" A Passionate Hope" by Jill Eileen Smith

Book Info: 

Hannah and her husband, Elkanah, share a deep and abiding love, for each other, for their God, and for his tabernacle at Shiloh. Greatly disturbed by the corruption of the priests, they long for restoration and pray for a deliverer. But nothing changes as the years pass. Years that also reveal Hannah to be barren.

Pressured by his family to take another wife, Elkanah marries Peninnah, who quickly begins to bear children. Disgraced and taunted by her husband’s new wife, Hannah turns again to prayers that seem doomed to go unanswered. Do her devotion and kindness in the face of Peninnah’s cruelty count for nothing? Why does God remain silent and indifferent to her pleas?

Travel back to the dusty streets of Shiloh with an expert guide as Jill Eileen Smith brings to life a beloved story of hope, patience, and deliverance that shows that even the most broken of relationships can be restored.

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My Review: 

"A Passionate Hope" by Jill Eileen Smith is the fourth book in the "Daughters of the Promised Land" series and is Hannah's story. 

I knew how Hannah prayed and longed for a son but never really knew the depths of her longing until reading "A Passionate Hope" by Jill Eileen Smith. As with her other novels, Jill Eileen Smith really brings Hannah and the other Biblical characters to life. She makes her  readers realize that these people are more than just characters but are real people with issues and feelings like us.

When I hear another sermon on Hannah and Samuel, I will remember all the heartache and believing that Hannah went through to give her husband a son.

I knew that in Biblical times, if women were barren it was a really Bad thing, but Jill Eileen Smith really lets us see how bad it really was.  She writes in a way that the reader feels that they are there with the characters and watching the action unfold. 

I felt Hannah's pain and sorrow as she learned of each new child that was born to her husband Elkanah by his second wife Peninnah.   

"A Passionate Hope" by Jill Eileen Smith brings out more of the evil done by Eli's two sons and at times I could feel the tears want to start at the cruel acts by these two sons, as well as Hannah's own family toward her because of her being unable to bear children.

"A Passionate Hope" is a story of hope and healing. I recommend this book to everyone that knows the story of Hannah and how she is praying so earnestly for a child that Eli thinks she is drunk.

Jill Eileen has written another book that lets us see things as they were, a little clearer. 

My favorite quotes from the book are as follows on page 351 "We can all feel as though our lives have become a burden to others, especially when they seem to have no purpose. When I was barren, I felt that way nearly every day."  Then on page 356 "None of us deserve blessing, but I am so glad God gives it anyway."   Then on page 357 "God does amazing things when we trust Him."

I was given a complimentary copy by the publisher and the author and these opinions are my own.

Definitely another five star novel by Jill Eileen Smith

Author Bio:

Jill Eileen Smith is the bestselling, award-winning author of the Wives of King David series, the Daughters of the Promised Land, the Wives of the Patriarchs, and the Loves of King Solomon series. Her research has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times.

When she isn’t writing, she loves to spend time with her family and friends, read stories that take her away, ride her bike to the park, snag date nights with her hubby, try out new restaurants, or play with her lovable, “helpful” cat Tiger. Jill lives with her family in southeast Michigan.