Philistia
is a young adult Christian novel featuring a couple who finds themselves
stranded out in the middle of the Judean Desert. It is a time of military
conflict throughout the region, and they are taken into custody by the
Bethlehem Police. They identify themselves as Samson bar-Manoah and Delilah
Sorek, and are arrested for disorderly conduct. Samson is able to disable the
police truck en route downtown and the couple are able to make their escape.
They wind up in the Palestinian community of Bethlehem in the West Bank where
they are taken in by a Muslim family. They experience a culture shock as the
family tells them about the conflict between the Palestinians and the Jews
throughout the Holy Land. Eventually they learn of Samson’s superhuman strength
and convince the couple to seek refuge with their relatives in Gaza.
The conflict begins as
the couple begins learning more about the mysterious land where they have found
themselves. Delilah is able to locate the ancient Sorek Valley and tries to
rediscover her roots with the inhabitants. Samson identifies the Gaza Strip as
the Biblical land of Philistia and grows distrustful of the Palestinians, who
try and turn him against the Israelis. Word of Samson’s inhuman strength
spreads throughout the community as does his propensity for partying. The
people in the neighborhood of Ashdod do their best to keep the couple
entertained. Only an incident between the Palestinians and the Israelis result
in a police action during which Samson takes out a riot squad. He and Delilah
are given shelter by Hamas, and eventually indoctrinated into their
anti-Zionist philosophy.
The insurgents convince
Samson to accompany them on a raid in Jerusalem, and Samson gets split from the
group as they make their escape. Samson seeks refuge in the Jewish neighborhood
and is taken in by a local family. He realizes an epiphany as the father, a
rabbi, engages Samson in a religious discussion. Samson is told the other side
of the story of the Palestinian conflict and learns of the conspiracy to wipe
Israel from the face of the earth. The rabbi’s older son is convinced that
Samson is a paranoid schizophrenic, while the younger son becomes intent on
introducing him to a local band of Zionist militants. Samson is introduced to
Isidor Horowitz, who convinces him to join their group.
Samson soon learns that
Delilah has become a key figure in Hamas, infiltrating the Israeli settlements
and abetting saboteurs in carrying out terrorist strikes. He eventually hunts
her down and persuades her to join him in withdrawing from the hostilities.
They retreat to a Christian community where an evangelical pastor and his
family takes them in. There they are exposed to the Christian faith which gives
them a fuller view of both their traditions and the modern-day conflict. The
couple decides to settle down but Hamas learns of Delilah’s whereabouts and
bring her back to Gaza with them.
Delilah is coerced to
bring Samson back into the Hamas network, while the Pastor is given a vision of
Samson’s purpose in Palestine. He warns Samson that history could repeat itself
if he were to have his head shaven and become a captive of the Palestinians.
Samson disregards him, is taken prisoner and shorn as a result. The Pastor
allows himself to be taken, and he eventually finds his way to Samson’s side in
foiling a diabolical Hamas terror attack on Tel Aviv.
This is a fast-paced
action-adventure novel bringing Christian traditions together with tomorrow’s
headlines. Philistia is a young adult Christian novel you won’t forget.
No comments:
Post a Comment