Review:
This book is a thrilling addition to the world of Biblical fiction. On the surface, it is such a simple story: broken girl meets broken boy...both experience the power of God. Then there is the layer of it being set at the beginning of 1 Samuel and seeing life through the eyes of the people at the time of Israel's last judge, Samuel. Add in the element of a Philistine perspective. Next comes the story of adoption, both literal and spiritual. Throw in the drama of a plot to steal the Ark of the Covenant. And yet, I haven't even scratched the surface of this amazing book!
The world building in this book is extraordinary and puts you in the heart of the action.
Connilynn Cossette has once again succeeded in creating a masterful novel that leaves you wanting more.
I received this book from the publisher through the NetGalley review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Author Interview:
Writing about the Philistines must have been different research wise. Did you find out anything about them that was unexpected that made it in the story?
Research is always one of my favorite aspects of writing historical novels. But what was especially exciting about digging into the Philistines was there have been some recent, groundbreaking discoveries made about these enigmatic people. For many, many years scholars and archeologists have speculated as to their origins and based on clues in the Word or educated guesses from the scant (in comparison to other ancient civilizations) material evidence of their culture, concluded that they were likely an Aegean people—although some believed they originated in Turkey or other areas northeast of Israel and some even speculated that they came from Africa—but no one really know anything definitive until now. But just last year the evidence came forth in the form of DNA from a Philistine cemetery! We know know that the Philistines were transplants from Europe who came down through the Aegean on ships and most notably settled on the island of Crete. Why is this important? Because this is exactly what the Bible told us. The Word says that the Philistines came from the island of Capthor which is the ancient name for Crete. Because of this DNA evidence I was able to use some of the things we know about the ancient inhabitants of Crete, including the Minoans and the Myceneans to build my imagination about what the culture of Philistia might have been. So thank you, scientists, for making a major discovery about the very people I was writing about in To Dwell among Cedars just in time!
I loved the theme of adoption and grafting into a family. What inspired that story arc?
Well first of all, I was adopted myself at birth, so adoption is deeply entwined with my own story. My brother, too, was adopted from Korea when I was six (he was four) so there were some major cultural differences we navigated as a family over the years. As well, I am the adoptive mother of two precious kids, both of whom entered our family at birth. And since adoption is such a strong theme in the Word of God and we, through Jesus’s blood, are grafted into the family of God, when the idea sparked in my mind about two Philistine children following the Ark of the Covenant into Hebrew territory it was only natural that I would explore that theme in a physical, emotional, and a spiritual sense.
I love that you take times of the Bible that are not as well known and expand on them. What brought you to this portion of biblical history to write about?
It was actually my trip to Israel in late 2017 that planted the seed of this story in my imagination. We were traveling up from the Valley of Elah where David fought Goliath and towards Jerusalem when our tour guide mentioned we were near Beth Shemesh and likely on the same path upon which the wagon carrying the Ark of the Covenant traveled on its way back from Philistine territory during the events of 1 Samuel 4-7. Immediately, I had a vision pop into my head of the cow-drawn wagon bumbling along the road and two children following after it, curious about where it was headed. And voila! The Covenant House series was sown into my imagination. It wasn’t until over a year later that I began to expand that idea and plot it out with my writing partners but I’ll never forget the moment that idea came to life in my head on that road to Jerusalem.
What do you hope readers will glean from this story?
My hope is that through this story of two enemy children adopted into the family of Abraham, readers will be reminded just what a privilege and a blessing it is to be grafted into God’s family through the covenant of Jesus’s blood. Both Eliora (also known as Arisa) and Lukio (also known as Natan) have different experiences when it comes to their union with the Hebrew family that watches over the Ark of the Covenant, and both take very different journeys to accepting their new identities as grafted-in and loved children but the redemption they discover along the way is worth the difficult path for certain.
Two of the main characters in to Dwell among Cedars have a name change during the story, why did you chose to do this (especially when it can be confusing to readers)?
In the Word, there are a number of instances where God changes people’s names. Abram is changed to Abraham, Sarai is changed to Sarah, Jacob is changed to Israel, and Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter (although the Hebrew form of that name is Kefa, not Peter). These name changes were always accompanied with a change in the purpose of that person—a shift in identity, if you will. And when a child is adopted into a new family more often than not a name change is part of the union with their new family. And without giving spoilers, I will say that my characters have drastically different reactions to the change from Philistine to Hebrew names which are symbolic of their own unique journeys, so I felt this aspect was necessary to illustrate their internal struggles in accepting their new identities and purposes among the people of Abraham.
What is the significance of the cedars in the title? Were there even cedars in ancient Israel?
Well, if I say too much it’d be a bit spoilery, but I will say that absolutely there were cedars in Israel. What we see of the vegetation in Israel (especially in the media) is not what the Promised Land looked like 3000 years ago. There were forests all over the land, as evidenced by many passages in the Bible, as well as historical accounts and even scientific evidence but there were a number of things that contributed to the massive deforestation of Israel over time including poor stewardship of the land by those who did not take the Torah to heart, massive wars (Romans, Crusades, etc) in which armies consumed timber in staggering amounts, taxation of trees which caused clearcutting to avoid loss of wealth, a long period of Hebrew exile which in turn allowed the land to be cursed with droughts, and large shifts in climate that made the once rich countryside a desolate place. I’ve read that erosion atop the mountains in Israel is so bad that the valleys are just full of the topsoil that used to hold all those massive forests in place, so much so that it’s almost impossible to dig down to the bedrock in certain places. The cedars of Lebanon were highly prized for their strength and impressive size and were used especially in shipbuilding and for temple construction, including the Temple of Solomon. And it’s worth noting that much of the land we call Lebanon (and its massive, ancient forests) was in fact designated to the tribes of Naphtali and Asher by Joshua just after the entry into Canaan. Also, the city in which most of the book takes place is called Kiryat-Yearim which means the city of forests. For the rest of the reason I’ve included cedars, you’ll just have to read the book ;) What is really cool, however is that since Israel became a nation in 1948 after 2000 years of exile, millions and millions of trees have been planted in the Land, making it “bloom like a rose” once again just as the prophets foretold.
What inspired you to write about the ark of the covenant at Kiryat-yearim?
There is so much mystery surrounding the Ark of the Covenant and when I read somewhere that the ancient rabbis considered the loss of the sacred box to the Philistines in 1 Samuel 4-7 just as devastating as the destruction of the temple, I began to think about how this event might have effected the Hebrew people. They were already clamoring for a king that could stand up to their enemies, they’d placed their faith in priests who were corrupt and too arrogant to ask for the Lord’s guidance before the battle at Afek, and then after hearing for hundreds of years that Yahweh was for them and that the Ark was this powerful thing that would protect them, they lost horrifically on the battlefield and had their most holy object snatched right out of their hands. It must have been terribly demoralizing and as I’ve shown through the character of Ronan, many of them may have even begun to doubt whether any of the tales they’d been told were real at all. They were looking for human solutions to divine things and the Lord let them do so, precisely so he could come in and remind them exactly who he was. Yes, the loss of the Ark was a punishment, but it was also a gift to show them that he had not forgotten them after all. I was also inspired to think about what it must have been like to grow up in the household of Abinidab, whose family was in charge of watching over the most powerful and dangerous object on earth for seventy years and how their household might have been blessed by its presence.
What comes next in this series?
Between the Wild Branches will release July 6th of next year and is a continuation of the story of the two siblings featured in this duology. All I can say is that I am totally in love with the hero (shh, don’t tell my husband) and I’ve never had so much fun writing a book as I did with BTWB. Once readers finish To Dwell among Cedars I am pretty sure they are going to be saying “hurry up July” like I am.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on my third short novel for Guideposts Fiction’s Ordinary Women of the Bible series, which is the story of King David’s mother. It has a twist which may be a little controversial but I think is going to be a really beautiful story of redemption. David has always been one of my favorite Biblical heroes and exploring his mama’s story is so much fun! Oh, and I think a couple of characters from the Covenant House series might just make cameos in a couple of scenes too!