On This Foundation by Lynn Austin

 

On This Foundation is a biblical historical fiction story on the book of Nehemiah.  She retells the story of how Nehemiah asked the king's permission to go back to his homeland and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  She continues the story of how the wall was built and the excitement and joy felt in the city.

Through the story we meet people we read about in the Bible, including Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem.(Whom I quickly learned to hate!)   Not only that but in the list of names of those that rebuilt the walls and what section of the wall they rebuilt, the Bible states in Nehemiah 3:12 "And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters."  She take that and expounds on it by introducing us to his three daughters, including the oldest Chana.   Chana was to be married but her intended was killed.  Through the rebuilding of the wall she learns to feel joy again and most of all she learns to love again.

Many other characters are introduced including Nava whose family is just one of many going through hard times due to the drought the city is experiencing. She willingly sells her self to servitude to help out her family.  The story is beautifully told and you feel the joy and sorry all the characters experience.  From Nehemiah feeling the desire and longing to rebuild the wall, the fear he had of how to approach the king, the joy when he was able to come back, the desperation he felt when he saw how bad it was, and the total celebration and joy of the city as the wall was completed and the rain began to fall!

Lynn Austin did a masterful job in telling this story.  It made the story of Nehemiah come so alive.  Once I started reading this book, it was so hard to put it back down!  One thing that I really enjoyed about reading this book was that my pastor at my church just recently (in the last couple of week) finished preaching through Nehemiah.  Reading this book for me brought back a lot of what he preached about.  

I highly recommend this book!!

I received this book from  Bethany House Publishers  for the sole purpose of this review.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.