Heart of the King Forum
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In 1 Samuel 17:34-47, David stands before King Saul and recounts that he has killed lions and bears in defense of his sheep. The few Biblical sentences describe several big events. But how did it happen? Where was David at when he slew the beasts? What was the weather like? What was he thinking? A dozen questions come to mind that inspire a hundred more. What was he wearing? Did he use his staff? If David wrote a book about the day he killed the lion, what would it say? How would he tell his story?
The Heart of the King is a book series that explores these questions and considers what the answers might be. It is a book series written about the Biblical figure of David, but set in a fictional world, during a fictional time period, and overlaid with spiritual warfare. It was written to inspire the imagination and remind us that the Bible is more than just a set of stories. It is history: real events, filled with real people, who had real lives, living in real places, and who loved God and His people.
For more about the purpose and intent behind this series, Check out the other tabs. Otherwise, see Otherworld for yourself by exploring the map, check out the Guardians [Angels] and Fiends [Demons], or read the excerpts from each of the Books to get an idea of what The Heart of the King is all about.
Ultimately, it is a story about God’s redemption for his people in the midst of a mighty struggle for our hearts. And the struggle continues to this day, and we are part of it.
I grew up reading, hearing, and dreaming about the stories written in the Bible. For years as a child I did nothing but imagine being on some grand adventure in God’s army: Gideon’s heroic victory with the meager three hundred, Jonah and the big fish, Esther’s courageous appearance before a powerful king, or David’s valiant stand against a giant. All these and more have captivated the imagination of my childhood and beyond, as I’m sure they have for countless others.
But that only lasted until I outgrew the childish depiction of Biblical tales that were written for elementary school kids. When I actually started reading the Bible as a young adult I was bored or shocked. The fanciful pictures and elaborated tales in children’s books set me up for failure. The Bible turned out to be much different than it had been portrayed to me.
The children’s books I read were great. They inspired me and expanded my imagination in an amazing way that led me to the above fascination with being part of the story. But they work only for a certain age group, and when I outgrew that, there wasn’t another series or story that helped point me to Jesus and His Word. I turned to other fictional tales of heroes and adventure instead.
Granted, this is my experience and certainly not everyone’s. To those who, as young adults, loved to read God’s word, I commend you. I wish I enjoyed that same love. But I’m sure I am not alone when I say that I struggled to truly love God’s word from a very young age. And now, as an adult who truly enjoys God’s word, I wish there had been a book, or series, that had captivated my attention the way Bible stories did as a child. This series is an attempt to provide just that!
This book series is not intended to replace the epic story that is the Bible. Nor is it meant to be an addendum or supplement to reading, studying, or understanding God’s word. The Bible is the perfectly inspired word of God written exactly as is, for our good, and God’s glory through His son Jesus. No other written work could make the Bible more complete or better. If you are interested in what the Bible says or wish to study in depth, these are not the books for you. Although these stories are filled with truths from God’s Word, nothing can replace sitting down and reading the Bible for yourself.
God’s Word inspires us to go beyond the words written for our benefit. Countless in-depth studies have been written that explore the culture, language, and history of every people and topic that is mentioned in the Bible. These studies are used to better understand God’s Word in context, content, and intended meaning. It is amazing to me that the more I study God’s Word the more I discover its depth and how intricately the layers relate and mutually support the other in perfect concert.
But for every story told in the Bible there is a dozen untold. The example I use is from 1 Samuel 17:34-47. David stands before King Saul and recounts that he has killed lions and bears in defense of his sheep. A few sentences that describe several different events. But how did that happen? Where was he at? What was the weather like? What was he thinking? A dozen questions come to mind that inspires another hundred questions. What was he wearing? Did he use a spear? A staff? Was it during the day? If David wrote a book about the day he killed the lion, what would it say?
This book series explores these questions and considers what the answers might be. I emphasize might. I framed these stories with as much of God’s written Word as possible to provide as realistic a background as possible. But to be clear, the thoughts, actions, ideas, and references to anything that doesn’t exactly align with God’s word are fictional.
Purpose One:
The Heart of the King was written to inspire the imagination that is intrinsic in all of us and expand the mind to recognize that the Bible is more than just a set of stories. The fictional representation of these stories is intended to fill in many gaps with fictional possibilities that remind us that the Bible is Truth. It is history: real events, filled with real people, who had real lives, living in real places, and who loved God and His people.
It is easier to imagine the characters as people when we realize that they had thoughts, feelings, desires, ideas, and even failures. Sometimes the stories we hear of the men and women in the Bible are the heroic actions that saved nations. But the truth is that they were imperfect just like us.
Purpose Two:
This book series demonstrates a fictional view of spiritual warfare in an effort to bring to the forefront of our minds that we live in a world that is not our home. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood…” Paul writes in Ephesians as a call to “Put on the full armor of God.” [Ephesians 6:12-13]. Life is not a pleasure cruise, it is a war. “Friendship with the world is enmity with God.” [James 4:4]. Satan boldly attacks Adam in the first few chapters of the Bible and forever destroys our relationship with our almighty Creator. He strikes again at God’s son in an attempt to ruin our chances of living with Him again. His demons show up in people throughout the New Testament by possession. And Peter warns us that he prowls around like a lion “seeking those whom he may devour.” [1 Peter 5:8]. This is not the language of a Christian walk in the park.
There is an evil presence that is seeking to destroy every relationship with God and His people, and young men and women should enter the world with that knowledge. Not out of fear or terror: those who belong to the King have no reason to truly fear Satan. But he is actively seeking to make us ineffective as men and women of God. We see it in our marriage, we see it in our children, we see it in our friendships, and it is obvious in our culture. My story reveals this battle for our souls in a different light [and somewhat muted, I would argue], that hopefully will wake up some of us into fighting for the souls of everyone we come in contact with, Christian or not.
Purpose Three:
This book series is a replacement for the non-Christian genres that steal the attention of our children and young adults. I gravitated towards them too, and they aren’t all bad. But if I had to choose between this and the newest fantasy or adventure novel, I would choose something like this. Not because I think it is better written, or better edited, or because I think the artwork is better. But because I think the story is better. And it isn’t mine! It is the Bible, with some fictional add-ins. The more options my children have to point them to our King and Savior, the better chance they have of a Spiritual encounter with Jesus Christ and His saving power.
I think there are hundreds of books series out there that fall into the secular category that are well written, well edited, and tell amazing stories. I have read many of them, would recommend some of them, and like to reread a few of them often. I think that most of them are probably harmless and fun. But do they point to Jesus? Do they point to his Word? Do they tell of the King and His people?
Purpose Four:
To enjoy! If you really don’t enjoy Bible stories then you won’t enjoy this book (at least I don’t think so. It was really fun to imagine how these amazing men and women of God thought and acted in the moments that are specified in the Bible. How did Rahab survive a week of the Israelites marching around the city of Jericho? They were supposed to attack it! How did David’s brothers react to the youngest and smallest son of Jesse receiving God’s anointing?
I had fun writing this, I hope you have fun reading it.
