David: The Shepherd King

David #2

by W. Phillip Keller

God's call to the shepherd boy David has been validated. Goliath is dead. So is the jealous King Saul. Now what will David do with the clear path of leadership before him? Will it be a challenge that will drive him to his knees, calling on God's leadership? Or the old adage that "power corrupts" be proved true? It is one thing to herd sheep, but quite another to shepherd people.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1986

About the author

Weldon Phillip Keller (1920-1997) wrote more than thirty-five books on Christian subjects, including his most popular book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 The son of missionary parents in Kenya, Keller grow up in Africa before becoming a world citizen as a photographer, agronomist, and author. His books have over two million copies in print.

Reviews

[Meaghan Recollet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like this genre (novelizations of Scripture) and wanted to give it a whirl as I enjoy this author. It was good, made me think and notice things about David's life and rule that I hadn't noticed before. Some claims I didn't agree with, but that's bound to happen; the one that stood out the most was that the author claims that Moses avoided death like Enoch and Elijah but Deuteronomy is pretty clear that he died.

[Philip · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book paints King David as a near perfect man. It portrays those who disagree with David as baseless, vile men who are bound to hell.

Keller inserts lush narrative phrases to make his case rather than citing biblical support.

I find particular blame with his depiction of Joab. Take for instance pg. 33, "Without any hesitation he stormed into David's presence, his countenance black with anger... angry charges tumbled out of Joab's mouth like chunks of molten lava erupting from a violent volcano."

Or pg. 92 (talking about David's sin with Bathsheba) "Being a party to this murder of an innocent man would give Joab the grim leverage of blackmail over the king for the rest of his days." This is a completely absurd comment to make. We don't know WHAT Joab was thinking. In fact, some studies point out that his running to the wall suggests that he was very against Uriah's death, but could do nothing because he couldn't ignore an order from the King.

Later he says Joab is not a man of faith in God the Almighty, pg. 187 - ignoring that it was Joab alone that rightly told David his census was a sinful act, that it was Joab who said, during a battle with his brother, "Let God do what is just in His eyes." It was Joab who was loyal to David and the kingdom, giving up his desires so they might prosper. Joab conquered the cities and had David come and claim them so David could get the credit. Even when Joab was killed he sought sanctuary at the horns of the altar.

Keller just tows the party line. "David was a good king." David WAS a good king, but that statement oversimplfies all of the issues.