Rachel, Beloved of Israel
A novel of longing, love, transformation and the God who prevails.
When God’s promise costs more than she ever imagined.
Rachel waited seven years for the day she would marry Jacob, the man God chose for her. But on the night their life together was meant to begin, a devastating betrayal by her Abba and sister shatters the life she had imagined. Trapped in a fractured household where loyalties shift, alliances are forged, and children become weapons in a battle for power, Rachel fights to hold onto the hope that a nation will one day come from her womb.
But when Rachel’s deepest longing for a child is finally fulfilled, the joy she has waited so long to embrace is cut short by a loss she never expected. As grief shatters her understanding of God’s promise, she faces the ultimate test of faith.
Shep shuffled forward with a whine, his wet nose nudging her hand. She turned toward him. Two large brown eyes were fixed on her as his tail wagged with relief. Reaching out to pat him, she dropped her arm, unable to lift it.
Was she married already? She couldn’t remember a single thing of the ceremony. Perhaps she’d drunk too much wine. But that was so unlike her. There had to be another reason. Perhaps she’d come down with something at the last minute, and Abba had postponed the wedding?
Abba! The last thing she remembered was Laban handing her a cup of wine. Rachel sat up with great effort, propping herself up on her elbows. Her eyes found Zilpah, staring at her from the corner. Something was terribly wrong.
“Zilpah?” Rachel managed to croak. “What’re you doing here? What’s going on?”
“Oh, thank the gods, you’re alive!” Zilpah’s breath hitched, the tight knot of fear unfurling in a rush of relief. She’d stayed all night, her heart pounding at the possibility of Rachel’s death - a death for which she’d be held responsible. The only interruption during the night had been a frantic scratching at the door. She’d let Shep in, if only to gauge his reactions as a sign of life in Rachel.
As Rachel’s vision slowly sharpened into focus, her belly lurched, bile rising in her throat. There, on the floor, a row of grotesque idols had been arranged in a semicircle before Zilpah.
Before she could speak, Zilpah’s words tumbled out, her gaze firmly fixed on the floor, fingers knotting in the folds of her robe as she laid bare Laban’s betrayal - every abhorrent detail. And then, the final blow: Jacob had married Leah.
“Noooooo!!” Rachel screamed. Her limbs may have been too heavy to move, but the pain tore through her with terrifying clarity, and a deep ache began to form in her chest.
Seven years she’d waited. Prayed. Believed. Her own Abba! Her own sister! Her own blood. And no one had stopped it.
Her gaze snapped to Zilpah, who stood wringing her hands like a child caught in a lie. All Rachel saw was betrayal.
“You did this!” Rachel screamed, trembling with rage. “Get out,” she spat. “And take those hideous things with you!”
Shep stood, a low growl rumbling in his throat.
Zilpah scrambled to gather the idols. With the realization that her part in the scheme was over, tears fell - tears of relief and freedom. At last she was rid of him. No more Laban, no more… she shuddered. Without a backward glance, she fled the room.
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