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A Lineage of Grace

Author	Francine Rivers
Language	English
Series	A Lineage of Grace
Genre	Christian novel
Publisher	Tyndale House Publishers
Publication date	2002 (first edition)
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback), Audio, eBook
Pages	516 pp (first edition, paperback)
ISBN	0-8423-7110-9
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 21

A Lineage of Grace

A Lineage of Grace is a series of five historical fiction novellas written by the American author Francine Rivers. Each novella details the story of a woman in the lineage of Jesus Christ - Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. These women were all faced with extraordinary challenges and took great risks to fulfill their calling.

Plot summary

Unveiled: Tamar

Tamar is the young daughter of Zimran, a Canaanite farmer, who is married off to Er, son of Judah. Judah is a Hebrew man who married a Canaanite woman and had three sons by her. His sons are cruel and arrogant, causing trouble wherever they go. They were raised by their mother and thus into her religion, leaving their father with little influence in their lives. Zimran is eager to settle the bridal arrangement and forge stronger ties between the two families, so he forgoes the customary ten-month betrothal period. Tamar goes home with Judah the very next day to meet her new husband. Er however, is angry about the match and his mother Bathshua, also treats Tamar with disdain.

After the wedding, Tamar slowly settles into the new household, though Bathshua makes no attempt to hide her hatred for her daughter-in-law. She blames her for Er’s actions and tells her that if she were to be more devout towards the Canaanite gods Asherah and Baal, then she might be blessed with a child. Er vents his anger by beating Tamar. It is at this time that Tamar begins to wonder about Judah’s god, and the stories she has heard of Him. A few days later, Tamar gets the opportunity to ask Judah about his god. Judah, who is guilty of being a part of his brother, Joseph’s, murder, speaks of his god as though he doesn’t understand much of Him. He thus brushes aside most of her questions.

Judah gathers his sons together to discuss the future and their inheritance. His sons begins feasting, before Judah even returns home, and upon his return he announces that he has yet to decide who his heir will be. Er, the firstborn, loses his temper as his father states that it is his choice as to whom he will give Er’s rightful inheritance to. The argument between father and son escalates until Er suddenly stops speaking, unable to breathe. He falls face forward and does not rise again. Tamar and the rest of the family mourn his death. Judah believes God struck Er down for his wickedness but Bathshua disagrees. Tamar however, is no better than before as custom demands that Judah give her to Onan, the second born, as his wife. While waiting for Judah to make his decision, she wonders about the God of the Hebrews, both fearing Him and feeling comforted by the thought of Him. Judah eventually summons Tamar to him. She is to be wed to Onan and produce a son who will receive Er’s inheritance. Tamar asks Judah if he would instruct her in the ways of his God so that she can raise her children accordingly. He says that when the time comes, he will speak to Onan about it.

On their wedding night, Onan refuses to fulfil his brotherly duty towards Er. Whenever he lies with Tamar, he spills his seed on the ground to prevent her from falling pregnant. He tells Tamar that he alone deserves his brother’s portion as he has worked hard for it. Tamar begs Onan to change his mind, but he refuses. Once Tamar takes her problem to Judah, he says that she should give Onan more time to come to his senses. A few days later, Onan dies in his sleep. Judah again takes a while before summoning Tamar to him. Bathshua had begged him not to let her marry Shelah as she believed that Tamar was the reason for her first two sons’ deaths. Judah, however, knows that God had taken his sons from him, but he fears that Shelah will also die if he marries Tamar. Judah tells Tamar that Shelah is still too young and that she must return home to her father and he will call for her when Shelah has grown up. Upon Tamar’s return, her father tells her that she was a fool to believe that Judah would keep his promise. Zimran makes Tamar work as a servant in his house until Judah sends for her.

Six years later, Tamar sees Shelah at the market; he is a grown man with a beard. Tamar then acknowledges that Judah never meant to keep his promise about Shelah. Years later Tamar’s mother informs her that Bathshua, Judah’s wife, is dead. She suggests that Tamar act now before she is too old to bear children and informs her as to the whereabouts of Judah. The first woman who has a child by Judah will receive the inheritance that is due to Tamar’s child. Tamar dresses as a prostitute and waits near the edge of the road that Judah will walk on. When he sees her, Judah asks to sleep with her. Along with payment of a goat from Judah’s flock, Tamar asks for a pledge as proof of this. The pledge is made up of Judah’s identification seal, and the walking staff. Tamar leaves while Judah is sleeping, and takes his pledge with her. When Judah awakens, he sends a friend to find the prostitute and give her the goat in exchange for the items, but his friend is unable to find the prostitute. Two months later Tamar’s pregnancy becomes apparent. When Zimran finds out, he is furious. He sends a servant to tell Judah that Tamar is pregnant by another man and Judah sees this as an opportunity to be rid of her. He sends back word that she should be burnt. Tamar however, she sends her maid to take Judah’s seal, cord and staff back to him and to tell him that the father of her child is the owner of these items.

Upon receiving the items, Judah understands that she had tricked him into fulfilling her rights of having a child by Er’s next of kin. He goes to Zimran’s house and stops them from killing Tamar. Judah asks Tamar for forgiveness for what he had done and she returns home with Judah. Once married, she orders all the clay idols removed from the house and declares that her child belongs to the God of Judah. She ends up giving birth to twin boys, named Perez and Zerah. Judah promises that the boys will be raised according to the ways of his God, the God of the Hebrews.

Unashamed: Rahab

Rahab is a prostitute living in the city of Jericho. When she was young, her father had sent her to be a concubine for the king. Rahab hated this and as soon as she saw the opportunity, she asked the king if she could live in a house of her own and gather information for him. He granted her request and gave her a house situated near the eastern gate of the city, so that she could watch the comings and goings in Jericho. She worked as a prostitute, gathering information from the men she slept with.

The people of God arrived on the far side of the Jordan River and the word in the city was that they had come to conquer it. Rahab desired to serve their God of power because it was clear that He would keep His people safe. She tried to tell the king of the miracles their God had performed and that He could easily take the city, but all the king wanted was information on the manpower of the army. Across the river, the Israelites are waiting for God to tell them when to attack the city. Joshua, their leader, sends two young men, Salmon and Ephraim, to scout out the land beyond the Jordan River.

As they enter the city, Rahab notices Salmon and Ephraim and to her keen eyes it is clear that they are spies. She sees her opportunity to keep herself and her family safe from the impending battle. She calls to the two men and, after some persuasion, they come to her house. Once they are inside, she immediately hides them as she knows the guards will come looking for them. When it is time for them to leave, Rahab lowers them down from her house with a scarlet rope. She asks them to give her a guarantee that she and her family will be safe when the city is conquered. Salmon assures her that everyone in her house will be kept safe if she hangs the red rope from her window when the city is attacked.

Salmon and Ephraim hide in the hill country surrounding the city for a few days before returning to their people to tell Joshua what they have learned. Joshua agrees to the promise that Salmon made to Rahab. Meanwhile, Rahab prepares her family members and persuades them to have their things packed and ready to bring to her house for when the city is attacked. When God tells them it is time, the Israelites pack up their camp and cross the Jordan River. Once across, they set up camp to celebrate the Passover feast. Inside Jericho, Rahab gathers all her relatives inside her house.

After the celebrations, Joshua gathers the Israelites and informs them that the Lord has told him what to do in order to conquer the city. The army begins to march around the city, making no sound except for their feet. After marching around once, they return to their camp for the night. Rahab and her family watches from her window as the army walk around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, they march around the city seven times. As the seventh round begins, all the people start to shout and blow their battle horns. Slowly, the walls around the city start to collapse and the Israelites enter the city.

While the rest of the army is destroying the city and its people, Salmon and Ephraim run to save Rahab and her family. They help them to safety outside the camp of the Israelites. The next day, Joshua visits Rahab and her family where they had slept. He tells them that they are free to go where they would like. Rahab’s family returns to the palm groves near the city where they make a life for themselves, but Rahab asks permission to become one of God’s people and to remain with the Israelites. Joshua leaves her for three days to give her time to consider her choices. When she is still there on the fourth morning, he allows Salmon to go to her and take her as his wife.

Unshaken: Ruth

Ruth is a Moabite whose husband has recently died. Her mother-in-law, Naomi, had moved to Moab from Bethlehem with her husband and two sons due to a famine in Israel. About ten years after arriving in Moab, all three of the men had died. Ruth and Orpah, Naomi’s two daughters-in-law, live with her. Ruth had adopted the God of her mother-in-law when she married his son.

After the death of her last son, Naomi prepares to return home to Bethlehem. Ruth and Orpah also pack their possessions as they plan to accompany her. A short way outside the town, Naomi turns and tells her two daughters that they should go home to their families and find new husbands for themselves. Orpah finally consents and starts back, but Ruth continues with Naomi. She tells Naomi that she will follow her wherever she goes. The two women travel the long road to Bethlehem, depending on their God for protection. As they enter Bethlehem, some women recognise Naomi and come speak to her. They are eager to know what has happened in all the long years that she was away, but when they see Ruth they are angry and tell Naomi to send her back to her own country. Naomi defends Ruth, saying that she is a blessing from God.

The women are unable to find anywhere to stay because no-one will have Ruth in their house, so they find a cave beyond the border of the town. Ruth uses the last of her coins to buy some provisions for them, after which she sells her jewellery. She decides to go out into the fields and glean the grain that is set aside for the poor, but she is shunned from every field when the workers see that she is a Moabite. Eventually she arrives at a field where there are no gleaners and timidly asks the overseer for permission to pick up the stalks left by the reapers. He gives his consent and she sets to work. When Boaz, the owner of the field, arrives to check on the work, he sees Ruth gleaning. He tells his overseer to ensure that the other workers do not bother her. He also invites her to join the workers for their midday meal.

When Ruth returns to Naomi with the news that she managed to glean so much grain in one day, Naomi is overjoyed. She tells Ruth that Boaz is a close relative of their family and that he is one of their family redeemers. Boaz begins to take an interest in Ruth when she is in his fields and Naomi starts to think that he could be a good husband for Ruth. When the harvest time is near its end, Naomi tells Ruth of a daring plan that she has devised. Boaz’s duty as their family redeemer means he could take Ruth as his wife and give her a son to carry on the name of her late husband. She tells Ruth to take a bath and put on perfume and her nicest clothes. Then she should go to the threshing floor where Boaz and his men will be winnowing the barley. When he lies down, she must uncover his feet and lie down there.

Ruth agrees to the plan, although she is frightened. When Boaz awakes in the middle of the night and finds Ruth at his feet, she tells him that he is her family redeemer. Boaz is overjoyed that he might have the opportunity to marry Ruth, but he mentions that there is one man in Bethlehem who is more closely related to Ruth than he is. He assures her that he will talk to this man and in the morning he helps Ruth to sneak away before any of the men see her.

Boaz returns home to wash and pray and then goes to the town gate to meet Rishon, the relative of Naomi’s whom he had mentioned. He explains to Rishon that Naomi is selling the land of her husband and, as the closest relative, Rishon has the first choice of whether he would like to redeem it or not. Rishon, a greedy man, agrees to redeem it. Boaz then goes on to say that if Rishon buys the land, he must also marry Ruth so that she can have children to carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family. Seeing that this might endanger his own estate, Rishon says that he cannot redeem the land. Boaz, as the next closest relative, then states that he would like to buy the land and he addresses the elders at the gate as witnesses.

Ruth and Boaz marry and nine months after the wedding, she gives birth to a son who is to inherit the land of Naomi’s family. As time passes, Boaz becomes more and more distant and spends very little time at home. He had fulfilled his duty as family redeemer, but he is also in love with Ruth and doubts that she feels the same. Naomi eventually confronts him and tells him that Ruth is in love with him too, and did not marry him purely out of need. Boaz is overjoyed and returns home to his wife.

Unspoken: Bathsheba

Bathsheba is a girl who is a part of the people who followed David when he fled from Saul into the wilderness. She adores David and dreams of marrying him, but her mother tells her that David will marry important women who can offer important alliances. When she is old enough to marry, her father and grandfather give her to Uriah, one of David’s most trusted soldiers. She respects Uriah as her husband, but still has love only for David. Uriah is often away at war and while he is away, Bathsheba manages the household. After many years of battle, David wins a great victory and is crowned king of Israel and there is peace in the land.

News comes of a king that has disrespected David and declared war on him. As a result, David sends his army to lay siege to the king’s city, although he remains behind in Jerusalem. Bathsheba is alone at home and decides one day to take a bath in the privacy of her courtyard on her rooftop. David is taking a walk on the palace walls to vent his frustration when he sees Bathsheba bathing. He is stunned by her beauty and sends his guard to find out who she is. The guard returns with the news that she is the wife of Uriah, one of his best soldiers. Despite this, David orders his guards to bring Bathsheba to him. Once they are together in his personal chambers, David makes it clear to Bathsheba why he called her and although she tries to persuade him to send her home, Bathsheba is unable to fight her desire for him and sleeps with him.

Returning home in secret the next day, Bathsheba waits for David to summon her again, but he does not. She begins to regret her actions. After a few weeks, she discovers that she is pregnant. She sends word to David, who thinks of a plan to cover up the affair. He sends for Uriah to return home from the war. When Uriah returns, David praises him for his valour and sends him home to enjoy an evening with his wife as a reward. He hopes that, if Uriah sleeps with Bathsheba, then he can pretend that the baby she is carrying is his. Bathsheba hears of this and finds out that Uriah is at the palace gates, sleeping in the servants’ quarters. When she speaks to him, she realises that he knows what has happened between her and David. When David discovers that Uriah did not spend the night with his wife, he sends for him again and invites him to dinner, but after dinner Uriah sleeps in the servants’ quarters again.

David decides to try another solution to his problem. He writes to the commander of his army and orders him to put Uriah in the front lines of the battle and to leave him there until he is killed. Soon, Bathsheba receives the news of her husband’s death and when the formal mourning period ends, she receives word that she is to go to the palace to see the king. David tells her that she is to be his new queen and she is sent to his harem to live among his other wives. Living in the harem is difficult for Bathsheba as David’s wives constantly vie for his attention. She begins to realise that David will never belong to her alone. When her son is born, it becomes clear to everyone in the harem that he was conceived before Bathsheba married David. The prophet Nathan visits David and brings him the word of the Lord - because of his sins, Bathsheba’s son will die and the sword will be a constant threat to his family. David fasts and prays for the baby when he falls ill, but despite this, he dies.

Bathsheba falls pregnant again and gives birth to a healthy son whom she names Solomon. Within the palace there is tension as all David’s wives fight to draw attention to their own sons so that they might one day be king. Bathsheba is the only wife who does not do so. She learns to come to terms with David taking other wives and depends on God when she is worried or scared. Bathsheba is blessed with three more sons – Shimea, Shobab and Nathan. She raises her sons in the ways of the Lord and sends them to the prophet Nathan for teaching.

Word spreads about Amnon, David’s eldest son and heir to the throne raping his half-sister. David does nothing to discipline Amnon. Some time later, Absalom, the son second in line to the throne, kills Amnon for what had done and flees. Years later, Absalom declares himself king and tries to usurp David’s throne. When he is finally defeated, David tells Bathsheba that he has decided to make her son Solomon the heir to the throne as she has raised her sons in the ways of the Lord. Solomon is made king some years later and soon after that David passes away. Bathsheba spends a few more years advising Solomon and then also dies peacefully, with her sons by her side.

Unafraid: Mary

Mary is a young Jewish girl living in Nazareth with her parents. She is betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter. One day, an angel of the Lord appears to her and tells her that she will become pregnant and give birth to a son, whom she should name Jesus. The baby will not be conceived naturally, but by the Holy Spirit. Mary accepts this charge and the angel disappears. When Mary tells Joseph, her fiancé, what has happened, he does not believe her, thinking that she has been with another man. An angel appears to him in a dream and confirms what Mary has told him. Joseph realises Mary had spoken the truth and decides to not end his betrothal to her. He knows that when Mary’s pregnancy becomes apparent, people will begin to talk and assume that he slept with her before they were married. For this reason, he marries her as quickly as possible.

Soon afterwards, the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, issues a decree that a census of all living people will be taken and that everyone must return to the village of their birth in order to be counted. Joseph must go to Bethlehem and Mary is to accompany him, even though her time to give birth is near. The journey is hard for Mary, and when they arrive in Bethlehem they cannot find anywhere to sleep and Mary is in labour. They finally find a cave where shepherds keep their flocks in winter and Mary gives birth soon after they arrive. Some shepherds arrive at the cave explaining that an angel appeared to them and told them where they could find the Messiah, who had been born that night. When they see Jesus, they fall to their knees in worship.

Mary and Joseph remain in Bethlehem instead of returning to Nazareth in order to avoid the gossip surrounding their marriage. Joseph buys a small house and opens a shop to ply his carpenter’s trade. One night, they are visited by men from the East who have come to worship Jesus and bring him gifts. The men say that they have been warned in a dream not to tell King Herod where the baby Jesus is. That night while he is sleeping, Joseph is visited by an angel who tells him to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus because Herod wants to kill Jesus. He wakes Mary and they leave for Egypt at once, where they remain for twenty months before an angel appears to Joseph and tells him that it is safe to return to Israel because Herod is dead. They return to Mary’s town of Nazareth. Mary finds out that her mother has died since she has been gone, and when she tells her sister of all that has happened, her sister does not believe her. It soon becomes evident that everyone thinks Mary is lying about Jesus being the Messiah.

Mary and Joseph move into Joseph’s old house and there he sets up his shop. As Jesus grows up, Joseph starts to teach him his trade, as well as to read and write. When Jesus turns six, Joseph takes him to the temple to further his education about the Law. Mary gives birth to a second son named James. She then gives birth to a boy named Joseph and a girl, Anne. One day, Anne falls ill and is brought near to death by fever until Jesus touches her forehead and heals her.

In accordance with Jewish custom, they travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover festival. After the festival, when Mary and Joseph are on their way home, they realise that Jesus is not with them. They search everywhere for him and finally find him in the temple, sitting with the teachers of the Law.

Mary gives birth to a daughter named Sarah and then to twin boys, Simon and Jude. She yearns to see Jesus rise up and take his rightful place as King of the Jews, but when she speaks to him about it, he simply tells her that his time has not yet come. A short while later, Joseph dies and Jesus becomes the head of the house, taking over the carpentry business. He also begins to teach his brothers the trade.

Word spreads of a man named John the Baptist who is baptising people in the Jordan River. John is calling himself a prophet of God. Mary goes down to the river to catch a glimpse of John and sees Jesus there as John is baptising him. After this, Jesus does not return home for weeks and his siblings and mother begin to worry. When Jesus finally returns, he is accompanied by a group of disciples. The next day, Mary, Jesus and his disciples attend a wedding of a relative in Cana, where Jesus performs his first miracle of turning water into wine. After this, they return to Nazareth and the synagogue for worship. There Jesus declares to all that he is the long-awaited Messiah. Instead of this being received well, there is uproar and Jesus is almost thrown from the temple. Jesus leaves Nazareth and word spreads that the Pharisees and Sadducees are not happy with his teaching. Jesus’ siblings also do not believe that he is the Messiah, although Mary tries to convince them.

Mary travels with her children to Jerusalem for the Passover and there they see a great crowd welcoming Jesus as he enters the city. When Jesus arrives at the Temple, he is angered when he sees tables of money changers there and drives them out with a whip, saying that they are defiling the house of his Father. News continues to spread of Jesus berating the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and soon Mary hears that Jesus has been arrested. She finds him in a crowd before the judgement seat of Rome, bruised and bleeding. Pilate, the Roman governor, gives the crowd a choice of freeing Jesus or another prisoner named Barabbas. This is because Roman custom is to show clemency to one prisoner of the Jews’ choice during the festival season.

The crowd chooses to free Barabbas and demands that Jesus be crucified. Jesus is forced to carry his cross and on the hill of Golgotha, he is crucified. Mary stands at the foot of the cross with John, one of the disciples. When Jesus sees her, he tells her that John will take care of her. He then dies. Two men, Joseph and Nicodemus, prepare his body for burial and place it in a tomb in a garden. Jesus’ companions all gather in an upper room and on the third day, Mary of Magdalene bursts through the door to tell them that Jesus has risen and she has seen him. Peter and John leave to confirm this and when they return, Jesus is standing among them in the room.

Many years pass and Mary is on her deathbed reminiscing of the days after the resurrection when Jesus ascended into Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to his followers. She tells John to continue spreading the word about Jesus and the salvation that comes through him, and then she dies.

Structure

The book consists of the five novellas and a six-part Bible study after each novella.

Editions

Publishing History

• ISBN 1-615-23902-2 (hardcover, 2002)
• ISBN 0-842-37110-9 (paperback, 2002)
• ISBN 1-869-20259-7 (paperback, 2004)
• ISBN 1-589-26644-7 (audio, 2004)
• ISBN13 978-0-8423-5632-9 (paperback, 2009)
• ASIN B002U4J9PG (Kindle, 2009)
• ISBN 1-609-81076-7 (audio, 2010)
• ISBN 1-414-35747-8 (ebook, 2012)
• ISBN13 978-1-4143-5748-5 (ebook, 2013)

International Editions

• Afrikaans - Christian Publishing Company
• Dutch - KOK
• Faroese - Leirkerid Publishers
• German - Gerth Medien
• Hungarian - Harmat
• Polish - AETOS Media
• Romanian - Editura Scriptum

Awards

• Retailer's Choice Award winner 2009

External links

• Francine Rivers Official Website

Category:2002 novels Category:American historical novels Category:Christian novels