Book Review: As Sure as the Dawn (Mark of the Lion Series #3) by Francine Rivers

Rating: 5 Stars

Published: June 1, 1995

Pages: 520

Genre: Christian/Historical Fiction

Buy: Amazon.com

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This is the third book in the ‘Mark of the Lion’ series, and I have reviewed the first and second books in the series as well so if you have not read my review of them yet, you can go check it out. It didn’t feel like I was reading another book as the story flows through from the last one into this one.

However, this book focuses on Atretes, the German gladiator who had earned his freedom and had hoped to build a life with Julia Valerian but was heartbroken by her refusal to marry him but instead engaged in a marriage of convenience with another man so that she could always be free. Also, the fact that Julia also ordered for their newborn son to be left on the rocks to die and was only saved because of Hadassah’s fear of the Lord, made him hate her and everything that had to do with Rome. As Atretes discovers that his son is alive, he goes in search of him and finds him with Rizpah, a widow who had lost her child and the Apostle John had placed the baby in her hands when Hadassah had brought the baby to him. Rizpah, unwilling to part with Caleb her son, her consolation from God pleads with Atretes and he agrees for her to take care of him until he is weaned. Unfortunately, there’s a plan to drag Atretes back into the arena to fight again despite the fact he has won his freedom so he quicky plans to escape to his home country Gemania with his son and this meant that Rizpah would have to accompany him and the child. With the help of the Church in Ephesus, Atretes, Rizpah and Caleb embark on the long journey accompanied by the ex-centurion Theophilus who would help them find their way back. God reveals himself in many ways to Atretes on the journey and on arrival home, he has to make a choice between the God he now knows and worships and the god of his people.

This story is my least Favorite out of the three books; however, it was still a good story. Atretes was such an unlikable character and Rizpah I sometimes thought, with the way Atretes treated her should have just given Caleb back to Atretes and gone her way but as the story progressed, I began to understand what God wanted me to learn here. I think my biggest takeaway from this story is how God used it to convict me about having patience with others because as He says in his word, it is the Lord’s desire that all men may repent and turn to him. So, no matter how damaged or unrepentant someone seems to be, God may be working slowly on him or her and at the appointed time, we will see that hand of God. I want to believe that was what Rizpah held onto while she travelled with Atretes to Germania. The recognition that she was also at some time in her life an unbeliever but was eventually saved by grace and her ability to extend that grace to Atretes albeit his “sins” may have seemed bigger or worse than hers’ could ever be. Rizpah’s attitude and love for Atretes has challenged me to do better, to always try to think of God’s ultimate goal for every one of us, which is for us to come to know him and his love and turn to him.

The fact that a Jewish rabbi named Jesus with his band of 12 disciples have grown into what we know as the Christian faith today is no short of a miracle. Missionaries went into new frontiers where people had worshipped deities for centuries but through the power of God and the holy spirit, they were converted unto Christ. This is amazing and this story carries that same theme as Atretes arrives Germania with Theophilus and Rizpah sharing the good news to his people and though not all believed, the seeds were sown and a new beginning begun for them.

I highly recommend this book to all Christians and the other two books in the series. Go get yourself a copy.

Also available in eBook and audiobook formats on Audible and Everand.

Thanks for stopping by.

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The Author:

New York Times bestselling author Francine Rivers continues to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her numerous bestsellers include Redeeming Love, A Voice in the Wind, and Bridge to Haven, and her work has been translated into more than thirty different languages. She is a member of Romance Writers of America’s coveted Hall of Fame as well as a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

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