David is, according to the Bible, the second King of Israel, of the line of ancestry from which Jesus, the Messiah, was prophesized to have come. Almost as importantly, he is revered as both a warrior and a poet, credited with many of the Psalms (“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not wantâ€). David also played the harp exquisitely enough to soothe King Saul’s misadventures with evil spirits. And he is known as the man who slew the Philistine giant, Goliath, with the clever use of a slingshot. For all this goodness, David is richly rewarded – he is named commander of the armies and is offered Saul’s daughter in marriage. But, having gained so much popularity with the people now makes him the object of Saul’s envy and distrust. He plots to kill David, but Saul’s own son, Jonathan, warns David and helps him to flee. When both Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle, David becomes king. He restores the Ark of the Covenant to the people and establishes Jerusalem as the center of Israel. All is not holy among David’s deeds, however. Lusting after Bathsheba, he impregnates her and has her husband, Uriah, killed in battle. God’s punishment is severe – the child of David and Bathsheba is made to sicken and die. David has much trouble with many of his sons – his son, Absalom, rebels against his father and causes a civil war; Absalom also dies. David truly repents his sins and asks forgiveness of God. And God does forgive him. David lives long and rules well and dies in the virtue of his years. The next child of David and Bathsheba is Solomon, who continues the line of divinely appointed kings of Israel and who will erect the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
