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Lineage of Grace Series by Francine Rivers Review by Roseanna White In these five novellas, Rivers takes the stories of as many women in the lineage of Christ and tells their stories with new details. She warns the reader in the front of each book that we must be careful; the ways of their world differ greatly from ours, and the insights she gives, though researched, are still her opinions. The most important thing I found from these books, however, was not dependent on whether or not everything was accurate, but rather that by applying unchanging humanity to historical figures cloaked in time and cliches, stories that had always been only stories are suddenly events that happened to real people, real women whose lives were more than a chapter in the Bible to them. Through each work, Rivers amplifies the struggle that each woman had to face and makes it relevant for our lives today. Ultimately, they all have to decide who they’re going to serve, and it is because they chose God that we know their names at all.
We’ve all read the story in Genesis about how the line of Judah managed to survive: the woman wived to his sons refuses to give up her right to a child, even if she has to seduce Judah himself to conceive. Looking at it from Tamar’s side, we realize that this woman who prostituted herself was far more complex than the original story reveals. Tamar was not raised as a child of God, but she went into a house that served Him. Did she come to love Him? If not, then why would she have been spared when her first two husbands died for unfaithfulness? So assuming she became a child of the Lord, how hard must it have been to be sent back to her father’s house? And how brave must she have been to go to Judah himself when he reneged on his word to her? Tamar becomes, through Rivers’ skillful hand, a woman willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of the chosen ones of God, a woman willing to put on a veil and be used so that she can take it off and serve.
The infamous harlot of Jericho! What must life have been like to make her the woman she was? How did it happen that a prostitute loved the Lord enough to harbor His servants at the risk of her own life? Rivers helps her readers take a new look at someone in the "world’s oldest profession" and see with admiration someone wise enough to see the impending victory of God and courageous enough to demand a piece of it. The story of Rahab challenges us to put aside our judgement and realize anew that God chooses the least likely to carry out his designs. This is a soulful story that begs everyone to open their hearts enough to hear the voice of Lord, even in a land where He is unknown. If Rahab was unashamed to answer His call, who are we to do otherwise?
As one of two women in the Bible to actually have her own book, everyone knows Ruth’s story. It’s by reading between the lines that Rivers helps us see the true nature of the trials that she and Naomi must have faced. Again, we have a woman who was not born into the nation of Israel, but whose loyalty to and love for the family she married into urges her to leave her own homeland in favor of the one her mother-in-law wishes to return to, even if there is no place for them there. Ruth’s dedication is revealed at every step. This is a story of obedience and trust triumphing over uncertainty, and we are left knowing that any rewards she received were because of her refusal to be shaken from the family of God.
The story of Mary is the first in this series that introduces the element of pure evil. Its shouts show the reader that accepting the seed of God was only the beginning of the life Mary led. She was faced with disbelief and ridicule, then her own pride and desires. The mother of God that so many deem holy was very much a woman, and yet a woman more blessed than any other. She brought forth the perfect son, yet she was very much a mother who struggled with the results. Rivers paints a picture of a woman who has unwavering faith in the Lord and yet cannot always reconcile her own will with His. Through this most famous of women’s example, we are shown that the true test isn’t to accept without hesitation the blessings God bestows, but to hold onto His promises without fear when they seem to be taken away.
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