Fighter Fugitive King: David’s Leadership Development, How it Points Men to Christ, and its Relevance Today

Fighter Fugitive King Fraser Keay Some beautiful passages and a lot drawn for personal experiences. Can understand the need to write the book and the gestation period of ten years! Found about four typos but we all have them! Personally, would prefer to have more interaction with the text, but have had a specific interest in linguistics, having studied Hebrew and being taught Greek and Latin at school. However, can understand the difficulty in exegeting the ideas expressed by text when trying to draw out applications and link to the Lord’s example and our own experience. There is a lot of information in the book and it is difficult to cover the detail comprehensively. Sometimes we can only deal with the big stones in order to focus on the major lessons, but the small pebbles also reinforce the narrative. Typology helps us to see the herculean struggle which God had with Satan, as we read of a flawed leader making good decisions under the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Obedience is key and the example of perfect obedience is only found in Jesus. Some people tend to major on personal examples, and this can come across in the writing style as ‘enforcing a standard’ which may lead to false expectations by the reader – and a need to conform? The use of the passive rather than active voice in these instances may be better and would be more useful in confirming the message of the text and the view of our Lord Jesus. However, experience in the military has a tendency to cultivate a more active approach, which can come across as slightly antagonistic, and not helpful in certain situations, although eminently useful in others! Generally, the book achieved the objectives and expectation set, with some memorable ‘sound bites’ and quotations, but a personal preference would be for deeper interaction with the text. I often wonder why the book is called Samuel, when he dies half way through, and he may not have written it! It is all about the prophet, priest and king who is to come, the One chosen by God. The people wanted a king as predicted (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). There is a dramatic difference between what we want and what we need! God’s chosen king had to experience suffering and rejection, and it took a long time for him to come to his throne, and the parallel is there with the Lord Jesus. Our fallen nature rebels against authority. Appreciation of humility and the sovereignty of God is difficult, if not impossible, for us without the help of the Holy Spirit. The perils of the church can be cynicism and a critical spirit. How often we go to a funeral and the person described is not the one we knew? Instincts can lead us astray from obedience with our hearts and minds. We need to trust God’s Word. All of this is in the text. It takes a long time, and messing up from God’s people, before the King is crowned. The sovereignty of God is overall. Logos and Rhema do not bother me too much, like Chronos and Kairos. In Rabbinic tradition, a rabbi’s particular teaching was termed his ‘yoke’ just as a Greek philosopher had his ‘logos’. Hope this helps, Bless you,` Eddie..

The authors decision to choose David was an informed one. Few characters in the Bible have such a lengthy record of victories and losses as David does. David’s life is one that spans his youth all the way to his old age. That’s what makes this so special, as this is relevant to all age groups. This book brings the readers on a journey into God’s word by building a strong bridge between the old and New covenant, which helps us to see Christ where others may have naturally missed Him.

This is indeed an eye opener as it goes into a bit more detail on King David's life and what he suffered before becoming the King as well as learning how some of the events tied into Christ's own life as our own King. David's reliance on God for basically everything gave me an insider on how to properly wait on the Lord and be fully committed to Him(God). There is emphasis on how the first earthly King and the Heavenly King/Messiah lived and how we can see Jesus Christ in almost every scenario in David's life. I completely recommend this book.