
Member Reviews

"Man of Valor, Man of Grace" is basically a reprint of "Great Lives: David: A Man of Passion and Destiny by Charles R. Swindoll" published in 1997. When skimming the older version, I did notice some updates, like a reference to a storm that they were going through in 1997 was changed to the author having gone through several storms. If you've read the older version, there's no reason to get this book, too.
This is a Bible study on the life of David, with the author telling about a part of David's life (including quotes from the Bible) then commenting on what happened and what we can learn from these events. My problem is that the author (like most people) still tries to put David on a pedestal despite his sins since he's "a man after God's own heart." So in one chapter, we have David described as a negligent father and his children left to raise themselves. In a later chapter, the author stated how Solomon should be grateful to have such a great father. Yet David's refusal to name Solomon his heir from the beginning (and spend some time making sure he knew how to rule instead of criticizing Solomon's inexperience) caused at least the last attempt by one of his sons to take over the throne. In one chapter, we're told how David is a good example of forgiveness of an enemy, yet the author never mentioned how David commanded Solomon to make sure that same man died for what he did.
The general principles that the author draws from the text are good ones. I merely question if David was really such a great example of these things. Overall, I'd recommend this Bible study if all you know about David's life are his battle with Goliath and his sin surrounding Bathsheba as this book does go into greater detail about David's life.