Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers

This is the first book I have read by this author, who specialises in writing for women, about women. Francine Rivers has written five novellas about five different women in the Bible: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary.

The subtitle, Five unlikely women who changed eternity, explains the theme of the separate and complete narratives which are chronologically arranged to demonstrate the progression of those women who are specifically mentioned in the Biblical record of the lineage of Jesus Christ. Each woman had a significant role to perform, which she was often unaware of. We have the advantage of history, of reading their stories and of recognising how God chose ordinary and sometimes sinful or broken women to fulfil his purposes. The Grace of the Lord shines through every story, emphasising the book's title throughout.

Each novella has the Biblical record weaved into it, but as fiction it expands what are often brief or missing details: curious gaps in the story, which Rivers readily admits are her interpretation of what could or might have happened. As such the reader must bear that in mind when reading, recognising that this embellishment of the Scriptural record is just one way of looking at the events.

The little known story of Tamar, with its disturbing story of betrayal and abuse, touched me deeply, providing an insight into early Jewish culture. Both this story and the second, about Rahab, were really sensitively written, but retained the shocking element, which I have often missed or have not been impacted by, when reading the story in the Bible.

Ruth is a beautiful story which was very familiar to me, but this retelling brought fresh understanding of the relationship between Naomi and Ruth, especially of how difficult their everyday lives were. I enjoyed the first part of the story about Bathsheba, but then felt that the story diverted away from Bathsheba, onto David and contained too much historical detail about his later reign, before completing the story with Solomon’s accession to the throne.

Almost everyone has heard of Mary the mother of Jesus, but Francine Rivers’ portrayal of her was full of fascinating detail and very believable. I liked the way Mary retained her ordinariness throughout and how the enemy was represented tempting her mind. Another lovely embellishment was her growing relationship with disciple John, to the point where he accepts her as his mother, following Jesus’ final instruction from the Cross.

A six-part Bible study is included with each woman’s story, compiled by Peggy Lynch, inviting the reader to ‘seek and find’ through exploring the Biblical text. Thought provoking questions are included, which are suitable for individual or group study, and provide extra opportunity to reflect on the story just read.

I shall definitely read more of Francine Rivers' books. Thoroughly recommended!