Book Review–Winds of Ruach

About the Book:

Book: Winds of Ruach

Author: D.M. Griffin

Genre: Biblical Fiction

Release Date: October 18, 2022

Winds of Ruach is a compilation of five novellas fictionally traversing a period in Israel’s history that spans three hundred years. God used the prophets to speak to His people during a tumultuous time when faith was challenged and spiritual discipline was necessary. Five prophets lived out the message of God in a way that girded their faith and inspired those who truly listened to God’s voice. Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Obadiah, and Malachi were God’s chosen spokesmen.

Book One: Jonah felt he had every right to be angry when tragedy struck his household. He would soon learn that anger was a barrier to a right relationship with God no matter how justified the source of that anger. What happens when Jonah realizes that his deep-seated anger might cost him everything? Will he learn to embrace his forgiving God?

Book Two: Nahum was a victim of God’s wrath as it fell on the land of rebellious Israel. Intimidated for the majority of his life with little memory about his origin, Nahum struggles to trust God for vindication. Grappling to understand why everything keeps going wrong, will Nahum surrender to the only One who can truly defend him?

Book Three: As a child, Habakkuk’s faith was pure and unadulterated. As a priest serving in the Temple, however, Habakkuk realizes that something is keeping him from experiencing the fullness of that faith. He doesn’t truly trust God’s heart toward him. Will he learn to be brave despite the circumstances that threaten the very existence of the Temple?

Book Four: Obadiah lived in two worlds while feeling as if he spiritually belonged to one. Born to an Edomite father and Jewish mother, he was constantly at war with his brother. How long would it take for Obadiah to learn that the Lord was with him in the battle? Even if he lost it all, would having God be enough?

Book Five: Malachi wrestles with what he knows to be true about God and how his life is unfolding in contrast to that knowledge. What does it mean to worship with a pure heart, not with ulterior motives? As God has the final say with His people, will they listen and faithfully wait for the promised future of redemption?

Explore the themes woven into the books of the minor prophets through these fictional journeys that reveal how mighty the Winds of Ruach (Spirit) truly are as they blow across history into today.

My Thoughts:

The cover first caught my eye when I saw Winds of Ruach offered for review. I tend to look for books that are not straight-up romance, and those are fairly easy to spot most of the time, just from the cover. With this one, it was easy to see that it was historical, so I read the description. That really caught my attention, so I signed up for it. When I sign up for tours with CelebrateLit, they send me a digital copy of the book, as well as a physical copy; the print book is sent to my mom because it costs too much to send it here. Mom holds the books for me until there is a way to get them to us in someone’s suitcase. When this book arrived, she texted me that it was quite big. Just my kind of book! I was a little apprehensive about what she would have to say about it, since she reads all the books I have sent to her, and I really didn’t know if she would enjoy this one. What a relief when I talked to her after she had read the first two novellas and enjoyed them! That made me think I would like this book, as well.

I really appreciated D. M. Griffin’s imagination of what life may have been like for five men whom we know next to nothing about. She has obviously done a lot of research into life in Ancient Israel; almost everything rang true with what I have read from other sources. Human nature being as it is, I can sure see those prophets acting the way she portrays them—I especially saw myself in Jonah and his struggle to obey God! I think that one and the one about Habakkuk were my favorites. The story about Obadiah struck me as rather melodramatic (my mom called it anachronistic), and the way the major conflict was resolved in the story of Malachi felt too perfect. Otherwise, though, I loved his story and how he tried to maintain pure worship of God in an apostate culture. 

I will have to mention, though, that some of the word choices in Winds of Ruach jarred me a bit. Several times, guards would “parole” an area, and there were a few other words here and there, sometimes repeatedly, that sounded wrong. 

There were, however, so many gems in the story that I loved it despite its need for more proofreading. In the section about Jonah, an Assyrian soldier is quoted as saying, “Yours is a God who extends an invitation to life while our gods only threaten and taunt with death.” Wow! What a contrast. Or a couple of chapters on, Jonah is admonished, “Jonah, do not love God for what He gives you. Love Him for who He is.” Then there is the passage in Nahum’s story: “Yahweh didn’t understand His people’s pressing concern. If Yahweh knew the details, then His Word would be adjusted. If Yahweh knew what was happening now, He would see the foolishness of council given in the past.” Ouch! I know I tend to think that way at times. Wrong! How about this sentence, from the part about Habakkuk? “The Lord owed them nothing. They owed Him everything.” Good reminder! 

In almost every chapter, all through the book, are quotes from various parts of the Bible. Most of them, of course, are from the Old Testament, but some are from the New. All are footnoted. At the end of the book are group discussion questions for all the stories. I found these helpful for thinking more deeply about each story and how it relates to my life. Winds of Ruach would be a good book for a group to read and discuss together. There is so much in each chapter about God and how He wants a relationship with us!

I recently read all eight of Lynn Austin’s books about Hezekiah and his son Manasseh, and the return to Jerusalem after the captivity and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and Winds of Ruach felt like a great companion to those books. I would say that both men and women would enjoy this book; I’ll recommend that my sons listen to it if there is an audiobook of it.

WARNING: Jonah Prologue: Woman brutally killed by Assyrians. Chapter 1: Woman dismembered, baby killed, man’s leg cut off. Chapter 3: Man going after women, caught with a married woman. Nahum Chapter 1: Prostitute tries to get a man to be with her. Chapter 3: Man beaten up. Chapter 5: Attempted rape, man knocked out, kiss. Chapter 6: Man knocked out, beaten up. Chapter 8: Man knocked out. Obadiah Chapter 4: Woman bitten by snake. Chapter 9: People shot with arrows. Malachi Chapter 5: Man beaten up. 

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

D.M. Griffin currently resides in Northern California with her husband. They met in middle school a few days after she was transplanted to the West Coast at the tender age of twelve. She has three adult children who have been an endless source of delight and inspiration. She also has a precious new grandchild who brings her joy.

As a native New Hampshire girl, she fondly remembers spending her summers there as a child. Thick accents, small towns, and fascinating weather stirred the imagination of her young heart. She has always had a fondness for stories thanks to her imaginative mother who would make up wild, adventurous tales to tell her while tucking her into bed as a child.

She truly believes that a book that sits on a shelf unread is like a planted seed that never blossoms. Nothing delights her more than sharing a story.

More from D M:

I am a creature of habit who thrives on predictability. That being said, Winds of Ruach fell outside my comfort zone. If you have ever heard the phrase – if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans – you get the idea. I was deep in the throes of researching and writing a twelve-book series on the disciples of Jesus. My schedule was set. The routine was fixed. I had spent two years dedicated to The Follower Series. In between writing the first draft of book seven and editing book one, I was divinely halted. I didn’t exactly hit a block, so to speak. Instead, I was inspirationally diverted. It frustrated me for a short time.

Looking back on it now, I realize it was a blessing in disguise. At the time, my daily bible reading took me through the book of Jonah. Jonah 4:4 snagged my attention like a burr clinging to a pant leg. “Is it right for you to be angry?”  That single phrase snared my heart with a compulsion to self-reflect. That meditation took me to places I had not been before. I followed the thread of anger woven throughout my life. Not the anger that manifests itself in hot, fiery outbursts but the hidden, silent anger that can turn into deadly pride or unrecognizable prejudice.

Anger wears many disguises. Some of those are loneliness and grief. I began wondering what might have happened in Jonah’s life to make him, a man of God, so angry that he would directly and blatantly disobey the Lord. The first short story was the beginning of a five-month diversion in my predetermined writing schedule.

I was inspired by other verses as I walked the landscape of Scripture through the books of the minor prophets.

With Nahum, I pondered how tragedy affects the trajectory of a life. With Habakkuk, I explored the difference between authentic worship and disingenuous faith. Obadiah is a short and sweet book of the bible, but it packs a punch. The theme of the resulting short story is about claiming one’s true identity as a child of God. Finally, Malachi wove the final thread into the fabric of this anthology which is ultimately about the Spirit of God moving through history to accomplish His will and purpose. Malachi is a story about knowing when to remain silent and when to ask questions of God. As I wrote Winds of Ruach, I thought about the importance of destiny and promise.

Some of my early readers asked me which was my favorite prophet. Honestly, the only way I could answer that question is to say that it is whichever story I am reading at the time. I was greatly blessed while writing Winds of Ruach, drawing out biblical themes I had never noticed before. These five prophets are near and dear to my heart. Truly, the imagination is a gift from God. And yes, I did go back to the ‘routine’ in writing. It took three and half years (half a year over my schedule) but the series I was working on prior to Winds of Ruach is now complete. God is good even in the distractions.

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