Book Review: Of Fire and Lions by Mesu Andrews

Dear Friends,

"Of Fire and Lions" is another great Biblical fiction novel penned by Mesu Andrews, this time it is based on the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. 

The majority of the book is told through the eyes of Belili (the fictional wife of Daniel). Belili (or Abigail) is one of the young people who is taken into exile to Babylon, along with Daniel and his friends. 

The book begins with Belili and Daniel in their old age, having lived many decades in Babylon. As they look back over the years and remember their past, we get to learn about their experiences of living in exile and the cost of being faithful to God in a land where he is not worshipped as the one and true God. 

Belili is such a relatable character. We see her as a child and her early encounter with God which forges her personal faith, but then because of circumstances against her, we see how she drifts away from God for a time. However, God always has his hand on her and draws her back to himself. 

Belili carries a lot of guilt and feels she’s made so many mistakes as a mother and for many years she is unable to forgive herself. She is not so different from many of us who carry guilt relating to our own parenting. 

Towards the end of her life, she realises her mistake in failing “to trust Yahweh’s power and sufficiency in both their lives [the lives of her children] and my own.” What a good lesson for us all to learn – to trust God with our lives and the lives of those closest to us. 

She feels she has failed to convince her children to place their faith in God. But Daniel lovingly reminds her that it is Yahweh who does the convincing. It is our role as parents, to love them. This is a good reminder for each of us who are parents. We cannot make our children choose to follow God for themselves but we can unconditionally love them and keep praying for them. 

Belili goes on such a journey of faith, with ups and downs, much as we all do. Towards the end of her life, she learns to love God above everyone and anything else whatever the cost. She surrenders herself to God. I wonder if you and I can say the same? 

One conversation between Daniel and his son-in-law, Shesh, which spoke to me was when they were talking about the return of the Jews to Jerusalem. Shesh believes Daniel should be the one to lead them home and says, “Who in Babylon has been more faithful than you?” 

Daniel’s reply is this, “Our service to God isn’t about comparing yourself to others, my son. It’s about measuring obedience to our individual calling.” 

This is something each one of us would do well to learn and remember. Let’s not compare ourselves to anyone else, let’s just concentrate on being faithful to the calling God has given us. 

I enjoyed reading the imaginative retelling of events from the book of Daniel, such as when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are thrown into the fiery furnace and when Daniel spends the night in the den of lions. Another account which made me think completely differently is Mesu’s interpretation of the time when King Nebuchadnezzar is punished by God by giving him the mind of a beast and living as a beast. 

The character list at the beginning of the book is helpful. Especially if you’re like me and easily forget who is who. The Readers Guide at the end is useful if you wish to read this in your book club. 

In my opinion, this book is definitely worth reading. It will help you to better understand some of the events in the Bible and the history of that time. I believe it can also help you in your own journey of faith in God.

The release date for "Of Fire and Lions" is early March 2019 but it is available to pre-order from Amazon

Vicki