The Left Hand of God
Rob Alloway
Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2008
ISBN: 1573834378
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Already having produced two award winning collections (Balaam’s Revenge, 1999 and Babylon Post, 2005), Rob Alloway continues to bring Old Testament Bible stories to life in his latest book, T
he Left Hand of God.
Alloway, according to Eugene Peterson, “brings a biblically soaked imagination to the craft of story-telling.” Once you read The Left Hand of God, I’m confident you will agree. With a firm grasp of the biblical text, alongside careful research into the extra-biblical sources, Alloway writes with an earthy, the-way-people-really-think-and-speak style that draws you in, refusing to let you go until the last syllable is read. Alloway is likely to forever change the way you read these Old Testament stories again.
In “Persian Providence” you will follow the amazing story of a young Jewish girl who, through no action of her own, found herself competing to become the next Queen of Persia. And given the history of the King’s way with women, this was at once a great privilege and a terrifying prospect. Though you probably already know how the story of Esther ends, Alloway will keep you hooked to the very last word.
The second story, from which the book gets its title, is about Nehemiah’s leadership in overseeing the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. Even if you believe you have heard too many sermon series on Nehemiah’s leadership in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, you will be surprised and challenged with how some of Nehemiah’s contemporaries may have viewed the enterprise. The diverse opinions presented are plausible, and given the developments around Ezra’s arrival, you will appreciate that some Jews were probably not that excited about the project.
What we most know about Ezra is that he was a diligent student of Torah – the law of God. In “Refiner’s Ashes” you will see Ezra in a way that you’ve never seen him before. Yes, he is a godly man, devoted to understanding and teaching God’s law to the Jews returning from exile. But Alloway’s treatment of the story will force you to think through the implications of truly striving to be faithful keepers of God’s commandments.
Mark Buchanan described Alloway’s writing in Babylon Post as “richly evocative, psychologically incisive, and historically precise.” The Left Hand of God is more of the same. And to the delight of many readers I’m sure, word is that Rob Alloway is even now working on a fourth collection of stories.
