This month's A CLOSER LOOK Reading Club Selection!

Israel, My Beloved

By Kay Arthur
Harvest House, $17.99

ISBN 1565074033

Buy or borrow this book!

Support your local independent bookseller

Compare prices at major online bookstores

Join the Club!

See the manager of your favorite bookstore for details on how to start or join A CLOSER LOOK READING CLUB. Guides for Israel, My Beloved are available absolutely free and may be used for group discussion or to lend deeper insight to personal reading.

Review by Jana Ross

The history of Israel -- what a massive subject! Given the layers of time, language, and culture, the story of life within its realm is foreign today. Kay Arthur highlights the many eras of Israel's legacy as she portrays God's relationship with His wayward nation in her new historical novel Israel, My Beloved. Taking the biblical imagery of Israel as an unfaithful wife, Arthur builds a character who embodies Israel through the ages. Her name is Sarah, and she displays all of Israel's traits, admirable and otherwise.

Beginning in sixth century B.C. with an intimate battle of wills, the story instantly grabs your attention. Sarah, the beautiful and strong-willed wife of the Almighty, is defiantly running away to meet a foreign lover. She knows her husband is watching her leave, yet it makes no difference. She has set her course.

Arthur shows us the horrible costs of Sarah's action in repercussions that resound in succeeding generations. The impetus for the plot is based on the inherent drama of God's great love and the dire consequences of scorning it. Jerusalem, the jewel of Israel, is lost in defeat to each nation and must be rebuilt at great cost. Israel (Sarah) is handed over to each nation that conquers her. The Temple is desecrated by unthinkable sacrifices by each ruler, desperate to show his power over the God of conquered Israel. The Chaldeans, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Spanish, the Nazis -- all have their chance to do as they will against Israel in vivid scenes.

Yet Sarah survives every siege, famine, defeat, captivity, and change of power because it is both the judgment and the mercy of God. As she learns this lesson of dependence on the Almighty for redemption, she becomes a friend "born for the day of adversity" to those around her. She holds to the promise that one day she will be restored to her husband, the Almighty One. This spirit is depicted in a heated argument between rabbis and young scholars in an increasingly hostile England during World War II. The scholars cry out, "It's not right. It's not fair. But is it ever? After all, we're just Jews. What recourse do we have?" And the answer blessedly comes from an older rabbi, "We have the Almighty . . .We have the Almighty One of Israel. What more do we need?"

Arthur's scope remains intimate so that the full effect of judgment becomes personal. Be forewarned that this is a history of the Jews; Christ is peripheral. The nation is searching for Messiah, but they do not recognize Him when He comes.

A work of art in more than Arthur's writing, Israel, My Beloved contains beautiful full-color, full-page illustrations by Israeli artist Ilya Rubin. The incredible span of this book is masterfully woven to highlight the tragedies of Israel and her efforts at restoration.