Books
The power of God’s love illuminates the darkness shrouding the ancient era of Joshua
Balaam’s Curse
The Stones of Gilgal, Book 1
The storm god Baal awakes. An evil prophet unleashes every weapon in his evil arsenal against the Children of Israel. Kings of Moab and Midian conspire to annihilate them. Can their plight get any worse?
If you think you remember the story of Balaam and his talking donkey from Sunday School, think again. The prophet is enraged when his attempts to curse Israel fail. Enlightened by the dark mind of Baal, he sees that he cannot curse the people of Yahweh while they live in covenant with him. Now joined with the forces of evil, he sets in motion schemes so twisted that the name of Balaam is used as a synonym for seductive evil a thousand years later in the Book of Revelation.
Hell-bent on annihilating Moses and the Children of Israel, Balaam pulls together the armies of five Midianite kings. But before they can attack, he must drive the protective hand of Yahweh from the Israelite camp. For this he needs Cozbi, the seductively beautiful, ruthlessly ambitious daughter of King Zur of Midian.
Balaam’s Curse begins as the Exodus generation arrives on the banks of the Jordan River forty years after escaping Egyptian slavery. Familiar Biblical heroes, Moses, Caleb and Joshua, stride through the opening pages, but this is the story of the next generation, young people nurtured in a simple wilderness life. Before they can even cross the river into the Promised Land, Cozbi and her army of temple prostitutes infiltrate camp. Loyalties are strained in a faith-battering collision of cultures. Reason flees in the face of passion. Rebellion breaks out. The very existence of the nation of Israel hangs in the balance.
“The soaring pleasure of this Biblical epic will remain with me for many days. I went to my Bible over and over as each dramatic scene played out before my very eyes.”
A River to Cross
The Stones of Gilgal, Book 2
Joshua’s army stands on the brink of the Jordan. Their mission: Cross the river. Claim the Promised Land. How could these untested, youthful warriors guess they are about to plunge headlong into a life-or-death struggle with entrenched Evil?
Book 2: Not one Israelite warrior over the age of forty is left alive. Only the two old heroes of faith, Caleb and Joshua. The flood of rebellion, plague and war unleashed by Balaam’s Curse swept away the last of the Exodus generation. Now it is up to their children to claim the ancient inheritance of Israel. Eager to leave the sorrows of the Valley of Acacias behind, Acsah, Othniel, Salmon and friends look to a future across the Jordan with fiercely bright hope. Only a river separates them from the long-awaited Promised Land.
What could possibly go wrong? . . . Merely a volatile king, the crazed captain of Jericho’s efficiently evil troops, labyrinthine caves, raging flood waters––and hovering over all, an evil force determined to stop the crossing that would change the world.
Follow their perilous journey across the Jordan in A River to Cross.
“I was impressed with the author’s ability to make me forget I already knew this story. The well-researched historical facts were woven into the telling in a manner that made the story come alive.”
Trouble in the Ruins
The Stones of Gilgal, Book 3
After Joshua leads the children of Israel across the Jordan, the entire land is in turmoil. Canaanite kings, pagan priests, and Anakim giants jostle for power in new alliances. But they cannot stop the invading armies of Yahweh.
Acsah, Abihail, Othniel, and friends are camped in the Promised Land at last, but suddenly it does not seem so promising. War threatens from without. Treason and deceit from within. When the massive fortifications of Jericho collapse, Salmon rushes into the ruins to save Rahab, the shrewd and beautiful harlot who rescued him from certain death. Escaping the crumbling city will not be easy—but it is only the beginning of the heartbreak, treachery, and terror he and his friends will face as they navigate this strange and dangerous land.
“C.L. Smith’s Trouble in the Ruins gripped my heart with terror and wonder. . .
At times the prose is not only compelling, but it is also melodic. This is a book that was hard to put down, as I followed each character and grew to love them.”