Christian Fiction Book Club: Pearl in the Sand

 Hosted this month by Gina at Hott Books.

Discussion (Review coming later):

First I wanted to say that I really liked this book and there is a positive review coming for it! Next it was hard limiting myself to only a few questions because if I tried to answer all 24, this would have been the longest blog post ever.  But I think I chose some good ones and I can't wait to see what other people thought!

9. What made Rahab willing to risk her life in order to save the Jewish spies?
 The way Rahab was able to sense God and act on it was why she was willing to risk her life.  Without knowing really anything about Him, she sensed that he was protecting His people and she wanted to be with Him.  Furthermore by meeting the spies, she had a connection to the Jewish camp and the opportunity to learn more about their God.

11. In Chapter Eight, Joshua accuses Salmone of growing judgmental in his attempt to become righteous. What do you think that means?
Salmone wants to be a righteous man of God but he seems to think that means letting people know when they're wrong and judging them for their sins.  Instead of being of God, he's trying to be God in the sense that he is taking on the role of judgment which is not his.  Furthermore it is much easier to judge other people than to look deep into the face of our own sin and humans frequently choose to do the easy thing.

15. In Chapter Twenty-One, Salmone calls Rahab his Jericho. What does he mean?
Rahab has built high walls around her heart due to the many wounds inflicted upon her in her early life just as Jericho had high walls that protected them from their enemies. But with God, Jericho's walls came tumbling down. Similarly God leads Salmone to love his wife and will tear down those walls so that they may come together as husband and wife are meant to.

24. What are some of God's qualities discussed in this story that touched your heart? Why?
The answer to this question is why I love Christian fiction-the ways that it can simply illuminate the truth of the Lord is why I keep coming back to it.  Reading the Bible is still something I struggle with due to language and cultural elements but Christian fiction is often written in a more direct fashion with words I understand better.  The main quality of God that just led me to cry while reading this is how He loves me.  I know that I am loved and I am so blessed in my earthly family from my parents and sister to my family in Christ.  But His capacity to love me and to just cover me in His love is always overwhelming and awesome.