Her Source of Strength: Raya's Story

Ordinary Women of the Bible

by Jill Eileen Smith

AFTER YEARS OF CHILDLESSNESS, Raya has come to accept barrenness as her lot in life…. Until, one day, she meets a man (but no ordinary man) who tells her she is going to have a son and he is to be a Nazarite, set apart from birth to serve God. The prophecy is fulfilled, and nine months later Raya gives birth to Samson.

Samson changes Raya’s life, and she loves her son with all her heart. She teaches him about God and instills the ways of a Nazarite into his mind—and hopefully his heart. But as the years go by, Raya’s heart aches as her beloved son breaks each of the vows he promised to keep.

Can Raya pray her prodigal son back to the Lord? Is that even possible? What will she do if he never returns? If she never sees him again? Was she right to trust God? Is God stronger than Samson’s stubborn will?

Genres: Biblical Fiction, Historical Fiction

ebook

First published October 8, 2020

About the author

Jill Eileen Smith is the bestselling, award-winning author of the Wives of King David series, the Wives of the Patriarchs, Daughters of the Promised Land, Heart of a King, Star of Persia, Miriam's Song, The Prince and the Prodigal, Daughter of Eden, and The Ark and the Dove. Her research has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Bible 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 cats Kody and Kaelee. Jill lives with her family in southeast Michigan.

Contact Jill through email (jill@jilleileensmith.com), her website (http://www.jilleileensmith.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jilleileensmith), or Twitter (https://twitter.com/JillEileenSmith).

Reviews

[Joanna Bair]

“Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet.”
Did you ever imagine what it would be like to live at the same time as a Bible character?
Samson for instance. What a crazy larger than life personality. He must have driven his parents mad with his anger and sin. They knew he had such a huge call on his life. He knew it too, he was a judge. Yet he allowed himself to be overcome with anger and lust. But God used that anger to destroy the Philistines.
And his weakness for women. Can you imagine how upset that would have made his Hebrew mother? Sleeping with a Philistine and not even marrying her? When he was supposed to be a Nazirite? Yet still God used him.
I feel like this story is a good example of God’s grace in the Old Testament. Even though Samson gave into temptation-think of the commandments he broke.
God still used him until the day he died. Just another sign of God’s goodness to us. And His patience and love that exceed all of our ability to comprehend.
A good reminder to me to keep showing grace, patience, and love when I get frustrated with the way people in my life sin.

A fantastic alternative to doing a Bible study on Samson. I learned way more about him than I ever have. Highly recommend this one. And...one of my favorite students is nicknamed Raya...lol

[Paula White]

2.75 This is my least favorite of the Ordinary Women of the Bible series. I felt it was too long and depressing. The story of Samson’s mother and her constant sorrow was heavy. There was also a section I found confusing because it seemed this had already been told then repeated. The only reason I gave it as many stars as I did is because I have read this authors books previously and liked them.

[Stephanie Mccall]

Her Source of Strength was one of the books I looked forward to most in the Ordinary Women series because of its author, Jill Eileen Smith. In fact it, along with The Reluctant Rival, was the one that got my attention (and got me to invest in a series you could mostly only get in hardcover at the time)! :) So again, do not let the four-star rating throw you off, because there is plenty to enjoy and sink your literary teeth into with Her Source of Strength.

Samson's mother Raya is hardly mentioned in the Bible. Actually, I'm trying to remember if she's mentioned by name at all. Here though, the little bit Judges gives us, is fleshed out into a three-dimensional, entirely relatable portrait. Raya won my sympathy instantly, considering the maltreatment her family puts her through and how long she must wait for a child. My family is much more supportive, but as the only single, childless woman, I definitely related to her. Raya was not a pitiful protagonist, though. I also related to her based on her desire to be alone with Yahweh, contemplate Him, and do her best in all her endeavors. Indeed, as the title indicates, her strength waxes and wanes but ultimately increases throughout the book.

I also applaud Jill because, while Her Source of Strength focuses a lot on Samson, Raya is never too far from the plot. She might live in ancient Israel, but she deals with many evergreen motherhood issues, such as a grown son who's still a major part of her life and inner turmoil over whether she was and is a good parent to that son at every stage. One of the most thought-provoking parts of the story centered on how much responsibility Raya bore as Samson's mother, and how much of his rebellion against Yahweh she could realistically control or prevent, from a very early age.

The plot of Samson's story is a difficult one, particularly through Raya's eyes. I admit, the more sins Samson committed, the more I wanted to finish the book. But that's not why Her Source of Strength didn't get a perfect rating. Nor did I walk away thinking Raya ended up a weak-willed mother who enabled her son. Actually, Raya is at her best in the climax, in Samson's worst and weakest moments. It's there that she, I'd argue more than Samson, has to cling to and trust Yahweh's promises. It's there that she becomes a model for what we as mothers, aunts, and especially women can and should do when we don't understand what God is doing, when our prodigals don't come home, when our prayers hit the ceiling. It's a lot to digest, but it's worth it.

Jill's writing does feel detached at some points, in that "telling over showing" way. Moreover, because this is Samson's story as much as Raya's, some of the text gets a tad repetitive. That's somewhat excusable because it's straight out of Scripture. At the same time, Samson, Delilah, and several other characters tend to read more unlikeable than I thought they needed to at times. I also questioned whether Jill lingered too long on some events and not long enough on others.

However, these are mostly personal preferences, and there are plenty of "popping" small scenes to balance them out (Samson's scene with the foxes wrenched my heart, for one, and provided some keen insight into who he was becoming, while his scene with the lambs did the same and provided insight into who he should have become). Again, this might not be my pick for the "strongest" novella overall, but it is still solid, so give it a read, or more than one.

[Lori]

Interesting & Thought Provoking

I enjoyed the aspects that this fictional story revealed as some of the customs in the culture. At that time. I had always understood that Sampson was to refrain from eating grapes or raisins or any drink made from such fruit, but I had not understood how intricate those items were in their culture and in their daily menu. It truly would have been a sacrifice and, at a young age, very hard for a little boy to understand. It shed light on the sacrifices he was asked to make his entire life and the possibility of being spoiled by his parents to give in to any of his other demands that were not restricted to him by God and his Nazarite viw. I enjoyed the story and the insight into the possible family dynamic. It also gave a slight insight as to why Samson was so rebellious. Feeling too much had been asked of him for too long. I enjoyed the characters and the take on his life from this fictional author. I look forward to the next book in this series.

[Gayle]

This is the 12th book I've read in this series. For me it read like a recap of Chapters 13-16 of Judges in the Bible and the story of Samson. The author does mention at the end that they do not name Samson's mother in the Bible and so she gave her a name, which is fine. And yes, mothers worry about their children and her probably more so because of Samson's calling. At times I found it boring and repetitious. She worries about him keeping his vows, when is he coming home, is he OK. All mothers do that and I don't think her story was exceptional, as many of the others I've read so far in this series. They do call it Ordinary Women of the Bible and yes she was.

[patricia]

Did not enjoy this one as much as the other Women of the Bible series. Raya has prayed for a child God answers her prayers. Her son Samson is be a Nazarite. As Samson grows up he comes to resent that calling. However he does wish to ris Israel of the Philistines. The story of Samson is familiar but his mother is a nameless woman. Raya always remains faithful to God as is her husband. In Her Source Of Strength: Raya's story Samson violates some of the rules of being a Nazarite/ In captivity he comes to repent his wrongdoings and to see that God is his source of strength, not his hair. This was written by Jill Eileen Smith.

[Lisa Wilson]

As always, Smith did a fantastic job writing this story. I never considered what life would’ve been like for Samson’s parents. His mother’s story was heartwarming, as a mother myself I can only imagine the heartbreaking loss of knowing her son, called by God, had chosen to balk against his calling. Even Samson’s story line gave me so much more to think about his time as judge and how his choices, not just cutting his hair, affected his life and the course of his end. I definitely enjoyed this book.

[Patricia W. Thompson]

I found this to be a good way to tell a true history of " The way it could have happened"..
I really liked the way it was writtened.. From a Mother's heart.
As a mother, grandmother & Great-grandmother, I have seen Life &( sorry to say,) Death..
The author risked a lot by not giving a 'happy ever after' ending..
But That's Life, the way it does sometimes happen.

I really enjoy all this Writter's books. I feel they are sometimes Anointed.



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[Wanda Torres]

I hate that I didn’t like this book… I think it’s the only one that I struggled to finish. I can understand the struggles of a mother with an extremely stubborn child but I think they harped too much on her low level emotions. Having a child when barren I think would be a joyful thing even if they don’t turn out the way we hope.

[Mary Reed]

Another great book in The Women of the Bible series. We don’t know anything about Samson’s mother, so the author gave her the name of Raya. Even though most of the story is fiction I enjoyed this book very much.

[Karlies DesignStudios]

An interesting take on the Samson story

It was okay I think this story would not be easy to write as there wasn't a lot of info on his life or his parents. So I wasn't as gripped as I was with the other stories in this series. A good effort nonetheless.

[Carly Pollart]

Beautifully written

Loved this book. Jill Eileen Smith is one of my favorite writers. A testament of a mothers love and a fathers love.