David A Man Of Passion And Destiny

David was a man after God's own heart

What does it mean to be someone after God's own heart? David, Old Testament shepherd, king, and psalmist, offers an answer in the shape of his own life.

In many ways he was a most extraordinary man--intelligent, handsome, abundantly gifted as a poet, musician, warrior, and administrator. Yet in other ways he was a most ordinary man--often gripped by destructive passion, rocked by family chaos and personal tragedy, and motivated by political expediency. How did David become the national hero of God's chosen people? Why is he the one character in the Bible described as a man after God's own heart? Chuck Swindoll explores the many facets of David--from his teenaged years and dysfunctional family life to his overwhelming passion for God.

David's life offers hope to all of us. It shows how devotion doesn't mean perfection--that God loves us in spite of our weaknesses, and can do extraordinary things through ordinary men and women. David offers an insightful and timeless perspective on what it means to be truly spiritual, to become like David--men and women after God's own heart.

David is the first of a multi-volume series exploring Great Lives from the Bible and mining them for the qualities that made them great. Chuck Swindoll wants to show us that these great men and women were not great in and of themselves--in fact most of them were humble and ordinary as you and I. They became great when they placed themselves at the Lord's disposal, allowing Him to develop within them the marks of true character: humility, purity, authenticity, and integrity. To live a life God considers great is within the reach of everyone who submits to Him.

While David was Israel's greatest king, he also committed grevious sins that adversely impacted those around him. Even so, he was described as " a man after God's heart".

Some of the excellent points Swindoll covers in his book include:

1. God can use our talents and use them for His glory.
2. Do not fight battles in your own strength! Rely on the
Lord and His timing and methods.
3. How our bad decisions affect others.
4. God cares about the details of your life - the better you
know your standing with the Lord, the freer you are.
5. We must not abuse God's grace to sin and expect no
consequences.
6. When God says no to our dreams, it may be because of
redirection in our lives.
7. The importance of having a thick skin - if you want God
to use you, you need to shed your ultrasensitivity.
8. Important notes about true friendship.

All in all, an excellent read that can encourage us and sober us about the impact we have on other people!


Good Book from The Good Book   January 18, 2000
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

Charles Swindoll does an excellent, if not remarkable, job of not only presenting the trials of David in modern day life, but he also vividly illustrates the psalmist's shortcomeings into lessons for today. Without a doubt, this book was written with God's guidance (no slight intended towards Mr. Swindoll), and I recommend this book to be used as a tool for the Christian of today in his/her walk with God. Upon finishing, I not only had renewed insight upon David, but also within myself, and found newborn strength to conquer my own daily struggles. God has annoited this book, of that there is no doubt, and I strongly urge Christians to delve into it.


The Human Side of Greateness   March 12, 2001
 11 out of 12 found this review helpful

Mr. Swindoll gives you a complete account of David's life. Not only does he accurately depict the greatness of David, the anointing by Samuel, the victory over Goliath, and the courage of Daivd, but he also vividly portrays the human side of greatness. That is the fleshly side. For so long we have to come to highly esteem our Biblical brothers and sisters just for the good side and great accomplishments. Mr. Swindoll takes you into every aspect of David' s human side (David's sin and faults). He expounds on David's lack of discipline toward his children, his inability to provide a functional home, his quick temper with Nabal the husband of Abigail, his issues with Bathsheba that we all know about along with his murderous plot of Uriah, his pride in numbering the people of God, and the rashness (quick judgment) of his counsel as when he was instructed by the Prophet Nathan to build God a house. This was not God's will for David but he was instructed as so. I don't want to dwell on the negatives, I just want to commend Dr. Swindoll for covering the whole aspect of the life of David and not just the good. Every human being, even Bible great ones as David, have two sides. We ought to learn from both. Take the good side of the great ones and model it. Then take the faulty human side in order to learn how not to make the same mistakes. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4. I commend Dr. Swindoll for doing a wonderful job of covering every side of the life of David. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to take the lives of the Bible Patriots as a modeling tool and as a studying tool. This book was recommended to me by a friend. and I do the same to any interested party


Christian baby food   March 5, 1999
 10 out of 26 found this review helpful

Chuck Swindoll, though an engaging speaker and a prolific and even sometimes insightful writer, has written here what I feel is a watered down version of the real lessons to be learned from the life of David. As Jack Miles said in his book God: A Biography, we have the advantage of knowing how things turn out when we read the Bible and this colors our interpretations of the Old Testament stories, in particular. Swindoll is very adept at bringing in later ideas, even New Testament ideas, into the story to make his points. Bottom line--the story of David the King of Israel is not a Christian story, it is a Hebrew story. Because of this, any "Christian" lessons taken from it are at least suspect, if not completely misguided. While we, as Christians, can learn lessons from the life of David, we must remember that the Hebrew people believed in a very different God than we do today. Yahweh was a warrior God that always went to bat for his people and stood up for the underdog. He did not, however, encourage the "little people" to have a personal relationship with him. In fact, only priests, kings, and prophets had any direct access to him at all. The God of the New Testament, on the other hand, is a nurturing God who wants each of us to know we are his children and that he will do anything to have a deep, personal relationship with him. The point of all of this is, if you read this book, please read it in the light in which it was written--as a book for beginning Christians who have not, as Paul said, given up the baby food.


For the most part Swindoll misses the point   February 19, 2006
 8 out of 11 found this review helpful

We used this book for an adult Sunday School class that I taught. I was extremely disappointed by the superficial treatment of the text. I found myself using the Biblical text and other sources. For the most part Dr. Swindoll's book was a distraction rather than a help. For example, 2 Samuel 7 descibes
God's covenant with David that Christ, the True King, would be David's descendant. Swindoll uses this text as to how to react when God says no to our plans. (In this case, it is God's rejection of David as the builder the temple that Solomon eventually built) The covenant IS the point and Dr. Swindoll completely misses it.
If your looking for moralisms that you really already knew this is your book. If you want a serious study of the life of David
you would do well to look elsewhere or try something bold-- a careful reading of the Biblical text.