In the Shadow of a Giant: 40 Devotional Studies on the Life of David (1 Samuel 16 to 1 Kings 2)

"David"--a name mentioned nearly a thousand times in the Bible! Shepherd boy, musician, singer-songwriter, prophet and king (and part-time priest!), husband and father, and a God-gifted genius at close, hand-to-hand combat. An extraordinary man. This close reading of the life of David--all the way from where teenage David is first introduced (1 Sam 16) to his death (1 Kgs 2)--gives an opportunity to see the wonderful, the awful, and the (shockingly) ugly elements of his life. There are some difficult texts and difficult lessons. Significant matters arise, such as the nature of prayer, the importance of forgiveness, abuse, the nature of leadership, death and enemies, understanding patriarchy in biblical texts, spiritual gifts, and evil spirits. Readers will discover that these texts speak loudly and clearly to the issues of our day. Beginning with the Former Prophets (1 and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings) for the narrator's point of view, this book also examines the Psalms to give an understanding of what was happening for David on the inside. Undertaken as a devotional exercise, the aim of these studies is always that of seeing Jesus more clearly and living more securely in the shadow of his wing.

Steven E. J. Daly is a priest in the Anglican Church of Australia. Coming to faith in Christ in his mid-twenties--while a PhD student in biochemistry--he was ordained some thirteen years later after studies in Canada and Australia. Along the way he has worked as a scientist, actor, chaplain, and pastor of a church in suburban Perth, Australia. He is married to Jo, a pharmacist.



Jill Firth is a lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament at Ridley College, Melbourne. She writes on Psalms and Jeremiah and is editor of Grounded in the Body, in Time and Place, in Scripture: Papers by Australian Women Scholars in the Evangelical Tradition (with Denise Cooper-Clarke).