Miriam by Mesu Andrews

Miriam by Mesu Andrews is the next of the Treasures of the Nile series of novels based on Biblical texts.  This novel starts with the story of how the great Exodus of the Hebrews to the Promised Land began.  Miriam is a respected midwife of the Hebrew slaves who is also well known as a prophet.  Her family has kept the secret that they are related to the now banned and thought to be dead former prince of the Pharaoh's family, Moses.  Miriam's family has respect among the Hebrew slaves as well as the none believing Egyptians because of her talent of being able to reveal dreams of others.  Miriam is proud of her ability to hear El Shaddai's voice in the wind and feel what He is trying to reveal to His people but El Shaddai rarely speaks to her in dreams anymore and He never spoke distinctly but rather she could feel what He wanted the dreamer to know when she interpreted another person's dreams.  She was honest that only sometimes did El Shaddai reveal the dream to her and sometimes she didn't know.  This story focuses on the feelings of Miriam when upon return of Moses to the Hebrew people Miriam lost her ability to prophesy to her people and Moses heard the voice of God in his clear voice and could have a conversation with Him.  Miriam was jealous plain and simple but now was expected to follow the advice of Moses and now God wished to be called by the new name Yahweh.  How does Miriam deal with her new feelings and learn to trust and lean on her little brother, Moses?  How does Miriam help to usher in this new age of freedom for the Promised People of God?

This book has brought to life Miriam and her life in Egypt and her feelings upon the return of her long thought dead brother Moses and her walk into freedom.  Miriam has to face her feelings of jealousy as well as faith in the God who appears to be stepping away her and walking toward her brothers Moses and Aaron.  This book brings to life the Old Testament story of the Exodus beginning.  The author has done thorough research into the cultures of the time in order to fill in the gaps left in the Biblical story.   This book helps the reader to understand the life of a Hebrew slave and the difficulties of freedom.  This book tells of some of the difficulties of not only being a slave but being a female slave in those times.  I loved this book and think it would be good reading for any Christian, Jewish or seeker after the truth of the Bible.  This book enlightens the reader on the way the slaves may have lived in those times in an interesting and thought-provoking way.
This book was provided by WaterBrook Press for this review.