The NerdHerd Reads: The Crimson Cord {by Jill Eileen Smith}

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22504608-the-crimson-cord

Title: The Crimson Cord: Rehab's Story

Author: Jill Eileen Smith

Series: Daughters of the Promised Land, #1

Genre: Biblical Fiction

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Source: publisher

Wife to a gambler who took one too many risks, Rahab finds herself sold as a slave to cover her husband's debt. Forced into prostitution by Dabir, counselor to the Syrian king, Rahab despairs of ever regaining her freedom and her self-respect. But when Israelite spies enter Jericho and come to lodge at her house, Rahab sees a glimmer of hope and the opportunity of a lifetime. In one risky moment, she takes a leap of faith, puts her trust in a God she does not know, and vows to protect the spies from the authorities. When the armies of Israel arrive weeks later, Rahab hopes they will keep their promise, but she has no idea what kind of challenges await her outside Jericho's walls--or if she will ever know the meaning of love.

I've made no secret of my love for Biblical retellings, and this one definitely hit the mark. I've read previous books by Jill Eileen Smith, and she never disappoints. She brings new life into stories we've heard for ages, making you think about them in a new and different way.

Rahab is married to a gambler. So far into debt, and making even more wrong choices, he and his wife and all his belongings are sold to pay his debt to the king. Rahab is bought by the King's counselor, who has one plan for her: force her into prostitution. With no other options, Rahab despairingly fills the role that Dabir has forced her into.

It's interesting to see things from Rahab's perspective. We don't know much about her in the Bible, only that she helped the Israelites and was saved. This story sets up how she got the point where she was able to help them. The circumstances that brought her into the place where she was. I think it's easy to look on her lifestyle with disdain, but this story gently reminds us that women in her day didn't really have a choice, and offers a glimpse at the person that she was.

This story also changes perspective between Ruth, and the spies, which I found to be very interesting. We get to see what had happened from both perspectives. I think we also often forget what it would be like to be an Israelite, wandering around in a wilderness, following orders that don't make sense. This showed that from both sides, from unwavering faith to those that had some doubts, and I think Smith did a good job of showcasing that.

But we don't often hear or think about what happened to Rahab after she was saved. Would the Israelites take her in? Would she join them? Worship their God? I loved how this story also spent a significant amount of time on what happened after the fall of Jericho, and how Rahab's life was afterwards.

This was a beautifully depicted retelling of an old story. I think Smith did such a good job of staying historically, culturally, and Biblically relevant. You could feel yourself being immersed in the time and place of the story. This was a well-done story, and one I very much enjoyed.

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