E-book companion to Serves You Right: Loving Those We’d Rather Hate
Companion books are always risky, because if you’ve never read the original (or worse, if you’ve never even heard of it), you might be so lost with the Companion that it’s not worth reading. That’s not the case with this book.
This historical drama is based on the biblical account of the Hebrew slave girl whose master Naaman catches leprosy. She tells her Syrian captor, her enemy, of the man of God Elisha whose God has the power to heal. Naaman eventually goes to this Hebrew man of God, doubtful and hopeless, but obeys him when he commands that he dip himself into the Jordan River seven times. With this obedience comes healing and, according to this novel, freedom for the slave girl. The account comes from 2Kings 5:1-14 (and is referenced again in Luke 4:27).
Now when I first came to this book, I was ready to read it aloud to my kids. I’m so glad I didn’t, because despite there being a young lady’s face on the cover and despite the fact that this is about a young girl, this is definitely not a book for kids!
The violence that comes during the raid when Hannah is first captured is graphic and bloody. It turns your stomach to read about what the soldiers did to her sister. It’s despicable, yet I wouldn’t say “it’s gratuitous,” because it is after all historical. Entirely so. This was war in the ancient world. Pillaging, murder, and rape during wartime was common, and though we don’t like to admit it, these things continue to happen even to this day, despite the Geneva Convention. It’s part of the wicked underbelly of our sin-cursed planet.
This book is short (59 pages, according to Kindle) and makes for a fast, engaging read. Author Heijermans puts his creativity and keen insight on display in this novella, and it’s a healthy draw for me to look up his other book, Serves You Right: Loving Those We’d Rather Hate.
If you’re looking for something to read some afternoon that will challenge your thinking and what you consider to be your own forgiving heart, I highly recommend this book. Short, rough, and poignant. I think you’ll find in it an enjoyably challenging read.
©2022 E.T.