Siti, the young Egyptian princess who gives Solomon Gezer, but refuses to give up her god, Bastet and demands a palace of her own. I love how the author can bring what is in Scripture to life and flesh out the people we only read about. They were real with feelings, failures, struggles, and shortcomings. I think every time I read Jill's biblical fiction novels, she makes me look inward to my own self and evaluate my own heart. And that's a good thing in my book! It brings me closer to the heart of God every time. Although I cannot say I agree with all of the author’s creative licenses, I believe she did a masterful job of weaving a fascinating story of “what might have been” in the life of the wisest man who ever lived.

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.This is the first book that I've read by this author and it was fantastic. I eagerly await new books about King David so was thrilled to see this one as his son, Solomon, seems to be just as interesting. The author focused on Solomon's ascension to the throne following this brother, Adonijah's, attempt to take over the rulership of King David's kingdom by force. The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want. The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He pleases. Overall, The Heart of a King was an intriguing, gripping look into the life of one of history's most famous kings. Highly recommended for fans of well-written Biblical fiction. Abishag was the second wife. She was previously the wife of King David, but married Solomon to be safe from his twisted brothers. Abishag was such a woman! She didn't let herself be played a fool nor did she have any delusions about being Solomon's second wife. She was such a artsy and pure hearted of the four wives.

I've always wondered why King Solomon in all the wisdom God gave him at the beginning of his reign, was foolish in disobeying God's laws in the end. Jill Eileen Smith explores this question in The Heart of a King , taking literary license since scripture doesn't expound on many facets of his life or those of his wives. As I read this fictional account of a true story, I had to shake my head at Solomon whenever he justified his actions in disobeying what God so clearly told him not to do. As in the case of his third wife Siti; she worshiped the goddess Bastet and he built her a palace outside the walls of Jerusalem for her to honor her goddess and to display Bastet's images. In his thinking, as long as it wasn't seen or placed inside the walls, it was okay. He also justified that since his heart remained true to Adonai, he could take many foreign wives, horses and chariots as gifts from the kings & dignitaries to keep his kingdom peaceful. For anyone who knows scripture, would know that Solomon was unwise in these things.Second: In telling the story of Solomon’s relationships with his wives, there is mention of his desire and love for them. The author does a great job of never stepping over a line or being inappropriate in any way. I appreciated the author not using these scenes to sensationalize the book. I also began to understand that the gift of wisdom can be a double-edged sword. It can blend with human wisdom so imperceptibly that we can be deceived into believing we are still fully heeding God’s wisdom when in fact we’re relying on our own, as happened with Solomon. My only complaint here is that I felt as though this theme didn’t become clear until towards the end. Where I struggled with this story was with the wives, as I suspected, but not for the reasons I anticipated. Firstly, I felt as though there was no closure to their stories. Each wife was featured in turn in the lead-up to her marriage to Solomon but then faded out of the story, and seemingly his life, as the next wife came along. I know there are novellas corresponding to these characters that give a fuller account of their stories ( The Desert Princess, The Shepherdess, Daughter of the Nile, and The Queen of Sheba), so maybe I need to read those to get better closure, but I found their stories dissatisfying in the context of The Heart of a King. The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.

If, as is to be hoped, the Guardian is successful in exhuming his letters to ministers, we may shortly enjoy some further, not necessarily encouraging, insights into Charles’s interior life. It is regrettable, though all too characteristic, that neither Charles nor his advisers recognised the arrival on his planet of a journalist as shrewd, respected and notably well-disposed as Mayer, as a divinely ordained opportunity for him to say, in somewhat more detail than Shakespeare’s Henry V, “Presume not that I am the thing I was.” This is a balanced story about Solomon, showing both his mistakes but also his desire to stay true to God. Biblical fiction, when written well, is one of my favorite genres. The Heart of a King definitely delivered and I enjoyed almost every moment of it. I will definitely be looking for more books from Jill Eileen Smith in the future. The king's heart is like streams of water. Both are under the LORD's control. He turns them in any direction he chooses. To those who have tasted what is forbidden only to find it meaningless. May Solomon's wisdom and the love he craved show you a better way. ~Jill Eileen Smith

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The Old Testament is full of profound stories of people still iconically remembered today through novel and movie retellings. My excitement is always piqued by those retellings, and I try to read or watch as many as I can. When the chance came for me to review Jill Eileen Smith’s latest novel, The Heart Of A King, I happily dived in.

In writing a biography of someone who is first and foremost a figuration, one that cannot by definition be transparent, the sensible course is to examine what exactly he’s a figuration of – and this is the approach Mayer adopts. Yes, she has some interview subjects: princely besties such as Emma Thompson and Nicholas Soames, but what they have to say is anodyne, while the positive remarks of staff members and campaigning associates is for the most part dreadfully dreary hagiography. On some of the hoo-ha the prince has triggered – from the “Spider” memos, to the seven boiled eggs, to his position on Islam – Mayer has had to rely on second and even third-hand testimony. However, this doesn’t matter, because by anatomising what the prince is emblematic of, she reacquaints us with – gulp! – ourselves. Nicaula was the fourth wife and queen of Sheba. I loved her second to Abishag. She was smart, kind, pure. Everything about her screamed royalty. She did almost make some dumb mistakes, but she felt convicted about them. I loved her desire to know more about God. She ruled well. Carried herself as a queen and didn't allow Solomon to play with her emotions. Of the four she was the most intellectual. The other neat thing to see in reading this was the references to Song of Solomon. He really was poetic, and seeing that side of him presented here was really neat. The men of today certainly don't talk like this, nor do most of them in contemporary romance novels to be honest, so it was very sweet to read. Don't misunderstand - I know that it was also Solomon's downfall. But let's be real - if you were one of these ladies you can see how easily they could be swayed by Solomon. We read mostly in the bible about his time ruling, and to see this side of him was just so interesting to me. I appreciated the uniqueness of each woman’s story, and how they intertwined, not only with King Solomon, but also with each other throughout their lives. The heart of a king [is] streams of waters in the hand of YHWH, | He inclines it wherever He pleases.

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Now, updated and revised with a new preface and two new chapters - covering details of Harry and Meghan's exit and its implications, the cash-for-honours scandal, Prince Andrew, and more - this significant study reveals a monarchy threatened and a man in sight of happiness yet still driven by anguish and a remarkable belief system, a charitable entrepreneur, activist, agitator and avatar of the Establishment who just as often tilts against it. However, I did not enjoy this book very much. The imagined personalities of the first three wives were terrible. is reviewed between 08.30 to 16.30 Monday to Friday. We're experiencing a high volume of enquiries so it may take us