmarried, but Boaz in the Bible speaks about God as if he fully trusts in Him and believes in His goodness. Yet here we have a Boaz who is broken and questioning God, even for a while feeling a bit numb to Him, yet still speaks those same trustful words to Ruth at the necessary time from the biblical account…it just doesn’t mesh.
What I did love, however, is Ruth herself and how she’s portrayed in this book. I think the author did right by the biblical account in that respect, and I really liked Ruth’s conversion and how she always wanted to know more about Naomi’s God and the Israelite customs. I also appreciated the completely fictional side-story of Hamul, Elimelech’s brother’s son, both in its own respect and in how it showed Boaz following not only the letter of the law, but also the spirit of it.
I do wonder if I should cease attempts to find a fictionalized version of this account, because it may be impossible to find one to my liking. I think, though, that what bothers me most is when the author feels the need to come up with modern-mindset reasons for things from the historical account, even though we all know how different cultures were back then. Also, this is another Christian book where a newly married couple’s first night together is described a bit further than I would prefer. Not graphic by any means, but enough to make me start to feel uncomfortable before we moved on. If you’re interested in reading this book, however, don’t let me dissuade you. Many other people thought it was great, and you can check out their reviews at the link below.
Redeeming Grace: Ruth’s Story by Jill Eileen Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Redeeming Grace by Jill Eileen Smith is Book #3 in the Daughters of the Promised Land series.
It is a fictional, yet historically, biblically based story of Ruth, the Moabite woman who is redeemed into a Hebrew family.
There are so many wonderful things I would like to say about this book, yet I know I must limit my words in this review to just a few.
The book creates a very believable story regarding the events written in the bible’s account of the book of Ruth. It offers historical facts regarding the cultures of the people of that time period.
It brings the biblical account to life by adding a believable true to life story based on historical facts done by Jil Eileen Smith. The way the author weaves fact and imagination together throughout this book makes it something that is not easily put aside, and as much as this book compelled me to keep reading it to the finish, it also made me not want it to end when I came to the final page.
Although I have read the book of Ruth many times in the bible, this book, Redeeming Grace, held my attention fast with each page and made me wonder what would happen next, even though I knew the outcome of each event from reading the bible. It also made me aware of historical facts that I had not known regarding people, places, customs, and cultures.
As I read the book I experienced the sadness, fear, and confusion of Ruth, a Moabite who was unhappy with her pagan life and wondered if there could be a better way to live. I shared in her confusion and awkwardness as she chose a new path for her life which led her away from her family and into a new land and new relationship with a God she didn’t know, but chose to trust and believe in.
I felt the sadness and sorrow of Naomi at the loss of her home in Bethlehem and then the loss of her husband and sons in a foreign country. Yet, I also felt her strength and her faith in her God, whom she loved in spite of all her grief and how she was faithful in her love for Him no matter what misfortune beheld her. I also felt the grief of Boaz as he dealt with his adverse life experiences, yet kept an unwavering faith in God through them all.
The story shows the reader Redemption, Renewal and Restoration for those who believe. It is also a glimpse into the second coming of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, our Bridegroom who will soon be coming for His Bride, the true believers who have chosen to believe and receive Him. It shows how God works all things together for good for those who love Him as it says in Romans 8:28.
I highly recommend this book. It is an excellent read and one which will enrich your love for Adonai, the Lord God, and make you aware of his plans and purposes in your life as you believe, trust, and love Him.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, but a positive review was not required. My opinions are entirely my own.
–Leona J. Atkinson
http://www.leonajatkinson.com