BOOK REVIEW: Of Fire and Lions by Mesu Andrews

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley, Waterbrook Press. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

Of Fire and Lions by Mesu Andrews
Published by Crown Publishing Group on March 5, 2019
Genres: Christian, Fiction, General, Historical, Religious
Pages: 400
Source: NetGalley, Waterbrook Press
Amazon|Barnes&Noble|Goodreads

The Old Testament book of Daniel comes to life in this novel for readers of Lynn Austin's Chronicles of the Kings series or Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion series.

Survival. A Hebrew girl first tasted it when she escaped death nearly seventy years ago as the Babylonians ransacked Jerusalem and took their finest as captives. She thought she'd perfected in the many years amongst the Magoi and the idol worshippers, pretending with all the others in King Nebuchadnezzar's court. Now, as Daniel's wife and a septuagenarian matriarch, Belili thinks she's safe and she can live out her days in Babylon without fear--until the night Daniel is escorted to Belshazzar's palace to interpret mysterious handwriting on a wall. The Persian Army invades, and Bellili's tightly-wound secrets unfurl with the arrival of the conquering army. What will the reign of Darius mean for Daniel, a man who prays to Yahweh alone? Ultimately, Yahweh's sovereign hand guides Jerusalem's captives, and the frightened Hebrew girl is transformed into a confident woman, who realizes her need of the God who conquers both fire and lions.

I’ve yet to meet a Mesu book I didn’t love and ‘Of Fire and Lions’ fits into that niche pretty well.  Remember please that I am totally not a cover person but this cover really does do justice to the words inside.  And the words inside do justice to the Biblical references they are drawn from.  If you grew up in church you heard the story of Daniel being tossed into the lion’s den from a young age.  That and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (and isn’t it odd we know them by their Babylonian names and not their Hebrew names) being saved in the fiery furnace by an angel visible to all those who bore witness to the event.  As you continued through studies into youth groups and possibly even adult Sunday School or Bible study you learned about the wisdom of Daniel and his ability to interpret dreams for the kings he served and the rise to the upper echelon of government due to the truth he never withheld, even to his own detriment.  In his time he was considered a wise man, a man who always redirected back to God, a man who never lost his foundation of Jerusalem.  Mesu, however takes all of that one step farther and builds a word that shows the depth of character that someone like Daniel would have need to stabilize the life he lead.  It weaves him a life that would have been the backdrop to his government roles.  And it brings this man to life in a way no other has.

Mesu chose to write in a wife and family for Daniel, also known as Belteshazzar, his Babylonian name.  The Bible doesn’t specify if he had a family but in doing so in this book it allows for the great expansion of the themes of choices and redemption and reconciliation.  the addition of Abigail (Belili is her Babylonian name) brings in the themes that we are all faced with, choosing to stay strong in our faith even when it feels dark and alone.  ‘Yes, I believed. . . that He answered your prayers.  But not mine.  I believed I was too broken, too stained.’  You can’t tell me there has never been a time in your life you felt too broken, too stained, just too something to be chosen by God.  Abigail found herself pressed into service in a pagan temple.  She found herself trying to find a path to maintain her life in the only way she, as a human knew how.  She found herself feel separate from the same God that had shown himself to her in the Temple during the initial invasion.  She wasn’t separate from God but as a human she felt she was.  And she made human choices outside of that faith.  God is able to use that darkness to bring reconciliation to a family that feels fractured.  God is able to use that darkness to bring faith the the faithless.  God is able to use that darkness to bring humility and grace to those who need it, even Daniel as he faced his own fears at the mouth of the lions enclosure.

‘Yahweh’s plan for His people had seasons – sowing, growing, harvest and rest.’  Through Daniel, and Abigail, we see these seasons. Through their experiences and ultimately their family they sow the seeds of their faith and they grow in those seeds.  They ultimately harvest those seeds and send them out to do the things they dreamed of since their you, the return to Jerusalem, during the years of their rest.  There is so much depth to this book, so much room for understand and growth.  There is literally something here for everyone to take away a seed of their own to sow.   A reminder that God is not a feeling or a one time experience.  A reminder that God never abandons us but keeps his promises, they just don’t always look the way we may want or expect them too.  A reminder that even ‘men of God’ are human and sometimes do things that hurt those around them.  God is always faithful, to the well known, the wise, and even the former temple high priestess.  Daniel has a lot to teach us even in today’s culture.  This book will send you back to Daniel for the tidbits you missed in Sunday school stories and youth group Bible studies.  A good book will do that. . . send you right back to the basics.

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Posted By: Fizzy Pop · In: book review, Mesu Andrews