Covenant of War

Lion of War #2

by Cliff Graham

The year is 993 BC. After years of bloody civil war, Eleazar son of Dodai, one of King David’s most elite warriors, wants nothing more than to finally live peacefully in the land. But on the plains near the Great Sea, a terrifying army of Philistines has mobilized to crush the Hebrew tribes once and for all. In the sun-drenched valleys and dark forests of the hill country, Eleazar and his warriors make their stand against Israel’s deadliest enemy. The fate of an entire nation rests on the courage of a small band of heroes known as the Mighty Men. In a land torn by conflict, depleted by drought and threatened by treachery, the horrors and heroism of the ancient battlefields come to life. Covenant of War is the second book in the Lion of War series—the intense, gritty, and stylistic portrayal of the Mighty Men of Israel, a rag-tag band of warriors who came to King David in his most desperate hour and fought with him while he claimed the throne he was destined to fill. Their legendary deeds are recorded in 2 Samuel 23 and 1 Chronicles 11.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy

348 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2012

Reviews

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, and a great journey into historical Israel for my first Around the World in 80 Books challenge!

"The Lord your God never abandons you, even when you abandon Him." Wise words from a wise king, and a theme in Covenant of War , follow-up book to Cliff Graham's Day of War. The story continues to follow King David and his Mighty Men, and their battle to reclaim the land of Israel. Covenant is told from the perspective of Eleazar, one of David's Three elite warriors, Benaiah, another of David's Three and the focus of Day of War, and Ittai, an enemy Philistine officer. Covenant of War has King David removed from the warrior he once was, grieving the loss of his best friend, Jonathan, and enjoying the pleasures of his harem. His lack of discipline had seeped into his armies, and the men were quickly becoming unprepared for an attack. Which is exactly what happened when Ittai launched an invasion of the Valley of Elah. It was a brutal battle, bloody & violent, which is true of both of Graham's books. For anyone who thinks the Bible is boring, these novels paint a very non-boring picture of events. As King David and his men hold back the Philistines, and reclaim the Valley, he is reminded of his first love, his first wife, Michal and Yahweh. The great warrior King, the Lion of Judah, was brought back to life, through repentance, forgiveness, humility and restoration. And Christians for generations are renewed by the life-giving words that King David writes throughout the Psalms.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cliff Graham is an exceptional author and these revised and expanded editions of the Lion of War Series are phenomenal. I loved this new edition of the Covenant of War and I cannot wait for Song of War to be released. I will definitely be purchasing it as soon as it is made available. If you haven’t read these books, I cannot emphasize enough how much you are missing out.

"God of my fathers!" he screams through blistered lips. "You have delivered me on countless battlefields, in my heart and on earth! I have not forgotten! Now show the enemy the power of your Great Name!"

[Bill Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book, Day of War was fabulous and so far this book is even better. Okay now that I have finished it.

What words describe valor? What phrase gives meaning to service? Dedication and sacrifice are they truly definable? I answer a resounding yes to all three questions. Cliff Graham has reached an even higher plateau than he did in 'Day of War'. Some characters have died since the first installment in this five part series 'Lion of War'. Next will be 'Song of War', Fires of War', and finally 'Twilight OF War'. Graham has entered into a agreement with director David L. Cunningham [Path to 911], and producer Grant Curtis [Spider Man series] to generate multiple films from this series.

Covenant of War starts out much like Day of War ended, A terrific battle between the northern kingdom and David's southern kingdom. However Abner is assassinated by Joab and Abishai because he killed the youngest brother Asahel through no fault of his own. In Hebron both are placed under house arrest and their places in the army taken away.
The action comes early and fast making this a real page turner with Benaiah and Gareb on a mission deep behind enemy lines. Whew once these two of the thirty escape with their lives there is no let up, David gets word that the Philistines are invading and must be stopped before they split the nation.

With only 500 men including David's 30 mighty men and almost no water a desperate mission is launched to stop them. The thirty split from the rest of the troops and head for Bethlehem to stop the Sword of Dagon an elite fighting unit from joining forces with the rest of the Philistine forces. In less than 48 hours the enemy is defeated but at a tremendous cost. Eleazar single handed stands off nearly 50 of the best of the Philistine army. His hand actually becomes to his broken sword and must be soaked in hot oil overnight to loosen the muscles.

[Thomas Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another masterpiece from Cliff Graham. I remember reading about David's Mighty Men as a kid and wanting to write a fictionalized version. Now I don't have to. Cliff nailed it.

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 2nd Lion of War novel. I read the first one way back in 2014 or so. I bought this book back in 2015 from Entitle (for $5), but then soon after, the Entitle book service went out of business. The Entitle books are e-pubs (and encrypted) so I had all my Entitle books on an old 8 inch LePan tablet. I lost track of that tablet and soon moved on. Figured I would never find those 20+ books again. Then a month ago I found the tablet, charged it up and there they were! I tried to the e-pubs send to my Kindle, but it did not work, even if I converted them. Sigh, so I am forced to read these Entitle books on an older slower tablet.

Sob story over. I really enjoy these Lion of War books. About King David and the Mighty Men. Told from a personnel view. Biblical in nature, but the story focuses on the trails and tribulations of King David in his rise to being the King of Israel. I like the characters and the story. I will for sure move on the next book in this series.

[Peter Krol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel about David's Mighty Men was as good as the first volume, Day of War. It kept me interested the whole way; I flew through it on my vacation week.

Graham has a strong writing style that defies my expectations for his genre. And the story kept making me want to go back to 2 Samuel to dig into the text of Scripture. The story certainly added details to the story that aren't present in Scripture; but it didn't change anything recorded there. Such changes would have distracted me from the narrative.

But Graham kept me hooked and wanting more. I highly recommend it.

2023 update: My teenage sons loved reading this out loud together. They can't wait to dig into the third volume, and we're disappointed that Graham never finished the promised series.

[Greta Slabach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't realize until I put this book in here that it was the second in the Lion of War series...but I had no problem reading it without the first book.

I was really excited that someone was writing about David's mighty men!! I always wanted to write something myself about these guys.

Graham did an excellent job, even with a whole lot of conjecture, because there are quite a few gapsin the history of these warriors. But I felt like he gave good background and really researched the time-period in Israel's history.

Gritty and real...definitely a good read for those who enjoy historical fiction from Biblical times.

[Amy Vorpagel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking Biblical history and extra biblical facts and combining them to create this EPIC battle saga was genius! It's a view of David's life through the eyes of his closest, and highest elite warriors, as he flees for his life from the current King Saul who is taken over by jealous rage of David's favor with the people.
Filled with camaraderie, personal struggles, epic battles, shows of heroism, and a view into ancient war tactics and weaponry, this tale had me feeling all the feels!!
Highly recommended!! Its amazing!!

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

“If your courage holds in the small battles, it will hold in the great ones.”


A slower start than Day of War but captured my heart, spirit and attention by the end. Parts made me gasp out loud and other made me weep.


“Yahweh uses broken men. I don’t know why he uses David, why he uses any of us.” Benaiah said quietly.


I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

[C.A. Pettit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely fantastic book! Author Cliff Graham takes the vague portions of King David's story that most intrigue us and brings them to life in a thrilling read. Detailed world building and a masterfully crafted plot suck you into the story, and endearing characters developed through believable dialogue keep you fully engaged from cover to cover.

[Kesia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book two in the series.

Decent balance between war, plot and character’s own storylines. I loved how David and snippets from the pslams were incoorporated.

I felt it lacked a bit of… focus maybe? (Compared ro the first book) It pulled in a couple of differenr directions. I would have wanted to give it a 3.5 star.

[Wesley Storks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fiction based off of things that we actually do know. It’s not been written to be history, but a good story. I love a good story, and this is a great one indeed. It is mature though and has quite a lot of violence, but it is an amazing story for mature Christian audiences.

[Elizabeth Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

This was a good read if you like biblical historical fiction and our war stories. It is a bit gory, but you can skip over some of that if you so choose. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Arick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible continuation of the Lion of War series. Relive key moments in Israel’s history as an active participator rather than casual observer of ancient texts. It’s bloody, it’s viloent, it’s disturbing in some instances. Incredibly immersive.

[Sara Gherasim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has jumped up to my favorite books of all time. Graham writes with such knowledge and descriptive details, it's hard not to transport yourself back in time. Can't wait for the final books to be released!

[Cali Adames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read. This. Book. I cannot recommend this series enough. The friendship between the mighty men is just so wholesome (Beniah and Uriah😭) and I’m not ready for certain events to take place later on. Eleazar is THAT guy and I absolutely love the Three.

[Kevin Driskill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and written. This is a great book in a great series. I love the real life detail that make these true stories come alive.

[Theresa Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

*****

[Kristin Hrenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great follow up to the first one

[Norman Desormeaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series had been wonderful. Can not wait o read the rest of the series

[David Kutchinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where is number 3???

Cliffhanger!

Yes I know how it ends but I want to read the three dimensional account of it.

Fantastic writing, Chaplin!

[Erik Esh]

Brutal but captivating.

[Kaleb McMillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

On par with the first. Really enjoy the take on David and his mighty men. Disappointed that the author didn’t continue going with the series after this one

[Shelly]

Christian.
I didn't care for it- can't remember why now...
Luke LOVED this series.
Audiobook

[Magdalena Brynard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bible came alive through the eyes of Graham. Fantastic!!!

[Dan Rutledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite in the Day of War series. Graham combines epic battles and action sequences with personal character arcs showing the spiritual transformation of the brave and flawed warriors. For students of the Bible, there is a real joy in reading a chapter and discovering that you are in the middle of a story in scripture you’ve read. The only downside for new readers is that this book ends in the middle of a larger saga and the book after it is no longer sold online or in stores.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of talking and planning, interspersed with gory fighting, just like real war. Hard to read, but as with Cliff Graham's other works, this book made me want to dig into the Bible to find the real story.

[John W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cliff Graham

[Timothy Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I did get to a point where I began to consider whether I would continue in the series.

The good.

Overall, this story is fast-faced with a lot of action. Cliff Graham has done a wonderful job of capturing the emotion and drama related to the war years between the Hebrews and the Philistines immediately after his corronation. Interestingly, the book doesn't recount the corronation, but alludes to it. I also enjoyed the focus this book had on Eleazar, Benaiah, Keth, and Josheb. It shows that the story is not just about King David, but also about the men who faithfully served him, fought with him, and looked out for his best interests, even when their interpretation of this didn't necessarily align with Yahweh's greater plan.

In addition to capturing the relationship between David and his men, Graham also does a wonderful job of capturing the relationship between David and Yahweh and the struggle he must have gone through every day. He knew he was inadequate to lead his people, yet Yahweh also anointed the best man for this role in Israel's history. He was a great man of faith, passion, and love, and also just a man who Yahweh worked through to bring about salvation for his people and eventually salvation for everyone. I love how the fictional narrative captures the passion of David as expressed through the Psalms.

The "not great".

I could have done without a lot of the flashbacks and dreams sequences. At times Eleazar had this and at other times David had this. Even Ittai, the Philistine commander had this. This technique, when used right, can be very effective, but it seemed to come as an interruption to the story, rather than a way to advance the plot or shed some meaningful light on the character experiencing the flashback. At one time Eleazar had a flashback right in the midst of fighting off a small army of Philistines simultaneously. Total momentum killer.

Also, many of the descriptions were redundant. For example, if Graham mentioned once that the Hebrew men were eating dry, hard bread, that would have been enough. Once established, it doesn't have to be mentioned again. Other times, the description did little more than tell "A large, powerful-looking man was standing with his arms crossed at the edge of the forest behind David." Really? A "large, powerful-looking man"? Maybe describe some physical features beyond have "noble but hard features" and a stare that was "severe". Ok. Some telling is ok, but Graham could have been more descriptive with this "large, powerful-looking man" and description would have conveyed the power. Graham does this several other times in the book as well, but it doesn't completely take away from the story and it is not enough to keep me from reading the next book.

So, overall, this book is a great read, especially if you want to enter more fully into the life of David through this fictional portrayal of a great man leading a young nation as it makes it's way in the world.

[Ms. Mielke's Class Make sure you post how your sheets tell you to!!!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

As David is crowned king of the nation of Israel, the Philistines have mustered the biggest fighting invasion that some men would ever know. While most of the solider are on leave, David has to make a choice. Will he take the small number of trained soldiers that are in the city and set out, or will he stay and wait to muster a larger force. The fate of the nation set on the shoulders of one man. Can he bare it?HHG