The Stones--A Glimpse of Jersualem

Welcome back to our discussion of The Stones

by Eleanor (Ellie) Gustafson!

by April W Gardner

I’ve just reached chapter six, which doesn’t seem like much, but it’s actually very close to the half-way point. Each chapter is jammed packed, filled to brimming with historical events recorded in the Bible. Much of it is narrative, but when Ellie pens dialog, she does it with expertise.  The things her characters say either crack me up or sober me with their depth of wisdom. Ellie, you are indeed a master crafter of engaging dialog.

The event that stood out to me the most during this quarter of the book was David’s move from Hebron to Jebus (which he renamed Jerusalem). I’m not sure if I've just glanced over it every time I’ve read the account in Scripture or if there just isn’t much there, but it was practically all new information for me. Ellie, did you fill in details from other historical sources? If so, how much? 

Ellie wrote a nail-biting account of the take-over of the city from the Jebusites. I'd never thought about who occupied Jerusalem before David or for how long. For those who haven’t read the book, the Jebusites had control of the city for hundreds of years before David decided he wanted it for his capitol. But that’s all I’m saying! You’ll have to buy the book if you want to find out exactly how David entered the highly-defended and, up to that point, unconquerable fortress. Hint: God had something to do with it.

Before the battle David addressed the troops. This is what he said:
“Look up, all of you, to the hill above Jebus. Mt. Moriah, Abraham brought his son Isaac from Beersheba to this place to sacrifice him in obedience to God’s command. He stood right where you’re standing now. He looked up in dread, yet set food to the mountain, confident that God—somehow, in some way—would provide. And he did. As Abraham raised his knife, the angel of the Lord stayed his hand. So shaken he could hardly stand, Abraham looked around, and there in the thicket, caught by its horns, was the sacrifice God provided in place of Isaac.
“Abraham called the mountain, ‘The Lord will provid,’” David continued, “and we’ll hold to that word today. We’ll climb Mt. Moriah, and there Yaweh will provide. Here, in the name of the Lord, we claim that miserable shelf called Zion. It shall be cleansed of Jebusites and be forever known as Jerusalem, Mt. Zion, the Holy City of God.”

Eleanor Gustafson

That passage deeply impacted me. Having grown up reading the Thoene’s  work, I’ve always been fascinated with Jerusalem, but Ellie, you took me back to the beginning and drew a thread through the centuries, through David and all the way to Christ. Although you didn’t mention it, the reader easily draws the thread the rest of the way through to present-day and the ongoing struggle for God’s Holy City.

Our God is an awesome God! (Made you sing it. Wink.) History is already written, and He sees the big picture with perfect clarity. (Aren't you glad?) We can only hope to catch a glimpse.

Ellie, have you been privileged to visit Israel? If so, tell us your favorite part of the experience. If not, tell us what the first place is you’d want to see if you were told you’d be flying there tomorrow.

I pose the same question to our readers as well as the following—Was there a particular passage that stood out to you in this quarter of the book?

If you haven’t gotten it yet, make sure you pick up your copy of COTT champ, Delia Latham's, Destiny's Dream. We'll be discussing this fun romance next month!

--April W Gardner is the Sr. Editor at Clash of the Titles, 

and the award-winning author of Wounded Spirits