Sons of Encouragement: Five Stories of Faithful Men Who Changed Eternity

Similar to A Lineage of Grace, this book contains five novellas about different biblical characters – but this time, it’s the men! For this collection, Rivers chose to tell the stories of background figures and secondary characters who don’t often get as much focus as the main heroes of their stories: Aaron (The Priest), Caleb (The Warrior), Jonathan (The Prince), Amos (The Prophet), and Silas (The Scribe).

Aaron’s and Caleb’s stories overlap as they chronicle the plagues in Egypt, the Exodus, and Israel’s wandering in the wilderness, with Caleb going on to tell of conquering the Canaanites under Joshua’s leadership. Jonathan struggles to remain loyal to both his father, the first king of Israel, and his best friend, David, show more anointed to take Jonathan’s place as Saul’s successor. Amos is called to turn the hardhearted nation of Israel back to the Lord and warn of His coming wrath, and Silas recounts his travels with the apostle Paul and the emerging first-century churches across the Roman Empire. I see the theme of faithfulness throughout: both our lack of it and God’s abundance! show less

This is another of River's fine pieces of writing. Her book provides 5 novellas about men of faith including Aaron, Caleb, Jonathan, Amos and Silas. It is a work of historical fiction and Rivers has created action, dialogue and some additional characters to provide captivating stories. However, Rivers has ensured that the outline of the stories are Biblically accurate. A Bible study for each novella is also provided, encouraging the reader to explore the facts known about each character. While this is an epic book, it is well worth reading!

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