Book Recommendation - Shelter of The Most High

If you enjoy Biblical Historical fiction, then chances are, you have heard of Connilyn Cossette. Her debut novel, Counted With The Stars, was an amazing re-telling of the Exodus, told from the viewpoint of an Egyptian slave, who joined the group of Hebrews leaving Egypt in order to save her brother, a first-born. There were 2 more books after that one in the "Out of Egypt" series that brought the Bible to life in telling of the time in the wilderness and the battle at Jericho. Her current Series, the "Cities of Refuge" series is a continuation of her first series and takes place after the Israelites have settled into the promised land. This time-frame, and these cities, are only briefly mentioned in scripture. So, the fact that Ms. Cossette is still able to bring them to life in a story-telling, but true to history and scripture as can be done, is nothing short of amazing. Shelter of the Most High is the 2nd book in this series and I was blessed to be on the launch team for this book.

This book is a beautiful story of love and mercy, told from alternating points of view of Sofea, a foreigner, and Eitan (who you might remember as as child from book 1, A Light on the Hill). Sofea is the daughter of a high priest in Sicily and one decision one day turns her whole world upside-down. She finds herself (and her cousin with her) in a strange land where the people speak a strange language that she does not understand. Eitan knows the moment that he sees this blue-eyed beauty that he wants to get to know her better, but is not sure how to communicate when she doesn't understand his words. Due to Sofea's experiences and inability to understand, she misinterprets many of the behaviors of this strange people, and it takes awhile for her to understand that the One God of the Hebrews is nothing at all like the gods of Sicily. Similarly, their priests are nothing alike. As she learns that she does not need to fear, she also learns that Yahweh has drawn her here with a purpose and is shown such love and mercy. There are many quotable passages in this book. The one below is one of my favorites. 

Being on the launch team for this book, I had the opportunity to ask the author a few questions of my own, and these really brought out the heart of this book.

Do you relate particularly well to any one of the characters in this book? Why or why not?
I always find little ways I relate to many of my characters but in Shelter of the Most High I think perhaps I connected the most with Eitan’s struggle with recurring self-condemnation. In order to avoid spoilers I won’t say exactly how he handles these issues but I think for me, and for many other followers of Jesus, I have a habit of bringing up my past sins and beating myself over the head with them, even though His grace is sufficient and I have no need to wallow in condemnation any more. If we are in Covenant with Jesus through his blood then we have been freely forgiven, so we must stop letting the Enemy whisper in our ear that we are not worthy. Eitan goes through the process of trying to “earn” forgiveness for something he had already been given grace for and I am guilty of doing the same thing at times. His journey was a great reminder to me that I am already free, so I need to stop acting like a slave to my past!
Was there anything interesting that happened during the writing of this book (or that made its way into the writing of this book) that the average reader wouldn't pick up on?
The biggest change for me was traveling to Israel. I went from having to rely on the internet and Google Earth for my experiences of the Land to getting the opportunity to see and feel and taste and touch and smell those places for myself. It shifted my understanding of the “smallness” of the country and how close everything in the Bible is in relation to one another and gave me a wealth of sensory detail to layer into my stories. I’d already written Shelter of the Most High when I went there but during editing I was able to tweak and expand due to my firsthand experiences. It was life-changing in many ways.
Is there any particular message (that isn't obvious) that you would like your readers to get out of this book?
As I began writing the Cities of Refuge Series I came to the realization that the places God set up as sanctuaries for those convicted of manslaughter (Joshua 20) were a wonderful picture of the Body of Christ and how the Church should relate to the world. Our congregations should be a haven for the hurting, a place of safety and provision for those who are suffering, a place where the teaching of the Word (Torah) is central, a gathering of redeemed people who appreciate the grace and mercy they’ve been given, and a light on the hill to the weary and heavy laden. Throughout the series you’ll see cities of refuge like Kedesh where these principles are upheld and valued and others that have became more focused on wealth, power, self-righteousness or have slidden into idolatry and compromise. History shows us that these cities of refuge were kind of a blip on the timeline, in fact scholar think that many of the 48 cities designated for the Levites by Moses were never even settled. If the Church wants to have an impact on the culture around us, instead of the other way around, we would do well to pattern our congregations after these places of perfectly balanced justice and mercy.
How did you come up with the topic for this story?
Well, in the beginning it was an off-hand comment by my husband’s best friend that I actually laughed off at first and then began to realize was a completely cool premise! But I can’t really tell you what that comment was because it’s a major spoiler! But I also did some research about the Bronze Age and found out there was a real problem with pirates back then and knew I had to weave them in too. The original plot idea was very different and involved more pirates and even some ancient drug trade (yes, there was such a thing) and ended up being a tangled mess that didn’t make much logical sense, so I am really pleased with how it all came together…eventually.
Is Sofea and Eitan’s story finished, or will we see more of them?
The next book, Until the Mountains Fall, opens about 8 years after Shelter of the Most High, so you will definitely see what Eitan and Sofea are up to. I won’t spoil anything about their appearances but I will say that it made me so happy to revisit them and to “see” their love story through the eyes of a grown-up Malakhi (the hero of UTMF).
Until The Mountains Fall is scheduled to come out next summer, which seems an eternity to wait to see what happens next. If you enjoy Biblical Historical fiction, or simply want to bring this mostly unknown portion of the Bible to life, I would strongly recommend this one! Shelter of the Most High is out on October 2, 2018.
Link to my review is below.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2294209409

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