About the Book

Book: FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE Author: EJ Ashmore Genre: Biblical Fiction/young adult Release Date: October 15, 2025

Sixteen-year-old Eliza has accepted life as a Hebrew slave in Egypt, never to be seen, heard, or loved. After all, she has it good, working alongside her sister for the wealthy Ameneten family. Though unworthy of love, she is free to love others, and she loves her master’s oldest son, Seti (unbeknownst to him). Only when Moses returns to the land of Egypt to free his people is she emboldened to pray to the ancient God her mother used to speak of, and she prays for the love of Seti, but only if he first rejects his gods and falls for the Hebrew God. As the God of gods hardens Pharaoh’s heart, He softens Seti’s and pursues him with a love Seti has never known, while also shining His face on Eliza who learns she is indeed worthy of love. This is the Exodus as told from both Eliza and Seti as a love story between God and His people, God and Seti, and Seti and Eliza.

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About the Author

EJ Ashmore, a mother, wife, and a nurse, only wrote for fun as a teenager. Once babies and college got in the way, she stopped, but she also no longer wanted to write unless it was for God. When her son was 15 and trying to grapple with why God would harden Pharaoh’s heart, then punish him, she took to writing again. Best to show him rather than explain it. But then Joel Richardson’s SINAI TO ZION came out, and she fell in love with how the whole exodus and wilderness scenario was God’s love story- from pursuit, winning the love of the people, to betrothal, complete with a wedding supper which has yet to happen. It’s a literal play-by-play of the ancient Jewish wedding customs, but so is Christianity. Not only that, but human marriage was designed to reflect God’s desired relationship with His people. This became EJ’s passion: to demonstrate this in a story for young people, as is to reach the average teenager who feels unworthy of God’s (or anybody’s) love. FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE comes from Exodus 9:16 and is EJ’s debut novel.

More from EJ

When Lisa Phillip’s son was 15 and trying to grapple with why God would harden Pharaoh’s heart, then punish him for it, she took to writing. Best to show him rather than explain it. But then Joel Richardson’s SINAI TO ZION came out, and she fell in love with how the whole exodus and wilderness scenario was God’s love story—from pursuit, winning the love of the people, to betrothal, complete with a wedding supper which has yet to happen. It’s a literal play-by-play of the ancient Jewish wedding customs, but so is Christianity. Not only that, but human marriage was designed to reflect God’s desired relationship with His people. This became Lisa’s passion: to demonstrate this in a story for young people, as is to reach the average teenager who feels unworthy of God’s (or anybody’s) love. FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE comes from Exodus 9:16 and is Lisa’s debut novel. Since there is already a well-known author by the name of Lisa Phillips, a pen name was chosen.

Interview with the Author

Do you read books in this genre? If so, who do you like to read?

I like this genre (Biblical Fiction) but I only like to read about everyday ordinary people in the time period, not already well-known Biblical characters. I don’t feel comfortable giving real people personalities and stories that aren’t necessarily true. So, pretty much, I read Connilynn Cossette.

What helps you to write? Do you eat snacks, listen to music?

I listen to soundtracks while writing. Like Braveheart, The Last of the Mohicans, Batman, and Titanic, to name a few. They take me to a different world.

If you could travel back in time, what time period would you go to?

I would love to go to the Kingdom of David. Or even older. I love to think about such time periods, and I love to think about how somebody from those time periods would react to our time period. Time travel is absolutely fascinating, and if I write again, it would be a time travel story.

What is one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you?

Readers would be surprised to learn that I don’t really like fiction. I’m picky, don’t like trends or cliches, and would rather spend my time learning or researching. I’m also not a writer or a story teller. Though I have a big imagination, I have a hard time with words, a small vocabulary, and can rarely get anyone to understand my thoughts. These books are a message, my witness about my love for God, and a lot of people helped me get them the way they are now.

What inspired you to write this book?

Several things inspired me to write this. First, I love to imagine myself as an ordinary person in the Old Testament, especially in the Wilderness wanderings. I think people are too judgmental about the Israelites and how they acted, when to me, it’s just normal human depravity. I wanted to illustrate this with ordinary characters witnessing everything and going through the thought process and emotions people back then must have gone through, while also not being VIP’s (important people of that time or having the “inside” perspective of what was happening).

Joel Richardson’s book SINAI TO ZION helped me see the big picture of God’s love story for His people and how it is patterned after ancient Hebrew wedding customs. I fell in love with God and want others to see God the way I do.

The trigger for me to get writing was when my fifteen year old son struggled with the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. I struggled with this too as a teen, as well as my worthiness of God’s love. I feel like there is a deep need for this realization, especially among young people now days.