After God’s heart: life lessons from King David, by Andy Percey 

'An introduction to inspire us - Andy has brought an Old Testament Bible character closer to us in order to nudge us closer to Jesus'

After God’s heart: life lessons from King David
By Andy Percey
Authentic
ISBN: 978-1788932844
Reviewed by Terry Young

Through the historical record or by reading the Psalms, David has become a favourite for many of us. If you're worried that he might become your favourite, too, this slim volume may get you infected with the same virtuous virus. Andy has an easy style and uses the narrative as a launch pad for examining practical problems in everyday life (such as resolving disputes).

If you're weary of the relentless salami-slicing of Scripture into ever smaller texts (half a verse and an aorist verb that sets up next week’s sermon) analysed in arcane detail on a Sunday, here’s a refreshing alternative: just read the stories and reflect on them!

Apart from being a valid way of studying Scripture, it helps to embed what we learn from David into the way we behave from here on. It's also fun and reminds us that the lives and family circumstances of people in David's time have much more in common with our own times than we often imagine. And, of course, you can only structure your decisions by asking the question – What would David do? – if you have some idea of what David actually did.

Because it's such a short book, there isn't time to cover all your favourite stories about David, nor will you always agree with the lessons that Andy has drawn from the story he's looking at. Sometimes that's because Andy has seen something that you haven't worried much about yet. Chapter 2, for instance, about facing your giants may offer you hope in your struggles that you hadn't explored before. Sometimes, you may see something that Andy hasn't seen. David reigned for a long time and died as an old man, so your experience of senior management or being a senior might have opened your eyes to nuances that still lie ahead for Andy.

And there will be times where you simply disagree or would like to have a discussion with him. In chapter 8, for instance, where he covers how much our worship should cost, you may bring a completely different set of experiences to the table and have radically different ideas.

I like this type of book. I like stories about stories, short stories about stories, and plenty of them. I know that a lack of systematic intent will worry some but I kind of like it for exactly that reason. I like the fact that he has set out to connect a long Bible narrative with the experience of Christians around him today. I like the practical range of topics that he has explored. Most especially, I like the fact that this approach to Scripture could serve as a template for you as you set about your personal Bible study.

If I had the chance to push Andy a little harder, I'd encourage him to dig a little deeper below the surface. For instance, we have two records of David's life that overlap in places but paint very different pictures of the man's character. The narrative in the books of Samuel describes an all too recognisable human in energy and in frailty, in success and frequent failure. By contrast, 1 Chronicles reports a continuous internal renewal that focuses in his latter years on the temple that he never saw. What is that all about?

In summary, Andy has left us with an introduction to inspire us. He hasn't answered all our questions and we may not agree with the answers he’s come up with. But that's not the point. The point is that he's given us a worked example of Bible study that is much less popular now than it used to be and shown us how to do it for ourselves. En route, he has smuggled in shedloads of good teaching.

In doing so, he's brought an Old Testament Bible character closer to us in order to nudge us closer to Jesus. And that's worth your time and your pennies on any count.

 

Terry Young is a missionary kid who read science and engineering. After a PhD in lasers, he worked in R&D before becoming a professor, when he taught project management, information systems and e-business, while leading research in healthcare.


He set up Datchet Consulting to have fun with both faith and work and worshipped at Baptist churches in Slough for 19 years before moving to the New Forest