I’ve
always liked the Biblical character Caleb. He was amazing to me because he didn’t
go with the crowd and he trusted God enough to have faith in His promise that
the Children of Israel would take the land. After reading Shadow of the Mountain: Exodus by Cliff Graham, I ended up liking
Caleb even more.
Don’t
get me wrong – I read the author’s note that he had taken extreme liberties
with the tale of Caleb. Usually this irritates me, but given the lack of facts
concerning Caleb in the Bible, I didn’t mind this time. Plus the fact that he
used artistic license in creating this character meant that we got an Egyptian
view of the 10 Plagues, something that I have honestly never considered. He
painted Caleb as a young artist who found himself enrolled in Pharaoh’s army,
working his way through many grueling tasks to become one of Pharaoh’s elite.
The
author was a soldier. That is very evident in the graphic battle scenes
throughout this book. If you don’t want a little violence, don’t read this. I
was a little startled by some of it, but let’s be honest – I’m a baby when it
comes to that. None of it spoiled the book for me, though, and I didn’t think
he included gratuitous violence. It all had a purpose.
Something
I loved about this book was that it was told mostly in flashback, but also gave
insight to the mature adult Caleb. The author pointed out that he and Joshua
were the only “old men” that any of the children entering into the promised
land knew, since the rest died before they were allowed to go in. I liked that
he considered these facts when he wrote the book and crafted the characters
around this knowledge. Plus he included battles with the Nephilim. Who isn't
interested in that?
Go
get this book. It’s another quick read, but it’s insightful enough that you’ll
be 100% glad you did.
