The Sky Will Fall

The Dark Chapters series tell three of the darker stories from the Bible. The three books in the series, The Egyptian Nightmare (the story of Pharaoh), Izevel, Queen of Darkness (the story of Jezebel) and The Sky Will Fall (the story of Samson), focus on the story of one character from the Bible and see how their life compares to how God wants us to live. They also examine what happens as a consequence of them not following God's plan for their lives. The text does not sensationalise the horrific aspects of each story for entertainment's sake, and therefore trivialise what it has to say. On the contrary, each retold account uses the more fantastic and gruesome episodes of each character's story to grip the reader and draw them into assessing why these events take place. The reader is asked throughout the books to consider questions about the nature of God, how we should live as Christians, what value we place on things of this world - power, wealth, influence or popularity - and what God values. In the Temple of Dagon, a blind man is tied to two pillars while the rulers of Philistia celebrate his capture.He was once a strong and powerful ruler, but the blind man's task is not quite finished yet - Shimsom (Samson) had a miraculous birth, foretold by and angel to a childless couple. His parents were told that he would save Israel from the power of the Philistines. But the way Shimsom goes about it doesn't seem to be God's plan. Through the story we follow Samson and his dealings with the Philistines, but the story also makes demands on the reader - what does Samson's behaviour and the violent way he went about freeing the Israelites from Philistine control tell us about God? How closely does he follow God's will and where does he depart and go his own way? We follow Samson's mistakes and his triumphs in a story that is often uncomfortable, but always compelling.…