The life of David is one of the most fascinating accounts in the Bible. Covering the book of 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, and 1 Chronicles, David’s imprint goes beyond these into the prophets and even into the New Testament. It is a story of war, love, betrayal, loyalty, friendship, enemies, and just about everything that covers the gamut of the human experience.

Because it is such an amazing story, I am often surprised by how poorly that story is told. In prepping for this podcast series, I read a number of books on the life of David (almost every book I could find). The sad fact is there is not a lot of good stuff out there. On one side are very religious accounts of David’s life (even though they claim not to be religious). The life of David does not fit into a religious box. He broke almost every rule out there. Then on the other side are the pervy, filthy accounts of his life meant to fit the box of some modern woke political agenda. David was not that either.

This podcast series explores David’s life, era, and journey. He was a man after God’s own heart. He was also an adulterer, a horrible father, and an even worse husband. He had a passion for the house of God but was not allowed to build the temple because of how much violent bloodshed his hands took a direct role in. His faithfulness secured a covenant with God that gave him a kingdom that would never end, thanks to Jesus being among his descendants. He was also solely responsible for the most notorious act of betrayal and unfaithfulness in the Bible.

More than a giant killer, the life of David was a complex story that offers insight and hope for our walk of faith today.

These episodes will release weekly beginning in April. You can find links to each episode below.

1. The Origin Story
2. Samuel, the Last Judge
3. The Rise of Saul
4. The Philistines and the Fall of Saul
5. David and Goliath
6. David and Jonathan
7. The Outlaw
8. David’s Mighty Men and Many Women
9. The Mighty Have Fallen
10. The Kingdom of David
11. The Tabernacle of David
12. The Sins of David
13. The Legacy of David

Additional Reading on the Life of David

Each episode in this series includes show notes that detail what books and chapters of the Bible you can read if you want to follow along with the story in your Bible. There are also additional links and backgrounders in those show notes. Those links and backgrounders are for your review, and I don’t necessarily endorse them.

While there are not a lot of modern books I can recommend if you want to study the life of David on your own, this is one I read about 20 years ago that held a big impact on my perspectives of David and also helped develop my own understandings of how to study the Bible.

A word of warning. This book was originally published in 1939. It’s old-school writing and language, and I don’t endorse all of the author’s perspectives or views, but it’s a good book. You can even find a free online version of the book here.