To Dwell Among Cedars – Connilyn Cossette

“Because…” My voice dropped. “Because I feel safe here, in the place Azuvah told me I would find peace. And because it is nearby, I am at rest and know that Yahweh hears my prayers. When I go too far away, even down into town, I am … uneasy.”

“Oh but, daughter, do you not remember that Yahweh is not a regional god like those of your people? He does not live on this mountain, or even within the Ark, although there have been times when the indwelling has resided upon its throne. The Ark itself is just a thing, fashioned by the hands of men, even though it was commissioned by Yahweh himself. But the Eternal One was not made by man; there is no place you can go that he will not be with you. Whether hat is here, or Beit El, or Ashdod, or any other place. He is the God Who Sees. There is no place you can go to escape his vigilant watch over you. If it were not so, then he would not have heard our ancestors cry out to him from Egypt or see our sufferings there.”

To Dwell Among Cedars is a masterpiece. The gentle nods back to the Counted with the Stars characters, Kiya and Eben, the exploration of ideas of “otherness” and what makes one worthy to belong, and the development of love when everything in your head is telling you it is wrong even when it really isn’t, intermingle to produce this incredible book.

The book follows the narrative of Arisa and her brother Lukio. The two children were left on their aunt’s doorstep after their father fell into a depression following the death of their mother during childbirth. Though they are blood relatives of the family though, Arisa and Lukio are treated almost as slaves – they carry baskets from the market, they have strict regulations on where they can go, and they are continually cast to the side.

One day, they are walking through the market when the soldiers return from war against the Israelites. Trumpets are playing and there is a fanfare – the Philistines won the battle! And as a trophy, they carry home to Ashdod the Ark of the Covenant, which they dump at the foot of their god, Dagon. Arisa is struck by this box and she can’t seem to take her eyes off it. However, it doesn’t take like for their prize to wreak havoc. That night, Ashdod experienced an earthquake which caused buildings to crumble and the statue of their god Dagon to fall. Though they resurrect the statue, the following day it is once again on the ground – this time crumbled into multiple pieces.

At this point, the book moves forward a few months and we find out that Ashdod had been struck by a plague, causing many people, including Arisa and Lukio’s aunt and uncle, to perish. Rats had infested the city and all of the food supplies were ruined. The inhabitants had exiled the box, passing it onto another city which ended up experiencing worse consequences for holding the Ark.

Due to the death of their aunt and uncle, Arisa and Lukio were left in the care of their cousin Mataro, who is not the nicest person on the planet. In fact, he encourages Lukio, who is only nine years old, to switch from gambling with dice to fighting other boys of the city for money. The night Arisa finds out about this is consequently the same night her caregiver, Azuvah, finds out Mataro plans to sell Arisa to the temple as a slave. In a final ditch attempt to save the children, she sends them climbing out the window, imploring them to follow the Ark until it lies amongst tall cedars. The final glance Arisa gets of the woman who was practically a mother to her and Lukio is of Mataro beating her to death.

The two children locate the Ark when the five Philistine kings have placed it on a cart drawn by two cows. The kings follow it at a distance all the way to Israelite territory and only retreat when they know it has been found by the Israelites. Following Azuvah’s command, rather than retreating with the Philistine kings, Arisa and Lukio follow the Ark. They witness the Levites celebrating when they find the Ark but also the lightening that kills many of them when they go against Hebrew law and attempt open the Ark. It is only when they are hiding behind a broken sheepfold following this lightening strike that they are found by a Levite teenager – Ronen. Along with his family, Ronen leads the children and the Ark to Kiryat-Yearim, where the Bible says it was held for 70 years.

The story then picks up seven years later. Arisa, now known by the Hebrew name Eliora, and Lukio, now known as Natan, have been adopted into a Jewish family – the very ones who were charged with guarding the Ark. Natan does not remember much of his childhood in Ashdod but he looks upon it with frustration. He feels as if Eliora has abandoned her heritage and traded it for people that don’t even love and accept them. Much to the aggravation of his adopted family and Eliora, he spends most of his time fighting other Hebrew boys who insult him or his sister and running off with his Gibeonite friends.

Eliora is the complete opposite. She feels indebted to her new family – so much so that she feels like if she makes a mistake or Natan pushes them too far, that they will be driven out. She works the garden, cooks, cleans, and takes care of all of the younger children all to the best of her abilities so that she can gain her family’s approval.

This is the point where Ronen returns. The Levites have decided to come together at Kiryat-Yearim to celebrate a Hebrew festival. The musicians prepare songs from the time of Moses and a big celebration is prepared. It is here that we learn that Ronen’s family, who had been killed in the war against the Philistines when the Ark had been taken, had been taken in by his uncle. Unbeknownst to many of the people attending the festival, Ronen’s new family with a number of other Levites are planning to use this festival as a ruse to steal back the Ark of the Covenant and return it to its rightful position – in a temple at Nob. Ronen’s task is to locate the Ark, which he believes he can find out from Eliora. Who else would know the exact location except she who was determined to follow the Ark from Ashdod and not rest until it lay among the cedars.

As the book continues, Ronen and Eliora’s relationship experiences many peaks and troughs. He is torn between serving his family and protecting the woman he is slowly growing to love. She is conflicted about his attention – why would he notice her? If he did express his intentions, does that mean she would have to leave the only place where she felt safe? What if he didn’t really like her and she was reading into it? Despite his failures, through Ronen, Eliora not only learns about God’s love but she learns how much her own family loves her and chose to take her in as their own. He teaches her about her beauty and why she should not hide it from the world due to the judgement of those who do not know her.

“So why?” he pressed. “Why cover your hair? From what I remember, it is a striking color, like liquid gold.”

His choice of words made my heart thump unevenly. “People stared,” I said, the admission coming out on a soft breath. “I didn’t like it.”

“Being admired?” he asked, looking shocked that I’d reject such attention. “Being beautiful?”

“Being Philistine!” The words spilled from my mouth, unbidden and unrestrained. “I hate that I stand a head taller than my mother and sisters. I hate that my hair is garish instead of dark and lovely. I hate that my veins flow with enemy blood. I wish I’d been born on this mountain. That I’d known nothing by Kiryat-Yearim and did not remember awful things from Ashdod that I can never wash from my mind.”

“But that is who you are! And just like those cuttings from Naftali territory that produce distinctly flavoured apples because they are now nourished by roots established on this mountain, you bring your own uniqueness with you from Ashdod. Revealing you hair, standing at your full height, or displaying any other markers of your heritage will not cause the people you love to cast you out, Eliora. They adopted you. Made a binding covenant with you. And anyone else who does not see the beauty in the incredible story of your grafting into Israel or misses the brilliant light that shines from the very center of your being does not matter.”

This story was beautiful. For the first time ever, one of Connilyn’s books ended on such a happy chapter for one character and a tragic one for another. Though we see Eliora grow in her relationship with God and in self-confidence, Lukio (who refused to go by his Hebrew name) is constantly withdrawing. One final blow to his gut send him packing. He believes that now his own sister has betrayed him and so there is nothing holding him in the land of the Israelites any longer. The book closes as Lukio returns to Ashdod and finds the only other family he had ever known – Mataro.

Though I did not find this book a gripping page turner that I could not put down, it was an incredible story to read. I found that I related to Eliora so much. And not just in a few places here and there. I think acceptance is something we all struggle with – many of us do not believe that those around us actually would like us. We strive to gain their approval and many times I have found myself changing or not speaking up to those around me in order to gain their acceptance. Seeing myself reflected in Eliora put a new perspective on this though. Because no matter how much we may strive for the approval of those around us, God requires nothing from us but faith. There is nothing we can do to separate his love from us.

Thank you Connilyn – this book was beautifully written, and I cannot wait to read Lukio’s story.