Authorpreneur Dashboard – Melinda Viergever Inman
Refuge
Literature & Fiction
Intent on total destruction, Satan notices Cain’s obsessive lust for Lilith and the dark roots of jealousy toward his do-gooder brother Abel. Satan goads Cain to the point of madness, barraging his mind with thoughts of hatred, lust, and futility. In a blinding rage, Cain wrecks everything. Wracked with shame, he flees into the vast wilderness, unable to possess the one thing he truly desires—Lilith. His life is destroyed. Will he will ever find his way back? He longs for refuge. Can he ever find God again?
Book Bubbles from Refuge
Biblical Fiction with a Twist
One of Jesus' most effective storytelling techniques was to add an unexpected twist that brought the focus where the listener least expected it, for instance, the story of the Samaritan man helping a Jewish man who had been assaulted by robbers. After the attack, several religious Jewish men who were supposedly godly people passed the beaten man, leaving him bleeding alongside the road. They gave religious reasons for neglecting him. Then along came the Samaritan---a class of people shunned by Jews of that time period. The Samaritan---the one the listeners expected NOT to help, offered assistance, carried the man to a nearby inn, and paid for his treatment. Jesus twisted endings to make a point. He wanted the shock of the twist to cause us to reflect on God's mercy and whether our own lives demonstrate it to others. Refuge is a Biblical story that is true to the Scriptures. I researched carefully. As an inductive Bible study teacher, that means VERY carefully. And I followed in Jesus' footsteps, adding twists that are unexpected, yet entirely possible scenarios within the Biblical framework of this story about Cain, Abel, and their sister, named Lilith in my story. These twists turn us to consider God's grace. Just how merciful is He? What about us?
Refuge Study Guide
Refuge is a subtype of Christian Historical Fiction often referred to as Biblical Fiction. The story is based on Genesis 4:2b-17 and carefully follows the Biblical framework while fleshing out the events with conversations, descriptions, relationships, and back story. In earlier Book Bubbles, I have discussed the in-depth Biblical research and the examination of ancient Sumerian storytelling tradition that undergird this work of fiction. When my publisher asked me to write a study guide, I was excited! Refuge is the story of Cain, how he pursued his wife (never named in the Bible, but his sister and given the mythical name of Lilith in my story), and what happened after Cain's conflict with Abel. Much foundational truth is contained in the opening chapters of Genesis, so I wrote this guide to provide a rich Bible study source. This week I share the opening pages of the study guide, including the table of contents and suggestions for use. Book Clubs have enjoyed using this guide for their discussions about Refuge. If you have a Book Club, put Refuge on your list. I hope you enjoy it!
Angelic Characters
Refuge is the story of Cain and Abel and their sister Lilith. Cain's pursuit of Lilith entwines with my fictional retelling of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel's conflict as recorded in Genesis 4. Also interwoven through the story are angelic characters - both demonic and elect. In this scene after Cain is exiled, his wandering propels him across the river and into the Garden of Eden where the cherubim guard The Tree of Life from Adam
Spiritual Trickery and Temptation
Refuge is a story that tells a human story but also shows the spiritual world outside the human eye. The story portrays spiritual trickery by the demonic world and spiritual defense by the angelic world. This BookBubble shows one small scene in the step-by-step temptation of Cain to sin---a combination of Cain's own lusts and desires, Satan nudging him toward those urges, Cain's missteps that build one on top of another, and Satan's prodding of circumstances to attempt to cause Cain to fail. Along the way, Cain misses his chances to turn a different way and choose wisely. What is the result? More than you expect! You'll have to read Refuge to find out. Most of this story, which is set in Genesis 4 and drawn from the pages of Scripture and from ancient history, revolves around the human story and the human interactions. This is a story of brothers in conflict, young love, and family life. But there are glimpses given throughout of the tactics of the enemy, his observations of the human family, and how his strategies are formed. The study notes at the back provide reference sources and address spiritual warfare more thoroughly. Enjoy the story! If you want to also use the study guide, it's useful for book clubs, bible studies, groups, and personal study.
Large Family Politics
In Refuge Adam and Eve's family contains all the human characters. Using the ages given in the Bible and similar longevity recorded in the ancient Sumerian Kings List, they all lived a long time. Numerous siblings people this story. Raising a large family helped me to understand the dynamics within such a family, so did having numerous friends with far larger families than mine. Within a large family there are internal politics. The older children become a subset, as do the middle children, and the younger. Each "faction" often has its own internal conflicts which are unknown to the others. Simultaneously, there are loyalties criss-crossing from one group to another, depending upon separate relationships between individuals. These internal politics are the reason for God's protective actions in the story. Here a new idea has been introduced to the family, that of betrothal and marriage among the siblings---a common practice in the ancient world for millennia afterward. Adam announces Cain and Lilith's betrothal. Immediately tension and disagreement are voiced. This tension accelerates an already brewing misunderstanding between Cain and Abel, evidenced by the bruised knuckles of Cain and the blackened eye of Abel. The siblings are mystified, wondering if this conflict has anything to do with the upcoming marriage.
Adam as a Supporting Character
In the background of the passionate love between Lilith and Cain and the simmering conflict between Cain and Abel, we see their parents wringing their hands. Adam and Eve, having been created by God himself, had never experienced being raised by human parents. Every parenting task or conflict was, therefore, a new experience. Often their choices didn't feel natural or left them puzzling together, especially the issues circling about Cain in my story. In this scene we see the two situations come clashing together after Abel stumbles upon Cain and Lilith embracing in the woods, bringing the two young men into conflict about yet another subject. As the father of a large family with many conflicting personalities, Adam had to fill a role he only witnessed God fill in his own life. Yet Adam is human and is beset by sin and uncertainty. He often feels he's making it up as he goes and isn't sure when to move ahead and when to wait. Isn't that how parenting often is for all of us? Our children don't come with individual instruction manuals. They're all different. And all of us were raised by flawed human parents. I attempt to portray parenting as it really is through the struggles Adam and Eve exhibit in Refuge.
Eve as a Supporting Character
Refuge is about the generation of Adam and Eve's children. I fill in the blanks between the lines and the words of Genesis 4, faithfully adhering to the biblical record, but adding conversations, actions, and feelings. Here we see a conflict between Eve and Adam about the affection growing between Cain and Lilith. As the mother of a large family, I have often had this experience of a whispered argument with my husband late a night, both of us coming to different conclusions and then rolling away from one another in frustration. As Adam rolls away from Eve here, she contemplates how this difficulty came to pass. The Eve of my Biblical fiction battles with self-blame and guilt each time conflict and sin shows itself in her family. She revisits her role in tempting Adam to disobey God. Sometimes she rises above it and remembers God's mercy. Other times she doesn't and is beset with depression and discouragement. Like us, she is human. Read Refuge to find out what follows this particular disagreement.
Conflict Brewing
The Biblical conflict between Cain and Abel had to have involved more than what happened on the day Cain's offering was rejected, as described in Genesis 4. Cain's reaction to that event indicates trouble had brewed in more ways than one before that day. The way each man is described in the New Testament shows us that plenty of personality and decision-making conflicts would have arisen between men so different in temperament. As Cain pursues Lilith, his impetuous personality repeatedly collides with Abel's patient thoughtful ways. The siblings closest to each brother tend to side with one or the other. Lilith is caught in the middle, able to see the perspective of each, which produces additional strain between them. Here we see Cain take a private disagreement with Abel into the larger circle of Adam and Eve's family.
Abel's Character
The excerpt today is our first peek at Abel in the novel. Previously I identified Cain and Lilith both as protagonists and Satan as the antagonist. Most people know the rudimentary details of the conflict between Cain and Abel. Abel portrays a sympathetic character and a tragic character while holding to high ideals. Though all the characters in Refuge are human and flawed, and we certainly see this in Abel with his tendency to beat himself up for his failings, Abel demonstrates how a flawed human being might live out godly actions and kindness toward others. Future excerpts will reveal more about his character, but in this opening scene we see him grappling with the discovery of Cain and Lilith embracing with the affection of lovers, rather than as siblings. At this point in the human family's history, only Adam and Eve had formed a marital bond. Cain's pursuit of their sister Lilith to be his wife brings troubling and confusing ideas to all of the siblings and upheaval within the family. Here we find Abel's first considerations.
Satan the Antagonist
One of the purposes of Refuge and the other stories in my biblical fiction series is to show the unseen spiritual world. Therefore, Satan's schemes and tactics are revealed. He and the other fallen angels are antagonistic forces within my novel's ancient world. To write this series, I devoted many years to examining biblical history, particularly from Genesis, theological commentaries, and the Hebrew text. I met to discuss these early human events with several theologians who hold doctoral degrees. I also studied Akkadian and Sumerian myth, to discover early storytelling about the earliest human events, obtaining the historical view from ancient Mesopotamia. As I developed this series, I realized I would need to make a deeper investigation of biblical demonology. At the back of Refuge I have listed all the source material for this series, and it is extensive. I hope you find my story, not only a page-turner filled with heart-pounding action, but also a story built upon solid biblical and historical research. It's a thrilling tale, filling in the white space between the written lines of Scripture.
Lilith as Protagonist
We never know the name of Cain's wife from the biblical source, but Sumerian and Akkadian mythology have tales, some of which ended up in Jewish stories. I have chosen to use the Lilith of mythology as Cain's wife. I believe at the root of most myth is some sort of true event that has been reinterpreted and exaggerated and retold throughout time. We see this in the variety of myth about Lilith and how the various stories contradict. In building the character of Lilith as co-protagonist with Cain I sought to create a strong woman, one whose real-life actions could have produced stories and misunderstanding of her motives. Strong women are often demonized. Who would love Cain so much as to marry him after what he did? Would she have provoked gossip and stories and slander? Lilith's love for Cain prompted stories we still tell today.
Cain the Protagonist
This is the opening paragraph of Refuge. Why write Cain as the protagonist? Because, between the lines of the Biblical narrative, there is a possible backstory that reveals more about God's mercy and long-suffering patience than we see at first glance. Studies of the Hebrew text, of numerous theological commentaries, and of Jewish mythology shaped my story. These considerations show us more about this conflict in Adam
