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New Fictional Novel Focuses on Jonah
Bruce Judisch Schedules Book Signings
by Linda Owen
One day while Bruce Judisch was teaching the Book of Jonah at Village Parkway Baptist Church, he said, “If I ever write a book, it would be on Jonah. He has hopes and dreams and foibles like everyone else. His struggles are very real, but the Bible gives us little information except for his call to covert Nineveh.”Bruce’s wife Jeannie was sitting in the class — and she never let him forget what he said. She kept asking him when he was going to write the book, until he finally sat down and began his first novel in 2002. After 2 ½ years of combining biblical history with a fictional account on a young Jonah, Bruce finished Ben Amittai: First Call. It was published by Tate Publishing in 2006. In July Bruce will be signing copies of the book at two Borders locations: Thursday the 26th, 5:30-7:30 at the Forum and Sunday the 29th, and 1:00-3:00 at Huebner Oaks. Briefly, Ben Amittai: First Call is a novella on the minor prophet Jonah, focusing on the first reference to the prophet in 2 Kings 14:25. It sets the stage and introduces the characters for a planned multi-part work based on the history of Israel as revealed in Scriptures. Judisch, a San Antonio resident, takes Jonah, son of Amittai Ben Avram, a tanner from Gath-hepher, and his friend and protector, Elihu, on a tumultuous journey from Galilee to Samaria with God's message of repentance and deliverance to the court of King Jeroboam II. “It struck me what a unique character Jonah was,” Bruce explains. “All I had to do was imagine how Jonah and his family would fit into the historical setting. The book extends beyond the story of God’s call. As is often true of a divine calling, a period of preparation and a test of faith must come first.” In the story Jonah becomes aware of God’s plan for his life. It had not been an easy thing to comprehend. Years of agonizing silence had followed the time when God spoke a startling exhortation to Jonah: 'PREPARE YOURSELF'. Even after his beloved mother's revelation of their family's life-changing encounter with the great prophet Elisha, who predicted Jonah’s role as a future prophet, Jonah had grown weary waiting for God’s next message. Finally he began to believe that God had revoked his call. But nothing was farther from the truth — for an angelic appearance would change the tanner’s life forever. "This is no fish story," says Bruce. "Jonah is the most misunderstood prophet in the Bible. His story is so unique, his motives so mysterious, that it’s amazing no novelist’s pen has ventured into the life and times of this most human of prophets until now." Ben Amittai: First Call is 40,000 words. It is available through Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Borders.com , Christianbook.com, and the publisher’s Web site at Tatepublishing.com.Royalties from Ben Amittai: First Call (after tithe and a small percentage held back for promotion) are being divided between a missionary family in the Ukraine and the Agape Pregnancy Help Center here in San Antonio. Bruce is a full-time systems analysis. He and Jeannie now worship at Faith Presbyterian Church where Bruce is again teaching a Bible study on the minor prophets. He has nearly finished the sequel on Jonah’s second call to prophesy God’s warning to Nineveh.
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Linda Owen
Contributing Writer/Online Editor
Linda Owen is a regular writer on faith, retirement, travel, and general interest subjects for a variety of newspapers and magazines, both secular and Christian. She received her B.S. in Education and Journalism from SWTSC and a Master of Divinity Degree from Perkins School of Theology (SMU). Before seminary, she taught English and Media Communications at Churchill High School. After seminary, she worked on staff at churches in Dallas, Cotulla, and San Antonio. Linda teaches a weekly Bible study at University United Methodist Church. See Linda's web site: www.angelfire.com/zine2/lindaowen-writer/index.html.
linda@saworship.com
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