Skip to main content

Biblical Fiction: What, Why & Recommendations.

Hey Gems!!!

Today I want to talk about something that is near and dear to my heart...books. I am a book-nerd. A major book-nerd. I've read all types of genres. From romance to fantasy to historical and non-fiction. Just about every genre you can think of. Whether eBook, physical or audio, I'll read it. Reading is something I've grown to love as a kid when I first started school. I 1000% encourage people to read because it's fun, educational and entertaining.

However, last year I came across a genre that I never really knew of or cared to read because of my lack of knowledge on the genre...
BIBLICAL FICTION
For me, as a girl in my early and mid-20's biblical fiction just seemed like something I wouldn't enjoy. Fiction based on the Bible -- oh please. That's what I thought. Keep in mind, at that time I was just living my truth and not the Truth of God. Also, I always heard about Christian fiction which included the Amish and the genre turned me off from ever trying biblical fiction.

I can tell you now in my late 20's I am THOROUGHLY enjoying the genre of biblical fiction a lot more than I ever thought I would. It has even opened the door for me to enjoy Christian fiction in many sub-genres to fantasy, contemporary and historical.

Today I'm going to focus mainly on biblical fiction. What it is, why I like it and my favorite ones!

What is biblical fiction?
Biblical fiction, for those who don't know, is a sub-genre of both historical and Christian fiction. It is a work of fiction set in biblical time, based on a biblical story and featuring people from the biblical era. In layman terms -- it's when you take people and stories from the Bible and craft a phenomenal story after MAJOR research on it.

Biblical fiction is also broken into two parts:
  1. main characters are actual people from the Bible
  2. main characters are fictional, but the setting, time and secondary characters feature actual people from the Bible.
Why I love biblical fiction? 
It helps bring the beloved stories of the Bible to life and make the harder stories of the Bible easier to connect with. There are several stories that many more that many can connect with instantly, but majority of the time people don't. Biblical fiction gives you a way to really dive into the time, read scripture with a new outlook and help you connect to the lessons and Word of God in an un-traditional way.

Biblical fiction is great to read because it's based on scripture, brings you to an awareness of yourself in Christ and God spiritually, helps new believers understand the Bible, makes it more interesting and opens your heart to God.

Now, don't get me wrong, I recommend you read and study your Bible daily. Nothing compares to the actual Word of God. However, biblical fiction just allows you to fall into the setting and feel a connection to the people of the time.

Here's a list of my favorite biblical fiction books that successfully offer a fictional take on biblical stories.

1) Isaiah's Daughter by Mesu Andrews.
This was my biblical fiction read and I loved it! I have this book a 5 star rating. Isaiah's Daughter is a book I came across several times from the publisher and different review programs, but I always opted out of reviewing it. I'm so glad I gave this book a try. It's centered around the Prophet Isaiah and King Hezekiah from the OT (the Kings, Chronicles and Isaiah in the Bible). This book was absolutely flawless to me. The book read seamlessly, the writing was simply perfect -- it pulled me in to the scenes with the characters. The dialogue between characters were heartfelt. There was romance in the air and action to be read. I LOVED the scriptures and how much it flowed within the book. Mesu did her research and really knows how to use scripture correctly to create a profound fictional story. If you need a book with both romance and action, this is it!


2) Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar.
This is a biblical fiction based on Rahab during the time of the walls of Jericho falling (the book of Joshua). Rahab is the main character and there are scenes with Joshua and Salmon. I adored this novel! This is my one my top 3 biblical fiction reads because it really pulls at the heart and makes you think about your self-worth and value in the eyes of God. Rahab was broken and given a second chance among God's people. The fictional aspect comes with the backstory of Rahab as a child. The scriptures are beautiful and sound wisdom will make you cry!

3) In the Field of Grace by Tessa Afshar.
This is the story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz in such a beautiful novel. With this you get a touching backstory of Ruth before she became Naomi's daughter-in-law, a backstory for Boaz (as we know he is older in age compared to Ruth) and you get to "see" Naomi and Ruth's travel back to Bethlehem. This book captured both the romance and depths of Ruth's story while adding fictional bits to bring it to life. You will both laugh, cry and be at awe of God in this book. The creativity of this story expounds on the beautiful four chapters written in the Book of Ruth.

4) A Light on the Hill by Connilyn Cossette.
This is one of those biblical fiction's that doesn't focus on an actual person from the Bible, but rather a fictional one, but encounters the time. The main character, Moriyah, is a fictional character that experiences the fall of Jericho, the life of a manslayer and learns about the Cities of Refuge. This does feature moments with Joshua so you can guess that this takes place around the time the book of Joshua was written. The biblical aspects of this book were strong. The few that stood out were to extend grace and mercy to those who hurt you; look beyond the physical of a person to their heart and finally the topic of shame. Moriyah had dealt with a lot of shame concerning the mark of the Canaanite gods. She allowed her shame to lead her to fear, cause her to hide her true self, to distort her perception of God's love for her and to cause setbacks where blessings should have been. I loved each lesson this provided!

5) Harvest of Rubies by Tessa Afshar.
This is a biblical fiction that is centered around a fictional character but includes the Prophet Nehemiah and King Ahasuerus (aka King Xerxes) and takes place after the time of Queen Esther (the book of Esther). This gave me so many feels. Tears, laughter, happiness, anger, sadness...just everything in between. The writing as usual is flawless. Tessa takes so much care into creating her characters be they fictional or actual people from the Bible. Her use of scripture pulls you in and the sound, biblical wisdom shared makes you personally reflect. Harvest of Rubies is without a doubt a PERFECT read and after going through the book, I understand the title even more. Not to mention Sarah is a funny character and the romance is so sweet. Great read.

Bonus: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
This is not a biblical fiction, but rather an historical fiction based on the Bible. This takes the story of the Prophet Hosea and his wife Gomer and brings it to California's gold country in 1850. The detail and imagery Francine used to create this "retelling" is fantastic! This is such an inspiring historical fiction/Christian novel that truly brings the story of Hosea and Gomer to life. The lessons learned, the Word of God that is read and the love of God shown was so touching. If you're a Christian I would 100% recommend this book. I read this book in about 22 hours and I mean I cried, I laughed, and I got angry. This is book will melt the heart.

This post was long, but I pray it helped you learn more about biblical fiction and encouraged you to try some out for yourself. You won’t regret it!

Blessings,

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

CSB Study Bible for Women {Bible Review}

Good morning loves! I'm starting a new layout when it comes to doing my Bible reviews just because they need a more in-depth post than my book reviews. I created a new way that will help me share more info about each Bible so I hope this helps you all! Today's review is on the The Study Bible for Women in the CSB translation and I am so excited to do this review. I want to first thank B&H Publishing group for the opportunity to review this gorgeous Bible as they sent me this Bible for review. This Bible was release on April 15, 2018, so it's been out for almost a month now. I'm going to start off by sharing with you all what it says on the B&H website: Now available in the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) translation with revised and updated content and a fresh, new interior design, the CSB Study Bible for Women will equip you to reach deep into God’s Word. As the most comprehensive study Bible ever prepared for women and by women, the most powerful asp

The Nehemiah Code by O.S. Hawkins {Book Review}

Title : The Nehemiah Code Author : O.S. Hawkins  Age : Adult Genres : Christian Living Publication Date : August 28, 2018 Publisher : Thomas Nelson Source : Paperback Purchase : Paperback | Kindle | B&N | ChristianBook   Synopsis :   Who isn’t in need of a new beginning? Bestselling author O. S. Hawkins knows that whether it be broken relationships, integrity missteps, or loss, most of us will spend some or much of the next year trying to restore something. The good news is . . . it’s never too late for a new beginning.   Hawkins, with more than 550,000 books sold, now turns his eye to another biblical hero in The Nehemiah Code. Nehemiah was a civil servant from 2,500 years ago who applied principles found in the Bible for insight during hard times, help to start again, and encouragement to rebuild a life.  The Nehemiah Code dives into a theme that will resonate deeply with a wide variety of readers -  insight during hard times, help t

One Little Lie by Colleen Coble {Blog Tour}

Hey Gems!!! I'm here to share my thoughts on One Little Lie by Colleen Coble. This is my first book from her and I must say I'm impressed with her writing. Thank you to Prism Book Tours for having me on board for the blog tour! Title : One Little Lie Author : Colleen Coble Series : Pelican Harbor #1 Age : Adult Genres : Romantic Suspense, Christian Fiction Publication Date : March 3, 2020 Publisher : Thomas Nelson Source : ARC Purchase : Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle | Audible | Christian Book Synopsis : It started with one little lie. But Jane Hardy will do everything in her power to uncover the truth in this gripping new romantic suspense. Jane Hardy is appointed interim sheriff in Pelican Harbor, Alabama, after her father retires, but there's no time for an adjustment period. When her father is arrested for theft and then implicated in a recent murder, Jane quickly realizes she's facing someone out to destroy the only family she has. Aft