Loved it. Very deep history in this book.

I thought Kay Arthur was a Christian. Christians do not write junk like this. I refused to read any more of this.

I have respect for Kay Arthur and have used, benefitted from, and taught, and lead study groups using her books with Precepts Ministries. I feel nauseated even contemplating reviewing this book because I ask myself, "Who am I to critique Kay Arthur?" I have always held her up as a role model and a woman to be greatly honored and I am terribly grateful for much of her work. So much of what I believe to be the teaching of Scripture I believe because I have used the techniques Kay taught in How to Study Your Bible.

I burned this book because I found it to be so offensive.

No, I didn't like the writing style and the dialogue was so stilted that it was torturous to read and getting to the end of the book was like slogging through cold mud to me, but I HAD to read to the end to see if Kay would straighten everything out. But, no, the point of the book is that there is a different path of salvation for Jews. Christ is nothing in the book. . .nothing more than an object of offense through most of the novel and then a tiny player in the end whose little role as messiah is to kill the anti-Christ, Anthony/Nicolai Carpathia Wannabe, and hand the Nation of Israel over to God the Father. Christians are almost all bad and a Christian trying to tell a Jew that Jesus is the messiah is presented as being so offensive that the Christian repents in TEARS for trying to share the gospel with a Jew and the Jew--the book's hero--makes it clear that she would rather die than be proselytized. Apparently the Jews do not need our stinkin' gospel, or our lousy New Testament.

The book teaches that jesus is NOT the way, the truth and the life for Jews other than he'll kill the anti-Christ so that they can be restored to God the Father and rule the world.
It turns out that there IS Jew and Greek, slave and free.
It turns out that we DO need to reinstitute the sacrifices of the temple because Jesus' sacrifice was not enough for the Jews and He is not their High Priest and that the copies are better than the heavenly realities, so I guess the Lord of Glory is either irrelevant in his atonement, or we need to have the blood of bulls because Jesus' blood wasn't enough for the Jews. Studying the Bible, this is blasphemous to me.
The Book of Hebrews is total garbage because Christ fulfilled nothing for the Jews and they need to keep the Law and offer up sacrifices in an earthly temple.
The Holy Spirit? No mention of Him.
The Church is evil, but Christians owe it to Jews to risk everything to preserve them because the Jews, not the Christians, are God's chosen people and if Christians have any salvation they owe it all to Jews because Jesus was a Jew, which I guess is more important than Jesus being God. (Note: The book never acknowledges that there is ANY salvation for non-Jews, or that Jesus is anything to non-Jews. I mean, I understand that the history of the Jews is the point of the book, but I learned very little about that that isn't fairly common knowledge, which was another disappointment for me as a reader. For a Christian to write a book where the Church sucks, sharing the gospel is shameful, and there is salvation apart from Christ leaves me in tears, and truly, truly nauseated.)

neat way to write--tells the history of Israel woven into the metaphor of Israel as God's bride

I especially enjoyed this book because I have just completed Kay Arthur's study of the Book of Daniel, and it was fascinating to see the prophecies carried out through the millennia. It was a bit of a jolt at times to see the same characters living and aging only slightly over thousands of years, but since Sarah was symbolic of the nation of Israel, God's Chosen People, it made sense. This story really opened my eyes to the persecution the Jews have suffered throughout time.

I enjoyed reading the history of Israel presented through the life of a woman. If you do not know Israeli history, this is one way to get an overview. If you do, you almost get a personal look at it through the eyes of one person.

Historical fiction of Israel in novel form... Brilliant concept. Wonderful writing. This is one of my favorite books ever. This book has a way of seeking out the reader in the place where they are and the places they have been in life and gives the reader a perspective shift and illumination of how they are viewed and pursued by God himself, as the lover of their soul. Incredibly life changing. I recommend to everyone over the age of 16.

This book touched me very deeply and has changed the way I look at Israel’s history. However, it was occasionally confusing which I suppose would be expected with the timeline thing. Overall 5/5 stars for the story and 4.75/5 stars for the execution of the story. (I hope that makes sense)

“It’s there, Sarah—a hatred for the Jews encouraged by the church. And Saint John was a man known for his charity and ascetic lifestyle! “It’s a mystery, Sarah. They cannot understand why we don’t convert, and when we don’t convert they try to force us. What blindness! How can one man dictate what another believes? Pouring water over the head in baptism isn’t going to change the way a man thinks. It only makes him wet on the head.

Israel -- God's beloved people.

Kay Arthur takes us on a history of Israel and the Jewish people, following Sarah (Israel) as she journeys thru ancient days, the birth of Jesus (and the Jew's denial), the Holocaust, Israel becoming a State, and the future - Christ return & God reclaiming His bride. Very well done.

This book was a tough read, at times dry and dull, and at times the theology seemed a bit off (She was the bride of God and Jesus took a minor side role). But it was an eye opening, empathetic look at the history of the Jewish race. I'll keep it on my shelves.

Phenomenal! It captivated my attention from the first page to the last and helped my understanding with biblical history as well as the promises to be fulfilled by our coming Messiah. I will highly recommend this book to friends and family.