Written by Terri Fivash
This, the second installment of the Dahveed series, continues the successes of the first. The characters and the emotions remain strong. Michal shows glimpses both of the woman who saved David’s life and the woman who despised him. David and Jonathan’s relationship deepens and shifts with David’s inexorable path to the kingship. Jonathan treats the man chosen to take his place with remarkable love and loyalty, and sometimes complete exasperation. These are among the book’s best moments.
Yahweh’s Warrior has more action and a quicker pace than Yahweh’s Chosen. With David a full-fledged warrior, and caught now in the see-saw of Saul’s vacillating emotions, the story gains more drama. I have two criticisms of the book. The first is that David’s inferiority complex grew tiresome before the book finally got past it. The second is that certain elements went against the scriptural narrative:
- The Bible clearly gives the reason for David not marrying Merab as his refusal. But Fivash portrays it as a result of other characters’ scheming.
- Saul’s attempted annihilation of the Gibeonites was, according to 2 Samuel 21:2, done in his “zeal for Israel and Judah”. Terri Fivash gives him a different motive: Two Gibeonite assassins who tried to murder Jonathan.
- There is a servant, Balak, an enemy of David’s who poisons Saul against him. This is not in itself bad, but too much of the blame and reason for Saul’s animosity is rolled onto Balak. Even his first command to kill David is prompted by Balak’s lies. Saul’s hatred of David came from his jealousy and fear. He recognized that God was with David, that He had chosen David to be king. The causes for Saul’s hostility were in his own heart.
Reading Yahweh’s Warrior, I was impressed again by how Terri Fivash sets her characters free of the modern mindset. Two instances in particular struck me. One, Jonathan wondered to Michael if the lack of children in their family was God’s judgment. Two, he was afraid of the punishment that would come on his family because Saul had slaughtered the Gibeonites. We know that it did come, but who among us, if a relative of ours murdered someone, would worry about divine judgment coming on our whole family?
I enjoyed Dahveed: Yahweh’s Warrior even more than its predecessor, and I eagerly await the publication of the next book.